United Kingdom, South Coast Fishing Report Today

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your South Coast fishing report.

Along the English Channel tonight we’ve got a fairly settled run of weather. Light to moderate westerlies easing through the night, sea state generally slight to a low chop in the open stretches, with air temps hovering in the mid-teens Celsius. Skies are broken cloud with the odd clear spell, so you’ll get some decent stars between patches of overcast. Sunrise along the South Coast is roughly just after 4:40 in the morning, with sunset just before 9:20 in the evening, give or take a few minutes depending where you are between Dorset and Kent.

Tides on this cycle are around the mid‑range, not full springs but with enough movement to get things feeding on the flood and early ebb. That first push of the flood after low water is where most of the action has been, especially around harbour mouths and rough ground. Slack water has been predictably quiet except for the odd dogfish and pout picking at static baits.

Bass have been the main talking point all week. Plenty of schoolies with the odd better fish into the 5–7 lb bracket reported from surf beaches and rocky headlands. Peeler crab and fresh lug have done the damage for bait anglers, with surface and shallow‑running hard plastics working well at first light. A simple white or sandeel‑pattern soft plastic on a light jig head has been deadly over the rough stuff when the tide eases.

Mackerel shoals are patchy but when they show, they’re thick. Anglers feathering from piers and breakwaters have been finding small flurries rather than all‑day sport, so be ready to move. Standard day‑glo feathers, sabikis and small metal jigs in the 20–40 g range are all producing. Mixed in with the mackerel are scad and the odd garfish, especially around dusk under the pier lights.

On the cleaner ground, rays are still about. Small‑eyed and thornbacks have been taken on sandeel and bluey cocktail baits fished at range. Night tides have been best, with bites often bunched into short, busy spells an hour either side of the top of the tide. Dogfish remain ever‑present, so bring plenty of bait if you’re fishing static from the beach.

Wrasse are very active along the rockier marks and harbour walls. Ragworm is still the top natural bait, but soft plastic creature baits and small paddle tails fished Texas‑rig style are producing some cracking fish for lure anglers tight into the kelp and boulder fields.

If you’re looking for a couple of current hot spots, keep an eye on:

• The Brighton to Shoreham stretch: bass on the early flood, mackerel and scad from the piers when the shoals push in, plus the odd ray for the bait soakers after dark.

• The Portland to Chesil section: classic surf‑bass conditions when there’s a bit of lift on the water, along with mixed bags of mackerel, plaice and rays from the shingle where the tide runs hardest.

Best all‑round lure choices right now: white or natural sandeel‑style soft plastics, small silver metals, and a couple of surface walkers for those calm dawn sessions. For bait, you can’t go wrong with fresh lug, rag, peeler crab if you can get it, and a few packs of sandeel or mackerel strip for rays and general scratching.

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Artificial Lure here with your South Coast fishing report.

On the English Channel today the barometer’s steady and the weather’s fairly settled: light to moderate westerlies, cooler air pushing through after recent warmth, with a mix of cloud and brighter spells. Along much of the Dorset and Hampshire stretch you’re looking at 12–16°C through the morning, nudging up later with clearer skies and a bit of chop on open beaches. Further east towards Sussex and Kent, winds ease slightly but there’s still just enough ripple to keep predators hunting close in.

Sunrise came early over the Solent around twenty past four, with sunset heading for just after nine this evening, giving a decent window for low‑light sessions at dawn and dusk. Those shoulder hours are fishing best: the water’s come alive then, especially on the flooding tide.

Tides along the South Coast are on a decent mid‑range cycle right now, neither tiny nor spring‑big, which suits lure work. Around Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight you’ve got strong but manageable flow over the banks and reefs; in Lyme Bay and around Portland Bill that tide races hard over structure, kicking baitfish up into the water column. Plan to fish the last two hours of the flood and first of the ebb for most inshore marks, and the very top of the tide inside harbours and estuaries.

Bass activity has picked up nicely. Local charter skippers from Chichester and Hayling report schoolies in good numbers with the odd 4–6lb fish off rough ground and surf beaches. Shore lads on the Brighton and Seaford stretches have been picking bass from the shingle in the evening surf, mostly on lures. Pollack and wrasse are showing on the Dorset rock marks, particularly around Portland and the Purbeck coast, with mackerel shoals starting to push tight in whenever the light drops and the tide runs.

Recent catches have been mixed but encouraging: plenty of school bass, mackerel in ones and twos from piers and headlands, some tidy wrasse to 3lb on the rough stuff, and a few rays and smoothhounds for those soaking baits on the sandier Hampshire and Sussex beaches. Inside the harbours, school bass and flounder are keeping light‑tackle anglers busy.

For lures, keep it simple. Slim white or olive **soft plastics** on a light jig head are doing damage for bass around structure and current seams. Smaller **surface walkers** and **pencils** are working at dawn over shallow reefs and surf tables; when the sun gets up, switch to **sub‑surface minnows** or paddletails. Pollack and wrasse are taking **weedless soft plastics** in darker colours bounced close to the rocks. For mackerel, small **metal jigs** or **feathers** still rule – cast long, let them sink, and work them back through the water.

If you’re bait‑fishing, fresh **ragworm and lugworm** are top for bass, flatties, and general scratching on the beaches and harbour walls. **Peeler crab** is dynamite for better bass and smoothhounds where you can get it. A strip of fresh **mackerel** or **sandeel** on a simple running ledger will pick up rays and hounds over clean ground, and will still tempt a passing bass.

A couple of hot spots to think about:

- The **Solent and surrounding marks** – places like Hayling, Hill Head, and the deeper channels off Gilkicker – are fishing well for school bass, rays, and hounds on the making tide, with good lure sport over the rough patches and along the harbour mouths.

- The **Portland and Purbeck coast** in Dorset – working lures around the rock ledges and tide runs is turning up bass, wrasse, and pollack, especially where the tide funnels hard over broken ground.

Fish safely, watch that swell on exposed rock marks, and keep an eye on the tide behind you.

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Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your South Coast fishing report for tonight.

We’ve got small neaps running along much of the south shore. Around Portsmouth and the Solent, the last of the flood has been pushing through late evening with a gentler ebb after dark, making it easier to present baits cleanly in the tide runs. Over toward Brighton and Newhaven, that softer tide is lining up nicely with the low just after dark, giving good windows for bass tight in on the shingle edges and around pier structures.

Weather along the Channel has been settled, with light to moderate south‑westerlies and a lingering swell under half a metre on the more sheltered stretches. Skies have been partly cloudy, good visibility, and barometric pressure holding fairly steady – all in all, classic summer conditions. Sunrise has been early, just after four‑thirty, and sunset well after nine, so you’re working with long crepuscular periods – ideal for lure work at first and last light.

Water clarity has improved since the last blow; where the wind has stayed under the headlands, the sea’s gone a nice green‑brown rather than chocolate. That’s switched the fish back on. Charter skippers out of Brighton Marina and Eastbourne have reported steady catches of bream on the inshore rough ground, with mixed plaice and dabs on the cleaner patches. Weymouth and Poole boats have been into plenty of mackerel and scad on feathers just offshore, with a few summer tope showing to those soaking bigger baits over the banks.

Inshore, shore anglers around Hayling, Langstone, and the Chichester Harbour entrances have seen a decent run of schoolie bass with the odd better fish nudging 6–7 lb. Folk drifting or wading with weedless paddletails and white or sandeel‑pattern soft plastics have done well over the last of the flood and first of the ebb. Night tides have produced smoothhounds from Brighton westward through Shoreham and down to Selsey, particularly where crab bait is getting well presented in the gutter channels.

Best baits right now: peeler crab is king for hounds and better bass, with fresh lug and rag doing the damage for flats and general scratching. Frozen mackerel strip is picking up rays and the odd dogfish on the mixed ground. On the lure side, slim metal jigs and small surface walkers at dawn and dusk are deadly around bait showers, while 4–5 inch soft shads in natural or olive backs are working along rock arms and groynes.

