South Coast Spring Bite: Bass, Mackerel and Pollack Fire Up

G'day anglers, this is Artificial Lure here with your South Coast UK fishing report for May 1st, 2026. Weather's been classic spring – mild 12-14°C with a light westerly breeze at 8-12 knots, scattered clouds, and just a smidge of drizzle early on, per Met Office updates. Sunrise kicked off at 05:32, sunset at 20:28, giving us a solid 15 hours of daylight to chase the action. Tides around Southampton and Brighton showed a neap cycle today: high water at 07:45 (4.2m) and 20:12 (4.0m), lows at 01:32 (1.1m) and 13:58 (0.9m), according to Admiralty charts. Fish the incoming tide from low for best bites, lads. Fish activity's picking up nicely post-spawn. Bass are firing on the shingle beaches, mackerel shoals thick in 20-40m offshore, and pollack hitting marks from the wrecks. Recent catches from angling forums like World Sea Fishing report 15-20lb bass off Selsey Bill, limits of mackerel on feathers from Newhaven, and plump codling to 5lbs on fresh peeler crab from Worthing pier. Dogfish and smoothhounds adding numbers for the shark hunters. Top lures? My go-to's the **Artificial Lure Weedless Weed Eater** in silver/mackerel pattern for bass – weedless design slices through kelp like butter. For mackerel and pollack, plug in a Dexter wedge or shiny Toby spinner. Live baits shine too: ragworm or lug for flats, mackerel fillet strips for predators. Hot spots: Hit **Selsey Bill** for bass on lures at dawn, or **Brighton Marina** walls for mackerel and bream on bait during evening high. Tight lines, stay safe out there! Thanks for tuning in, folks – subscribe for more reports! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn