Brighton Inshore Fishing - Catch report 13th April 2026

Two sailings today, and further observations of change...

Out with me for first sailing, David, Ted and Matt. The change was obvious from the first moment my transponder touched the water as BIF1 backed off her dry dock. Fish food. Lots of it. Various types as well, examining the shoals in detail on the HDS7live. Things have been hatching. Lots of things. Same story as we exited the marina... Bass food... everywhere... In fact, today it was rare to look down at the sounder, and not see bass food.

"Great." I hear your collective minds express this thought. "Bass food means bass". And yes, in most scenarios it does. But, there is a catch. I was happier last week. Last week, I had some rock worms breeding, over at that spot there. A few sprat were running, at that spot over there. And some baby sandeel are hatching, on that patch there. Everywhere else...? Not a lot happening. Now... Its happening everywhere. Instead of 3 spots highly likely to hold bass, everywhere is highly likely to hold bass. Or the bass will be dissipated, which is what I actually think is happening. Bottom line, despite bass food everywhere, bass landed was just 8 fish. Plus a tidy wrasse.

2nd sailing, and the same issues. Even worse really. I eventually settled for an obstruction in the tide, which worked to the point, giving us a total of just 4 bass. Not good when Mikhail has his father in law Anatoly to impress, and Sam and Nilesh have BBQ intentions. A very tough session, just the 4 bass and a pout. Lets hope as the tides get bigger, so much of this newly hatched stuff gets swept into tighter, bigger, collections of bass food. Far easier to work with bigger bait balls.