West Sussex Catch Report - 23rd March 2025
Report by David Lewis
Good evening, there are plenty of fish being caught locally albeit not all are big but there is still enough to keep the rod tips rattling and we are almost approaching the time of year where the fishing is changeable with summer species slowly moving in whilst the winter species move off so there is lots to look forward to in the forthcoming month so why not get out and give it a go.
Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:
- Monday 24th March: 06:09 (4.1m), 19:07 (4.3m)
- Tuesday 25th March: 07:41 (4.4m), 20:21 (4.8m)
- Wednesday 26th March: 08:43 (4.9m), 21:13 (5.4m)
- Thursday 27th March: 09:30 (5.5m), 21:59 (5.8m)
- Friday 28th March: 10:15 (5.9m), 22:43 (6.2m)
- Saturday 29th March: 10:58 (6.2m), 23:27 (6.4m)
The weather during the past week has been mixed with some sunny warm days, spells of cloud and rain but for majority of the week the winds have remained light and again from the East. The weather remains settled for most of the week ahead but next weekend early signs are of winds switching southwest and increasing.
Deeper water venues which have good water clarity has seen decent catches of Herring made to Sabiki lures with fish showing mainly from Brighton Marina and Shoreham West Arm. The first reported Mackerel has shown from the Marina with odd fish also caught from inshore boats to lures.
Another species which with clearer water produces better catches are Plaice and again reasonable numbers of fish have shown from the usual venues including Seaford, Brighton, Hove and Shoreham. At some beaches when Plaice fishing, casting at distance can be an advantage for better results and baits to use include black lug or king rag. Bigger tides next weekend could see some good catches made but will be weather dependant with light winds and good clarity needed for ideal daytime conditions.
Other species of flatfish can be found locally with Dabs frequently caught mainly from East Sussex venues such as Pevensey, Eastbourne and Seaford and the occasional decent sized Sole has popped up locally. Flounders continue to show from most venues to worm baits and the local rivers and Kingston beach can offer some good Flounder fishing at times to baits such as Red Rag.
Not long left until the Bass ban is over but currently is still in place, so Bass are currently catch and release only, see accompanying picture for details. Catches have picked up in last week with inshore boats seeing plenty of fish to 3lb caught to lures and numbers of Schoolies should improve once the water warms up.
Thornback Rays are a frequent catch with the majority caught in darkness with Eastbourne, Seaford, Hove, Bognor and Pagham seeing mainly small fish with the occasional better sized Thornback reported. Again, the odd Undulate Ray have been caught although they remain scarce but those caught have been a decent size. April usually sees the arrival of Stingrays with venues from Climping to Pagham likely to see the first fish landed.
Dogfish are still being caught in numbers with most taken in darkness, but some venues have seen fish in the daytime whilst the water is coloured and a few small Smoothounds have been caught mainly from around Shoreham.
Other species that could feature in catches will include plenty of Rockling, Whiting, and odd Pout. A few early Mullet have been caught in the last fortnight and are regularly spotted in the rivers. Congers are seemingly present one week – gone the next and unpredictable although fishing big baits in darkness is best chance to catch one.
Garfish are a likely catch if the water is clear on the bigger tides with Worthing Pier worth targeting them and it won’t be too long before Squid and Cuttlefish move inshore. Black Bream is another species which should make an appearance soon.
Prime Angling 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.
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.
Good luck, Tight Lines!