West Sussex Fishing Report - 7th September 2025

Good evening, at present the fishing locally is producing some decent catches with many reports of Codling, some good Rays as well as Bass continuing to be caught of a decent size and despite it not being the greatest weather often the fishing is at is best once the sea is coloured, choppy and windy so why not get the rods out and give it a try. 

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 8th September: 00:00 (6.1m), 12:29 (6.3m)
• Tuesday 9th September: 00:40 (6.3m), 13:09 (6.4m)
• Wednesday 10th September: 01:21 (6.4m) 13:48 (6.5m)
• Thursday 11th September: 02:02 (6.3m), 14:29 (6.4m)
• Friday 12th September:  02:44 (6.2m), 15:09 (6.2m)
• Saturday 13th September: 03:29 (5.9m), 15:53 (5.8m)

The weather during the past week has been mixed with wind and rain to start the week with the weekend seeing more sunshine although the winds have remained brisk. The sea has been choppy and coloured, and some venues have been hampered by stringy weed whereas some tides are seemingly weed free. Next week the weather remains like this weekend and with big tides the water could start clearing out especially at the deeper water venues. 

Again, Conditions have been ideal for targeting Codling locally and good numbers of fish have been caught throughout the region and fish have shown in both the day and at night when the water has been coloured.  Worthing Pier has produced a few fish up to 5lb and benefits in being fishable when local beaches possibly aren’t. Baits to use when targeting Codling include blacks, lugworm and squid although they will take almost anything with fish caught to white rag and mackerel in a recent pier match. 

Undulate Ray catches are now more regular, and some have been caught from the Pier again in a recent match with the biggest fish being a double. Undulates tend to be more frequently caught from Shoreham through to Selsey with Pagham and Bognor notable venues which often produce fish. Thornbacks although mostly small are possible with fish often caught from Shoreham, Hove, Bognor, Seaford and Eastbourne. 

Dogfish have returned in numbers with plenty of fish caught both during the day and at night whilst the water is coloured. There is an outside possibility of catching a Bull Huss at this time of year and often found in amongst the Dogfish shoals. Some small Smoothounds are still being caught with the odd fish reaching 4lb although majority are less than 1lb. Some jumbo-sized Pouts have been caught, and it will not be long till Whiting start to move in. There has lots of straps caught in darkness with average fish only about 2 or 3lb but again Brighton Marina east arm is seeing larger fish to almost 20lb caught.

Shoreham west arm continues to see some good-sized Bass caught and the Marina is also likely to see a good run of fish in the next few weeks. Bass can show throughout the region and depending on the venue low tiding or fishing the surf and shallow water can often produce better results than fishing over high tide. Schoolies should be caught to worm baits and often live baiting can account for some of the bigger specimens caught each year. Lure fishing can be worthwhile dependant on water clarity. 

After nearly a fortnight of winds, choppy seas and coloured water a lot of the usual summer species have not shown but likely return once the sea settles and water clarity improves. Deeper water venues will see the water clear quickest and once this happens species such as Mackerel, Gurnards, Mullet, Black Bream, Scads, Red Mullet etc likely to be caught. Lots of Golden Grey Mullet were caught this weekend at Tide Mills, Newhaven to red rag baits. 

Some better sized Plaice could return inshore within the next month or so judging by catches in recent years and Shoreham Harbour and Brighton Marina are the venues where they will show if they do. Sole have occasionally been caught during the day when the water is dirty with the east arm at the marina a venue which can be worth targeting them from. Flounders will show randomly, and it won’t be too long before the odd Dab returns. 

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.