Couple of hot spots to put on the list:

First, the stretch between Brighton Marina and Rottingdean – fish the flooding tide at dawn for bass on lures in the first surf line, then switch to bait for bream and plaice as the sun climbs.

Second, the entrance channels around Hayling Island and the outer reaches of Chichester Harbour – work the turns of the tide with soft plastics for bass, then drop fresh crab baits into the deeper runs after dark for smoothhounds.

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Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your South Coast fishing report.

Down the Channel today we’ve got a fairly settled early‑summer pattern: light to moderate south‑westerlies, generally 8–14 knots, with broken cloud and clear spells. Air temps are sitting in the mid‑teens, feeling cooler on the breeze. Most inshore marks have a slight chop but plenty of clean water between Portland and Beachy Head. High pressure close by is keeping things steady, so nothing too lumpy unless you’re well offshore.

Along much of the South Coast, sunrise is just after 4:50 a.m., sunset around 9:15 p.m. That gives a long low‑light window, and it’s been the key. Most of the better bags have come first light through mid‑flood, then again into dusk on the ebb.

Tides on the Channel side are running neaps to middling, so not raging, but enough push to set up nice current lines around headlands, pier piles, and reef edges. The softer tide has helped the lure anglers: more time in the strike zone and less lead needed. Bass and pollack have pushed right in tight where there’s bait pinned against structure.

Speaking of fish activity, bass are the main story from Poole across to Selsey and on toward Brighton. Plenty of schoolies with a sprinkling of 4–6 lb fish, and the odd better one if you put the hours in. Shore lads on the open beaches are seeing flurries of fish rather than all‑day action, usually around the top of the flood in that first hour of daylight. Gurnard, dogs, and the odd ray are making up the numbers for bait anglers on the sandbanks and into Lyme Bay. Off the stones and rough ground you’ve got wrasse waking up properly now, with good sport on light gear in clear water.

Offshore charter boats out of Weymouth, Brighton, and Eastbourne have been into mixed bags: pollack on the wrecks, a few codling still hanging about, plus ling and plenty of pouting. Some nice turbot and brill reported from the banks off Dorset, but you’ve got to commit a full day and be ready to move around.

Lure choice: early and late, small **paddle‑tail shads** in natural baitfish patterns and slim **metal jigs** have been killing it on the bass and pollack. White, silver, and sand‑eel greens are the go‑to colours. For surface action on calm patches, walk‑the‑dog style topwaters and small poppers are turning follows into takes, especially over shallow reefs and around estuary mouths. When they get fussy, switching to a **weightless soft plastic** or a lightly‑weighted weedless sand‑eel has saved the blank more than once.

If you’re soaking bait, the classics are still doing the business. For bass, **fresh peeler crab**, whole or flapper mackerel, and big lug or rag cocktail baits have all produced fish. For rays and hounds, crab and squid on a pulley rig, fished just beyond the first rough, are worth a chuck once the light drops. Wrasse are all over hardback crabs and big ragworm right in under the rocks.

A couple of hot spots to think about:

• **Chesil Beach, Dorset** – Especially the Portland end on a flooding tide at dawn. Bass, mackerel starting to show, plus the usual dogs and rays. Lure anglers working close in, just beyond the first breaker, have been doing well with small shads.

• **Brighton Marina walls, East Sussex** – Great for mixed bags and a real favourite with locals. Pollack and bass on lures tight to the structure, plus bream and wrasse on bait around the rough patches. Handy access, but gets busy, so mind your casting etiquette.

Closer inshore, any rough ground with a bit of tide – ledges near Selsey Bill, reefy patches off Bournemouth and Swanage, or the rockier corners around Newhaven and Seaford – will reward a stealthy approach and light gear. Fish the change of light, keep mobile, and match the hatch: small baitfish and sandeels are the main menu, so keep your lures slim and subtle.

That’s it from me, Artificial Lure, for this South Coast session. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.

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Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your South Coast fishing report.

Down along the English Channel it’s been a fairly settled spell: light to moderate westerlies, seas slight to moderate, and a mostly dry, bright pattern between passing cloud bands. Air temps are sitting mid‑teens by day, cooler at night. Sunrise on the South Coast is around twenty‑to‑five past four in the morning, with sunset not long after nine‑twenty in the evening, giving you a long, workable window at first and last light.

