West Sussex Catch Report - 8th February 2026

Report by David Lewis

Good evening, another week has passed where the bad weather has certainly effected the numbers of anglers wishing to venture out and in turn meaning less catch reports but those that have endured the wind and rain are still reporting plenty of fish, mostly small, but there are the occasional better fish in amongst them so why not get the rods out and give it a try. 

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 9th February: 03:46 (5.2m), 16:04 (4.7m)
• Tuesday 10th February: 04:30 (4.7m), 16:58 (4.3)
• Wednesday 11th February: 05:28 (4.3m) 18:15 (4.0m)
• Thursday 12th February: 06:56 (4.1m), 19:55 (4.1m)
• Friday 13th February:  08:20 (4.3m), 20:57 (4.5m)
• Saturday 14th February: 09:14 (4.7m), 21:45 (5.0m)

During the past week the weather has remained unsettled with plenty of rain and wind and next week’s forecast has little change with similar weather predicted. The sea remains coloured at most venues and with some of the smallest tides of the year coming up midweek there is little chance of the water clarity improving at present. 

Dogfish seem to be the most prolific species locally with reasonable numbers caught both at night and during the day from most venues with small fish baits accounting for plenty of fish. Whilst the weather remains the same with near constant onshore winds and coloured water expect the Dogfish to continue to be caught for the foreseeable future. 

Rockling have certainly moved inshore in numbers recently to worm baits and will be caught throughout the region and often are caught in slack water before the tide run when other species seem to move in and take over. 

Whiting although they are regularly being caught there definitely seems to be a noticeable decline in numbers caught compared to previous years. Fish are a mixture of sizes with some very small fish starting to show along with some good 30cm plus fish. Whiting can make good baits either dead or alive especially for species such as Congers or Bass. 

Anglers wishing to target flatfish should head eastwards with venues like Pevensey and Eastbourne offering the best chances with a mixture of flats including Plaice, Flounders and Dabs. Locally Brighton, Hove and Shoreham will all hold flatfish, but conditions lately have been far from ideal with generally choppy and coloured seas, although when conditions allow it has produced fish. The Flounder fishing in the local rivers is poor compared to recent winters but still should offer the odd fish at night to worm baits. Dabs will be more plentiful from East Sussex venues to black lug baits. A prolonged settled period with light winds and calm seas is needed to improve the water clarity for the Plaice season to kick off locally but yet conditions have not been ideal for any length of time. 

During the past week there seems to have been a few more sizable Bass appearing especially fishing baits such as fresh outs when the sea is choppy and coloured and fishing in shallow water when a surf is running has proved worthwhile. Please remember for all of February and March the Bass ban is in place and ALL BASS must be returned alive so at present it is catch and release only for Bass. 

There are plenty of other species featuring in catches including Pout, Conger and Silver Eels. Thornback Rays could appear from the usual spots such as Eastbourne, Hove and Bognor. 

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. 

Good luck & Tight Lines!