West Sussex Catch Report - 19th July 2026
Report by David Lewis
Good evening, because of the conditions for the past couple of weeks with generally hot weather and calm seas the fishing locally is challenging in the daytime but during darkness fish certainly seem more plentiful. Anglers making the effort to source baits such as Red Rag will often find more fish on the daytime tides when the water is calm and clear whereas night tides see plenty of species moving inshore including the chance of aiming for larger fish such as Hounds, Rays or Congers. The weather remains settled next week but looking slightly cooler compared to recent weeks so why not get the rods out and try your luck.
Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:
- Monday 20th July: 04:14 (5.6m), 16:42 (5.7m)
- Tuesday 21st July: 04:57 (5.3m), 17:25 (5.4m)
- Wednesday 22nd July: 05:44 (4.9m), 18:13 (5.0m)
- Thursday 23rd July: 06:41 (4.6m), 19:12 (4.7m)
- Friday 24th July: 07:53 (4.4m), 20:24 (4.6m)
- Saturday 25th July: 09:04 (4.5m), 21:26 (4.7m)
It has been another warm, dry and sunny week with light winds meaning the sea has been mainly calm and clear.
A few Smoothounds have been caught during darkness this weekend with Worthing Pier seeing odd fish to just over 11lb. There have been small fish caught in daylight occasionally, but night tides are best chance of better fish especially with baits such as peeling spider crab. Selsey and Bracklesham can produce good catches of Hounds at this time of year with the added chance of a Tope.
Bass are being caught with increasing numbers of Schoolies especially to worm baits, but sizable fish are still being caught to baits as well as lure fishing producing a few fish with ideal conditions and low tides at dawn and dusk recently. At Brighton Marina and the nearby reefs, the Bass are mainly caught on spider crab baits with spider crabs peeling nearby.
Black Bream have been plentiful both in the daytime and at night although some venues such as Worthing Pier have seen vast shoals of very small fish which can strip baits in seconds. Shoreham and Brighton have seen better quality fish with structures such as the Arm and Marina venues worth targeting them from.
Another week where Mullet can be seen in massive shoals but very few anglers seem to be targeting them although some have been caught in matches at beaches such as Tide Mills. Lancing, Shoreham plus local rivers are all worth trying for Mullet.
Featuring regularly in local catches lately although not in numbers include the following species: Gilt Head Bream, Red Mullet, Dogfish, Gurnards, Wrasse and Pollock.
Scads are still showing on the night tides at Brighton Marina, and it should not be too long before they appear at Shoreham Arm and Worthing Pier. A few Mackerel have been caught from the Marina and odd ones from the deeper water beaches at dawn but generally catches are considered poor.
Fishing in darkness is best chance of catching species such as Congers and Rays although most caught recently are on the small side, but the occasional better fish are still appearing randomly through the region. Stingrays are still a possibility from beaches in West Sussex.
Anglers wishing to target flatfish will find venues between Shoreham and Brighton can provide a mixture of small Plaice, Flounders, plus some Soles during darkness. Bait such as Red Rag can improve your catches.
Prime Angling usual opening times are 8am till 5pm Monday to Saturday and 8am till 4pm Sundays. We are located at 26 Marine Parade, Worthing, BN11 3PT, just to the east of Worthing Pier with limited customer parking available at the front of the shop. For bait availability it is advisable to phone us on 01903 821594. We also stock a large variety of frozen sea baits as well as a wide range of freshwater baits and tackle.
Visit our online website at primeangling.co.uk with plenty of new stock regularly added so keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates which will include plenty of new items from Japan.
Please send us pictures of your recent local catches via our Facebook page messenger or email and we will aim to publish them for you in the weekly report. Please note we DO NOT claim ANY FISH used and mentioned in our reports are caught on our baits or tackle, it is a report to show what has and is likely to be caught locally.