The tide today is running on a decent set of springs. Around Portsmouth and the Solent, high water falls early morning with the next high late afternoon; similar timing along to Brighton and Eastbourne, shifting slightly as you move west towards Poole and Weymouth. Overfalls on the ebb have been lively, but the slack around the top of the flood has produced the best bites for many.

Bass have been the headline. Plenty of schoolies with the odd better fish to 5–6 lb reported from surf beaches and rock marks between Selsey and Brighton, as well as around structure in the Solent and Poole Harbour. The bait boys have done well on fresh lugworm, rag, and peeler crab, with mackerel or squid strips picking out the slightly larger fish. Lure anglers are finding success on white or sandeel‑pattern soft plastics, 20–30 g metals, and shallow‑diving minnows worked just as the light goes.

Speaking of mackerel, the shoals have been pushing in and out with the clearer water. Piers at Brighton, Worthing, and Bournemouth have seen flurries of fish on small feathers and sabikis, mostly at first light and on the flooding tide. A few scad mixed in after dark. Where the baitfish are thickest, gannet and tern activity has been a good giveaway, and bass have been under them.

Further offshore and on the deeper rough ground, boats out of Weymouth, Poole, and Brighton have been getting a mix of codling, pollack, smoothhound, and rays. Smoothhounds have shown well in the eastern Solent and off Sussex banks on crab baits, with fish well into double figures. Thornback rays are taking sandeel and bluey on clean sand patches. Plaice remain on the banks, though they’re a bit fussy in the brighter part of the day; small beads and spoons above lug or rag baits are still worth a go.

For lure choice, if you’re targeting bass from the shore, have a couple of 5–6 inch sandeel‑style soft plastics in natural and olive, a small white surface walker for those calm dawns, and a few 20–30 g silver or green metals for covering water from piers and rock marks. Bait anglers should stick with the classics: fresh lug and rag on two‑hook flappers for general surf work, and peeler crab or squid wraps when you’re sorting out the better fish or rays.

Two hotspots to consider:

First, the Selsey to Pagham stretch. The mix of shingle, sand bars, and tide run has produced bass, smoothhound, and rays on evening floods, especially where the banks form gutters close in. Fish your baits just behind the breakers, and keep mobile until you find feeding fish.

Second, the Brighton area – both the marina walls and nearby beaches. The marina has turned up bass, mackerel, and the odd bream and wrasse on small baits and lures, while the open beaches east and west have given schoolie bass and the occasional better fish at dusk and dawn.

That’s your South Coast round‑up from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Good evening, this is **Artificial Lure** with your South Coast fishing report for the United Kingdom.

For tonight’s session, the **tide** is the big player along the South Coast: wherever the flood is pushing bait tight to the tide lines, that’s where you want your casts. On a working tide, the best action is usually the last of the ebb into the first of the flood, with gull activity and nervous baitfish telling the story before the rod does.

The **weather** is typical early-summer South Coast fare: a decent evening often means light winds, a settled sea state, and enough cloud cover to keep the water from getting too bright. That kind of low-light window can be ideal for dawn and dusk, especially around rough ground, harbour mouths, and any patch where the current pinches through.

For **sunrise and sunset**, you’ll want to focus on the first light bite and the last half-hour before dark. Those edges of the day are prime time for bass, pollack, and mackerel when they’re in feeding mode, and they’re often the difference between a quiet cast and a bent rod.

Recent local signs point to **bass** being the headline species, with **mackerel** showing on the hunt and the odd **pollack**, **wrasse**, and **schoolie cod** possible in the right water. When the bait is thick, bass will often shadow it close in, and mackerel can suddenly tear through a mark with little warning. A good evening session can produce a handful of fish rather than big numbers, but the right tide window can stack the odds.

For **lures**, I’d keep it simple and local: a white or sand-eel style soft plastic, a slim metal lure for mackerel, and a shallow-diving hard lure if you’re covering weed edges or points. If the water’s coloured, go a bit brighter; if it’s clear, natural baitfish tones usually win. A slow, steady retrieve with the occasional twitch is often enough when bass are tracking prey in the surf.

