English Channel · England

Sussex

Long shingle and sand beaches, a few piers and chalk at Seaford. Spring plaice, summer smoothhound and sole, then autumn squid and codling. Black bream are a big draw from boats and harbour walls.

12 shore marks · Rules from Sussex IFCA, checked 18 October 2026

Stay safe on this coast

  • Tides. Know the time of high water and your way off before you go out. Marks that fish around high water or on the flood can cut you off.
  • Cut-offs. Sandbanks, causeways and headlands flood from behind. After storms, re-walk even a familiar beach in daylight.
  • Rock. Watch the sea for 10 minutes before you go down: big waves come in sets. Wet weed is like ice. Never fish rock alone in the dark.
  • Lifejacket. Wear a lifejacket (PFD) on rocks, piers and walls, with the crotch strap fastened.
  • Emergency. Call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard. Never go in after someone: call, and throw something that floats.

More in Rules and safety.

Rules

Rules in Sussex

Last checked 18 October 2026

Regulator: Sussex IFCA. Always check its own page before you keep a fish.

  • Bass: minimum size 42cm. Catch and release only from 1 February to 31 March. In January and from 1 April to 31 December you may keep 3 bass per angler per day. No bass may be taken with fixed or drift nets. These rules apply from the shore and from boats.
  • The Sussex IFCA Minimum Size (Fish, Crustacea and Mollusc) Byelaw 2021 applies to all fishers, recreational and commercial. Return any undersized fish to the water straight away.
  • The byelaw's species list and recreational factsheet are PDFs that could not be read for this check. Check them with Sussex IFCA before keeping anything but bass. The byelaw is reported to let some undersized bait fish be kept for live bait, so check which species before you do this.
  • Chichester Harbour is a bass nursery area. From 30 April to 1 November you must not fish for bass from a boat, or use sandeel bait from a boat for any species. Shore fishing is not covered.
  • Kingmere Marine Conservation Zone lies 5 to 10km south of Littlehampton and Worthing and protects black bream nesting grounds. Sussex IFCA has managed commercial and recreational fishing there since December 2016, now under Schedule 1 of its Marine Protected Areas Byelaw 2023, with an angling code of conduct. Check the schedule and code with Sussex IFCA before fishing it.
  • Hand gathering, including bait collecting: the Hand Gathering (Restrictions and Permitting) Byelaw 2021 sets bag limits for listed species, and you need a permit to take more. Extra rules apply in some protected sites. Check the limits with Sussex IFCA before digging or collecting bait.

Rules change, usually each spring. Where a rule says check locally, ask the regulator or harbour office before you fish.

Minimum sizes

Last checked 18 October 2026

Regulator: Sussex IFCA. Always check its own page before you keep a fish.

Minimum sizes
SpeciesLegal minimum
Bass42cm
Black bream23cm (check locally)
Other speciesCheck locally (Sussex IFCA byelaw)

Tip of the snout to the end of the tail. Use the strictest figure you know as your own minimum.

Rules change, usually each spring. Where a rule says check locally, ask the regulator or harbour office before you fish.

Headline fish

Late February to May

Plaice

Season

Seaford, Shoreham and Brighton after calm, clear days. Lug or rag with beads, dragged slowly.

Species guide: Plaice

Late May to August

Smoothhound

Season

Pevensey Bay and Selsey. Crab is best, with rag and squid as backup.

Species guide: Smoothhound

May to October

Sole

Season

At night from Pevensey Bay and Langney Point. Small hooks and fresh lug.

Species guide: Dover sole

October to December

Squid

Season

Brighton and Eastbourne on calm, clear nights near the full moon. Light rod, slow jig.

November to January

Codling

Season

Langney Point and other deep-water beaches. Big lug or lug and squid baits.

Species guide: Cod and codling

April to October

Black bream

Season

Mostly a boat fish, but harbour walls take some. Small hooks with squid strips.

Species guide: Black bream

Marks

The marks below are researched from public sources and local anglers' videos. We haven't fished them yet, so each is labelled Not yet visited by us. Drive times from your postcode are on the Marks page.

Local tips

At Pevensey Bay, small smoothhound show from late May and peak in July. Use crab, or rag tipped with squid if you have no crab.

Pevensey sole feed at night from late May. The best are in autumn at the deep end of the bay and Langney Point, on fresh local lug.

For bass on these beaches, a good bait at about 30 yards often beats a long cast.

Mackerel come close after a calm week of clear water. A still evening with high water around 7 or 8pm can push them to your feet.

Seaford plaice need four or five calm days to clear the water. If it is coloured you will mostly get dogfish. Drag a plain lead slowly.

Off Shoreham in spring, plaice sat around 100 yards out. If baits get nibbled with no hook-ups, go down a hook size and use a grip lead.

On Brighton beach, glow beads above lug caught spring plaice. When the grip lead went quiet on the ebb, a rolling lead found fish.

For Brighton squid, use a light rod, let the jig sink, flick it twice and wind slowly. Keep the line tight and the drag loose.

In our own words, cross-checked against local anglers. Rules always come from the regulator, not a video.

Crabbing on this coast: family spots, and the crab and lobster rules for every regulator, are on Crabbing. Squid: Eastbourne and Brighton, late September to December, with high confidence. See Squid and cuttlefish.

Local tackle and bait shops, charter boats and clubs: we're building these lists. Run one? Add it free.

Before you go

  • Tide times for the nearest port: EasyTide (UK Hydrographic Office).
  • Wind and sea state: Met Office inshore waters forecast.
  • Access to piers, harbours and ports changes. Check with the owner or harbour office before your first visit.

Sources