South Coast Spring: Bass Biting, Tides Firing, Light Hours Golden

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your South Coast fishing report. Along the Hampshire, Dorset and Sussex stretch it’s been a settled, early‑summer pattern: light to moderate south‑westerlies most of the day, easing in the evenings, with decent clarity inshore except where the wind’s pushed a bit of colour into the surf beaches. Daytime temps have been mild, cooling off nicely after sunset. Sunrise is around the very early hours, with sunset late evening, giving you long, workable dawn and dusk windows. Tides along the central Channel are on a steady set of springs: big pushes, plenty of run over the banks and reefy ground. Over most of the south coast you’re looking at mid‑morning and late‑evening highs, with lively flood tides giving the best bite. Slack water has been predictably quiet; the hour either side of the tide turning is where it’s at. Bass have woken up properly. Shore lads around Hayling, Selsey and Brighton’s rockier marks are reporting schoolies with the odd better fish up into the 5–6 lb bracket. The night tides have been the pick, especially where there’s a bit of surf and baitfish showing. Soft‑plastics in natural baitfish colours, small surface walkers at first light, and simple 3"–5" paddle tails on light jig heads have all been doing damage. For bait, peeler crab, fresh lug and whole sandeel are the stand‑outs. Plaice and dabs are still showing across the shingle and clean sand – think Christchurch Bay, Bracklesham and the wider Solent. Two‑ and three‑hook flappers baited with rag, lug and a bit of coloured bead are turning up mixed bags, mostly hand‑sized fish with the odd better plate‑sized plaice when the tide’s not tearing. Further offshore and on the deeper marks, charter skippers out of Poole, Lymington and Brighton have been finding smoothhounds, rays and the odd tope. Smoothies are really on the crabs now: whole peeler or hardbacks doing the trick. Thornbacks and small‑eyes are coming to fish baits – mackerel, squid and bluey. Where there’s proper tide, keep rigs simple: pulley pennels, strong hooks, nothing fancy. Speaking of mackerel, they’re starting to show in more consistent numbers. Piers and headlands like Brighton Marina, South Parade Pier and the outer harbour walls have seen small shoals push through on the bigger tides. Standard feathers, sabiki rigs or a small silver jig worked mid‑water are enough when they’re in. Lure anglers after wrasse and pollack have had joy around Portland, Swanage and the rough ground near Selsey. Weedless soft‑plastics, small metal jigs and slim minnow plugs worked tight to structure are the way to go. Expect plenty of smaller fish with the chance of a better wrasse if you fish close and patient. A couple of hot spots to put on your list right now: – The eastern side of **Selsey Bill**, fishing the flooding tide into darkness for bass and rays. – **Brighton Marina** walls, especially on a pushing evening tide, for mackerel, bass mooching under the wall, and mixed bottom species. In short, work the tides, favour low light, travel light with a mix of crab, worm and fish baits, and always have a small selection of naturallooking soft‑plastics and a topwater or two in the bag. The fish are there if you time it right. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for more local reports and tips. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn