West Sussex Fishing Report - 19th May 2025

Report by David Lewis

Good evening, the fishing has certainly picked up lately with some very good catches made locally during the past week, as usual some venues are fishing a lot better than others and catches are often varied between fishing in daylight or darkness, but luckily there are plenty of species to target in Sussex so why not get out and give it a go. 

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 19th May: 03:49 (5.0m), 16:33 (5.0m)
• Tuesday 20th May: 04:52 (4.7m), 17:46 (4.9m)
• Wednesday 21st May: 06:13 (4.7m), 18:57 (4.9m)
• Thursday 22nd May: 07:26 (4.8m), 20:02 (5.2m)
• Friday 23rd May:  08:27 (5.1m), 20:58 (5.5m)
• Saturday 24th May: 09:22 (5.5m), 21:49 (5.8m)

The weather has again been very good with plenty of sunshine and light winds from the northeast. The sea has been calm and is very clear at most venues. Seaweed is increasing but easily fishable. Similar weather is forecast for most of next week although the weekend is predicted to see the winds switch and increase slightly from a south westerly direction. 

Smoothounds into double figures have been caught from venues such as Selsey, Pagham and Bognor mainly on the evening tides and some reasonable sized Hounds have been caught from Shoreham. Worthing Pier has also seen fish caught in club nights, so they are also a likely catch on nearby beaches again in darkness. Anglers targeting Hounds from Bracklesham or Selsey could get a bonus Tope.

Black Bream have been prolific and can be caught from most areas with Brighton Marina, Shoreham Beach and Selsey producing the most catch reports. Bream usually seems to be a good size at this time of year and most are sizable with majority around the pound mark. 

Very clear water lately has seen reasonable numbers of Bass caught on lures with dawn and dusk producing the better catches. Some venues fish better at different stages of the tide with Brighton and Shoreham seeing fish caught at high tides whereas Worthing and nearby beaches see fish caught mainly over low water. Schoolies are increasing in numbers to worm baits and live baiting can account for some better sized fish. 

Mackerel have shown from Brighton Marina east arm and Shoreham west arm mainly to feathers and still only a few Garfish appearing along with a few Herring and Smelt. 

Shoreham and Brighton continue to offer plenty of flatfish with Plaice around in good quantities plus there still are a few Dabs which usually would have moved off by now. The occasional Flounder has been caught to worm baits with areas such as Kingston Beach producing more regular catches with a few nice sized fish mainly to red rag. Sole catches should increase on the evening tides during the next few weeks again with Shoreham, Brighton and Eastbourne venues worth targeting them. Top Knots are a possible catch on the marina usually with LRF gear. 

Brighton Marina has seen some decent Congers caught from the east arm during the daytime and locally beaches have seen a few smaller straps caught at night. 

Evening tides this coming week at venues such as Hove, Bognor or Pagham should see some Rays showing with Thornbacks likely along with some Undulate Rays and venues from Ferring to Selsey could see a Stinger appear although there seems to be a lack of this species compared to previous years. 
There are plenty of other species to target locally which include Dogfish, Wrasse, Pollock, Gurnard, Red Mullet, Blennies, Bullheads, Pout as well as Mullet. 

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.