Best time to fish at West Pier
Today, Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · local time (GMT) · Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom Today, Wed, Oct 28 · GMT- High tides
- 12:11 pm
- Major periods
- 12:22–2:22 am and 12:54–2:54 pm
- Solunar activity
- High
- Sun
- 6:45 am–4:43 pm
Today, Wednesday, October 28, the best time to fish at West Pier is 6:10 am to 7:00 am, with the 6:05 am low tide, sunrise and some swell, though with rising pressure and moderate wind. It's a good day (7/10). The best day this week is Thursday, October 29, at 7/10.
Your day in West Pier at a glance
The strip runs from midnight to midnight, local time. Night in gray, daylight in yellow; the blue curve is the tide; below, the solunar periods and the best windows.
Fishing forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best times | High tides | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 7good day | 6:10–7:00 am12:00–12:50 am | ▲ 12:11 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Thu 29 | 7good day | 6:10–7:40 am6:10–7:00 pm | ▲ 12:35 am ▲ 12:53 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Fri 30 | 7good day | 6:30–7:40 am3:50–5:00 pm | ▲ 1:19 am ▲ 1:37 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Sat 31 | 6average day | 4:00–5:10 pm8:30–9:30 pm | ▲ 2:06 am ▲ 2:27 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Sun 1 | 5average day | 3:50–4:30 pm10:00–11:00 pm | ▲ 3:01 am ▲ 3:26 pm | Last quarter |
| Mon 2 | 5average day | 3:50–5:10 pm6:20–7:30 am | ▲ 4:10 am ▲ 4:48 pm | Waning crescent |
| Tue 3 | 5average day | 6:20–7:40 am6:40–7:20 pm | ▲ 5:39 am ▲ 6:21 pm | