West Sussex Catch Report - 4th October 2026
Report by David Lewis
Good evening, locally the fishing is still producing some very good Bass and presently there is a vast range of species which are regularly showing and the targets can differ considerably with daytime and nighttime producing different catches so there is a lot on offer for local anglers to try for and with some nice weather what better reason is there to get the rods out and give it a try.
Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:
- Monday 5th October: 07:04 (4.7m), 19:43 (4.7m)
- Tuesday 6th October: 08:32 (5.0m), 21:02 (5.0m)
- Wednesday 7th October: 09:38 (5.5m), 22:01 (5.5m)
- Thursday 8th October: 10:30 (5.9m), 22:48 (5.8m)
- Friday 9th October: 11:15 (6.1m), 23:29 (6.0m)
- Saturday 10th October: 11:53 (6.3m)
The weather during the weekend has seen plenty of warm sunshine and light winds causing the sea to be flat calm with good clarity.
Another week where there have been some superb Bass caught locally up to around 9lb with numerous decent sized fish landed and it’s at the time of year where some of the bigger Bass are likely to show and venues including Shoreham Harbour, Brighton Marina plus the local rivers are all worth targeting Bass for presently with majority of bigger fish caught to baits although lure fishing will produce a few fish where the clarity is good.
With light winds for the next few days and with high tides in darkness along with calm and clear water there could be some good catches of Squid taken on squid jigs from the Marina, Harbour and Pier along with deeper water beaches. The occasional Cuttlefish will also be taken on jigs.
Summer species are still showing in good numbers with Garfish, Mackerel, Scad and Shad about along with a variety of small bait fish which can vary from venues and in some cases will be caught to Sabikis. Garfish will be caught from the Pier, Harbour and Marina with Mackerel and Shad likely from the Marina and Harbour. Scad will be caught in darkness when the water is clear. Remember Shad are a protected species and must be returned.
Mullet can be caught from the beaches especially from Shoreham and Tide Mills with the best bait to use being red rag. A mixture of Goldies, Thin and Thick Lips are all possible catches locally from the Shore and Rivers.
The best of the local Ray fishing tends to occur during darkness with Thornback Rays catches increasing and there is always a chance of an Undulate Ray. Venues worth targeting them from include Eastbourne, Seaford, Hove, Shoreham, Bognor and Pagham.
There are still lots of very small Strap Congers being caught in darkness and most fish are below 1lb in weight. Brighton Marina has produced some very good fish in daytime tides from the East Arm and seems to the most reliable venue to target a proper Eel from recently. October and November often tend to see the larger Eels move inshore but at present most Eels are on the small side.
A few Codlings were caught last week with one coming from the Pier, one from the Marina and another from the beach. Evening tides this week could see more caught along with odd Whiting and Pout.
Black Bream are still being caught in good numbers with a mixture of sizes showing with many bigger fish caught during darkness. Gilt Head Bream are still randomly being caught too.
Other summer species including Red Mullet, Wrasse and Gurnards have featured in catches this week and at night the odd Dogfish, Silver Eel and small Hounds have been caught.
Anglers wishing to target flatties will find some reasonable Sole showing at night along with a few Plaice and Flounders with Shoreham through to Brighton the best areas to fish for them with worm baits.
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.
Good luck & Tight Lines!