For **bait**, nothing beats fresh local offerings. **Lugworm** is still a classic for bass and flatfish, **mackerel strip** is deadly for scent, and **ragworm** can save the day when fish are finicky. If you’re fishing mixed ground, a baited pennell rig with a well-presented strip bait can be the most consistent option.

A couple of **hot spots** worth checking are the **outer harbour mouths** where the tide funnels bait, and the **rocky points or shingle fringes** where deeper water sits close to shore. South-facing beaches with nearby gullies can also produce well on the turn of the tide, especially if there’s bird activity or bait flicking on the surface.

If you’re out tonight, work the tide, watch the birds, and keep moving until you find life. Thank you for tuning in, and please **subscribe** for more local fishing reports.

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Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in from the South Coast with your evening fishing rundown.

On the Channel side it’s been a classic early‑summer pattern: light to moderate south‑westerlies, generally settled, with air temps hovering in the mid‑teens Celsius along most of Dorset, Hampshire and West Sussex. Cloud has been in and out, but enough clear breaks to keep the water just coloured rather than chocolate. The inshore sea temp is sitting around 14–16°C, which has really switched the summer species on.

Tides along the central South Coast are on decent springs right now, with a good push either side of the middle of the day and again late evening. Over high water, the harbours and estuary mouths have been livelier, while the bigger surf species have preferred the last of the flood and first of the ebb into darkness. Low water has fished slower on the open beaches unless you’re tight to the features.

Sunrise has been very early, with first light creeping in before most alarms go off, and sunset late enough to give you a solid evening session straight after work. Dawn and dusk have easily been the top feeding windows, especially the hour either side of them.

Bass reports have been strong all week from Brighton west through Selsey, Hayling, the Solent marks and into Dorset. Plenty of schoolies with enough fish in the 3–6 lb bracket to keep things interesting. Most of the better fish have come to **surface lures and shallow divers** worked over reefy ground and along shingle drop‑offs at first light, plus **paddle‑tail soft plastics** drifted through the tide at estuary mouths after dark. For bait anglers, **fresh lugworm, ragworm, and peeler crab** have been the standouts, with mackerel or squid strip picking up bonus fish.

Bream are well in over the inshore rough ground and around the reef marks off Sussex and the Isle of Wight. Small **black or two‑hook paternosters** baited with **squid strips or small bits of prawn** have found good numbers, with the odd better specimen mixed in. Plaice and dabs are still turning up over the banks off Hayling and along the sandier stretches towards Bracklesham on **blinged flatfish rigs with rag or lug**.

Mackerel shoals have been patchy but improving. When they’ve pushed within range, standard **silver feathers, small Sabiki rigs, and 20–40 g metals** have filled a bucket fast, especially on the flooding tide into the evening. Keep an eye on working birds; when they bunch up tight, you’re in with a shout.

For those fishing lures from shore, top producers right now:

- **Topwater walkers and poppers** for bass over shallow reef and rough ground.

- **White, pearl, or sandeel‑coloured soft plastics** on light jig heads or weedless hooks for working channels and gulleys.

- **Slim metal jigs** when the mackerel show or for prospecting deeper rock marks.

Baitwise, if you’re only bringing a small selection, I’d pack **lug, rag, and fresh mackerel**. Add peeler crab if you can get it; it’s been deadly on better bass and wrasse.

Couple of current hotspots to put on your list:

- **Chesil Beach**: schoolie bass, mackerel when they move in, plus a mix of bream and rays after dark on fish and squid baits.

- **Selsey to Bracklesham stretch**: bass on both bait and lures along the shingle and into the surf, with bream and the odd smoothhound showing on crab.

That’s the South Coast picture for tonight from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.

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Name’s Artificial Lure here, checking in with your South Coast fishing round‑up.

Along the English Channel today the weather’s fairly typical changeable summer stuff: light to moderate south‑westerlies across much of Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex, easing a bit by late afternoon, with broken cloud, good visibility and only the odd shower threat further west. Air temps are mild, creeping into the high teens on the coast. Barometer’s fairly steady, which usually keeps things ticking over rather than explosive, but the breeze will put a bit of life on the water that bass anglers like.

Tides along the central South Coast are on medium springs. Expect a decent push on the flood, particularly around headlands and harbour mouths. First light has been coming just after 4:30 in the morning, with sunrise not long after; sunset is just after 9 in the evening, and you’ve got that nice extended gloaming that so often produces the better fish. Aim for the hour either side of high water at dawn or dusk if you can swing it.

Inshore, bass have been the main story. Anglers from Poole Bay through the Solent and along to Selsey have been finding schoolies in numbers, with the odd better fish into the mid‑50s centimetres. There have also been reports of mackerel shoals close in on the clearer days, along with scad and a few garfish, which is always a good sign of life. On the rougher mixed ground, dogfish and pout are ever‑present, with a sprinkling of small rays and the odd huss for those soaking bigger baits.

Lure work is doing the business for bass. Slim soft plastics in natural baitfish colours, 4–6 inches, fished weightless or on light jig heads, have been consistent around shallow reefs and rock fringes. Topwaters and small subsurface stickbaits are worth a go in the chop when the wind puts a bit of fizz on the surface. If you’re bait fishing, peeler crab is still king on many marks, with ragworm and fresh mackerel strips taking plenty of fish. For rays and huss, step up to squid or mackerel cocktail on a strong pulley rig.

Water clarity has been a bit hit and miss depending on how exposed your mark is. The more sheltered Solent marks and the lee sides of headlands are holding the clearer water; that’s where the lures are really shining. Where it colours up, switch to darker or more solid silhouettes, or revert to crab and worm baits.

Couple of hot spots to consider: first, the area around Selsey Bill and the adjacent beaches. The tide run here is strong, but the banks and gullies throw up bass, smoothhounds and rays when you time it right, especially on the flooding tide into dusk. Second, the reefy ground and ledges around Portland and the approaches to Weymouth Bay, where early‑morning lure sessions have produced bass and wrasse, with mackerel shoals pushing bait tight to shore when the light’s low.

Harbour walls at Portsmouth, Langstone and Poole are also worth a roam with a light lure rod in the evenings for schoolie bass, pollack and mackerel. Keep mobile, cover water, and match the hatch – small baitfish patterns when you see fry dimpling, or a simple metal spoon if you’re prospecting.

That’s your South Coast fix from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.

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Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your South Coast fishing report.

Down along the English Channel it’s been a settled, early‑summer pattern: light to moderate westerlies, a bit more breeze in the afternoon, and generally good visibility. Air temps are sitting mid‑teens to low‑20s, with only the odd shower sliding through. Sunrise is around ten past four in the morning, with sunset just before nine thirty in the evening, giving a long, fishable day with proper low‑light windows at dawn and dusk.

Tides along the central South Coast are running on a decent set of springs right now, with lively flows through the main channels and around headlands. Expect strong pushes on the flood over sandbanks and into the harbours, easing back nicely towards the top. The bigger water has really kicked the inshore life into gear.

Bass fishing has picked up well. Shore lads have been finding schoolies with the odd better fish off shingle marks and reefy ground, especially on the flooding tide into darkness. Small metal lures, white or sandeel‑pattern soft plastics, and surface walkers at first light are all doing damage. Where there’s bait—sandeels, sprats, or whitebait—you’re in with a shout.

On the bait front, ragworm and lug tipped with a sliver of squid are working for mixed bags from the beaches: pout, dogfish, small smoothhounds and the occasional better ray. Peeler crab, if you can get it, is still the top offering for smoothhounds and a decent bass close in. After dark, whole squid or bluey on a pulley rig chucked just beyond the first gully has turned up a few thornies and small conger.

From the boats, inshore wrecks and rough ground are producing codling, pollack and more bass on shads, pirks and sidewinder‑style lures worked mid‑water. Feathering for mackerel is starting to become more consistent; when you find them, you’ll often see garfish and scad mixed in, which is always a good sign for predator action.

