West Sussex Fishing Report - 27th of July 2025

Report by David Lewis

Good evening, despite the fishing not exactly being “at its best” lately there are still some good fish being reported and there is plenty of species showing locally so why not grab the rods and give it a try. 

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 28th July: 02:17 (5.9m), 14:46 (6.0m)
• Tuesday 29th July: 02:55 (5.7m), 15:22 (5.8m)
• Wednesday 30th July: 03:31 (5.5m) 15:56 (5.6m)
• Thursday 31st July: 04:06 (5.3m), 16:30 (5.4m)
• Friday 1st August:  04:45 (5.0m), 17:10 (5.1m)
• Saturday 2nd August: 05:29 (4.6m), 17:56 (4.7m)

The weather last week started off with brisk winds meaning the sea was choppy and slightly coloured, but midweek onwards very light winds and calm seas has meant the water has good clarity. Next week there is not much wind predicted so the water should remain clear for the foreseeable future. Seaweed is starting to disappear from some beaches but again the Ferring to East Preston area is still bad and probably best avoided over high tide. 

Black Bream are being caught in good numbers with some decent sized fish still showing from Brighton Marina and Shoreham Harbour plus plenty of smaller fish have been caught throughout the region. Gilt Head Bream have been appearing with the odd reasonable sized fish plus a few smaller ones. 

There has been increasing numbers of Bass caught lately in the 2 to 3lb range from most venues including the Pier, Harbour and Marina. Depending on the venue, the successful baits can vary dependant on the conditions and water clarity. Live baiting can account for some better sized fish whilst worms generally finds the Schoolies. Lure fishing can be worthwhile at dawn and dusk as the water is reasonably clear and low tiding at Worthing or Goring can often produce reasonable catches.

Best chance of catching flatfish is again mainly from venues from Shoreham through to Brighton with plenty of small Plaice, a few Flounders plus in darkness some Sole have been caught with worm baits seemingly the best baits.  

The rivers have produced a few Mullet to anglers putting the time and effort in targeting them and they can be frustrating at times with lots of fish viable but not always on the feed. Golden Grey Mullet can be caught to red rag baits from the beaches with Shoreham beach and Harbour probably the best places to try. Again, when the sea clarity is good and calm water often Mullet shoals can be spotted around structures such as Brighton Marina and Worthing Pier. 

Two weeks ago, there were huge shoals of Mackerel locally but since then very few have appeared. As usual Mackerels presence is often when the whitebait shoals build up inshore and if the whitebait isn’t there neither it seems are the Mackerel. Like Mackerel, the Scad shoals of two weeks ago also thinned out with just odd fish caught in darkness. August usually sees a few Garfish return around Shoreham and Worthing but even their numbers do seem down on previous years. 

A few Rays have been caught with the odd Undulate caught from Pier at the start of last week whilst it was windy and coloured, some small Thornbacks are also showing, and Stingrays are a possibility. In recent weeks when the water clarity has been good both Bass lure anglers and swimmers have seen small Stingrays in the shallows along Ferring and East Preston although unfortunately the beaches have been too weedy to target them over high water so perhaps low tiding could be successful. 

There has been mixture of sizes of Smoothounds caught within the last week with plenty of small fish along with a few in the 6-7lb region as well as the odd double. At this time of year Selsey and Bracklesham are the most reliable venues to produce a few Hounds plus there is always the chance of a bonus Tope. Eastbourne beaches have also seen a few Hounds caught within the past week.

Many Congers that are being caught lately seem to be on the very small side with most fish less than 2lb but there is always a chance especially fishing during darkness of the occasional better sized fish with the odd double possible. Brighton Marina is still the venue worth targeting them during daylight from the high numbers of the east arm. 

There has been an increase in numbers of Red Mullet within the last week and other species figuring in local catches include Wrasse, Gurnards, Dogfish, Pout and Silver Eels. As we enter August hopefully soon the first of the Codling should appear locally. 

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.