West Sussex Catch Report - 5th January 2026

Good evening, as usual for the time of year the fishing has been tough but there have still been a few interesting catch reports and there has been an increase in flatfish caught locally during the recent calmer conditions and with the weather predicted to change midweek onwards it should hopefully liven the fishing up so why not get out and try your luck. 

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 5th January: 00:16 (6.1m), 12:29 (6.1m)
• Tuesday 6th January: 01:07 (6.2m), 13:18 (6.0m)
• Wednesday 7th January: 01:53 (6.1m) 14:03 (5.8m)
• Thursday 8th January: 02:35 (5.9m), 14:46 (5.6m)
• Friday 9th January:  03:16 (5.7m), 15:30 (5.3m)
• Saturday 10th January: 03:58 (5.4m), 16:16 (5.0m)

The last week has been mainly cold with winds from the north, dry and even plenty of sunshine. Again, the sea has remained fairly calm and the water continues to clear. The cold weather persists into next week but from midweek the winds increase and switch to south westerlies, increasing temperatures and unsettled weather to finish the week off which should result in choppy and coloured seas.  

A species which seems to be more frequently caught at this time of year especially with the current weather conditions is Flounders and they have been showing mainly from the River Adur, but they have also been caught from the beaches and likelihood is they should also show from Shoreham Harbour and Worthing Pier. Making the effort to source baits such as red or white rag will improve your chances of catching greater numbers of fish but other worms such as lug, blacks, and king rag will also find fish and often pick out the larger fish.  

Often in mid to late January the first of the larger Plaice can move inshore to within casting distance dependant on sea conditions and venues where they are most likely to appear will include Seaford, Brighton, Hove and Shoreham. At present it is still probably too early although small Plaice are always a possibility. Dabs will and have been caught from East Sussex beaches such as Eastbourne and Pevensey mainly to black lug and numbers caught are rising steadily. 

Due to the calm seas the water clarity has been good and as expected Herring have shown, and a surprise catch was a small Sea Trout caught from Worthing Pier this weekend. Ideally fishing from a venue such as Marina, Harbour or Pier offers best chance to target Herring on sabiki lures along with the occasional Shad possible. 

The Conger fishing tends to slow down this time of year but there still has been the occasional big Eel landed with best just over 20lb. If the conditions change as predicted a few more Eels could be caught if its rough seas and coloured water. 

Whiting are still being caught with more fish showing in darkness or as well venues which have slight colour to the water in the daytime as well. Some nice Pouts have been caught with a few exceeding 30cm. 

Dogfish have mostly been caught in darkness, but they are likely to return once the weather turns and sea colours up again and will then show from most venues locally. 

Bass reports have certainly decreased due to the recent conditions although some decent fish are still being caught in the local rivers in the lower stretches and they should feature in catches again once conditions change. 

Very little to report regarding Rays but best place to target them as usual would be to fish Bognor, Aldwick or Pagham with the possibility of finding a Thornback or Undulate, whilst Thornbacks could appear from venues such as Eastbourne, Seaford and Hove. 

Once the water colours up and weather switches a few Rocklings are likely to be caught along with the odd Silver Eel. 

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. 

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.