A couple of hotspots to keep an eye on:

• Around the Needles and the adjacent banks: fast tide runs, plenty of structure, and good reports of bass and pollack on lures, plus rays on the sandier edges with fish baits.

• The stretch from Shoreham through Brighton and on towards Peacehaven: mixed rough ground and gullies that have been turning up bass, rays, and summer species on both worm and fish baits, especially on the evening flood.

Harbour mouths and channel entrances—Portsmouth, Langstone, Chichester—are also worth a go at first light with small soft plastics for schoolie bass riding the tide.

Keep rigs simple, match lure size to the baitfish you’re seeing, and time your sessions around that first push of the flood or the last of the ebb. That’s when most of the better bites have been coming.

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I’m Artificial Lure, checking in with your South Coast fishing report.

We’ll start with conditions. Along the Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex stretch, we’re sitting under a light south‑westerly air flow tonight rolling into a fairly settled morning, with patchy cloud and a bit of haze along the water. Daytime highs are hovering mid‑teens to just over 18°C in the afternoon, with a gentle onshore breeze, stronger around exposed headlands. Barometer is steady, which usually keeps the fish on a predictable pattern. Overnight temps are cool enough that a light jacket on the pier won’t go amiss.

Sunrise on the Channel coast is around ten to five in the morning, with sunset just before nine thirty in the evening, giving a long, workable tide window either side of dawn and dusk. Low light remains the prime time; you’ll notice the bass and mackerel pushing bait tight in against structure when the light’s off the water.

Tides are on a mid‑range set, neither big springs nor tiny neaps, so current is useful without being brutal. Expect a decent flood through the morning, making the first couple of hours of the incoming and the first of the ebb the pick for lure work from shore. Rock marks and harbour mouths will see a nice push of water – perfect for working baits naturally with the flow.

Recently, reports up and down the South Coast have been consistent. Schoolie and mid‑size bass are showing off the surf beaches from Bournemouth across to Christchurch, with the odd better fish nudging the 6–7 lb mark. The piers at Brighton, Worthing and South Parade have seen steady mackerel on small metals and feathers when the shoals push in, plus a mix of scad and herring after dark. Bream numbers are building on the inshore reefs off Selsey, the Isle of Wight side banks, and Portland direction, with anglers picking up bags of plate‑size fish on small baits. Smoothhounds are moving for crab along the shingle of Hayling and Pagham, with a fair few double‑figure fish reported on evening tides. Plaice and the odd sole continue to come from the cleaner sand patches out of Langstone and Chichester harbours.

Lure choice: for bass, keep it simple. Slim white or sandeel‑coloured soft plastics on 7–14 g jig heads, or weightless weedless setups over rough ground. Surface lures – small pencil poppers and walk‑the‑dog styles – are worth a go at first light over shallow surf or reef. For mackerel and scad from piers, 15–30 g silver or chrome metals and standard feather rigs in mackerel or blue patterns will do the job; just match the size to the bait you see flicking. Around rock marks, small 7–10 cm shads in natural baitfish colours will pick up pollack, wrasse and bonus bass.

Best bait right now: fresh or frozen peeler crab is top ticket for smoothhound and better bass. Ragworm and lugworm are still the staple for plaice, bream and general scratching rigs on the sand. For bream over rougher ground, strips of squid or small sections of prawn presented on size 4–6 hooks are producing tidy bags. Mackerel strip remains a reliable all‑rounder for rays and bigger predators on heavier gear.

Couple of hotspots to consider:

First, the Christchurch and Hengistbury stretch – work the groynes and harbour mouth on the flooding tide at dawn with soft plastics for bass, and you’ve got a real shout at a better fish if the bait is present.

Second, the Selsey to Bracklesham shingle and banks – ideal for evening sessions targeting smoothhound on crab, with bream and rays as welcome by‑catch if you spread your baits at different ranges.

Tactically, keep mobile. If you’re not seeing life – no birds, no fry, no follows – move marks rather than grinding it out. Scale down leaders in clear water, and fish as light as the conditions allow; the South Coast fish see plenty of gear, so a bit of finesse goes a long way.

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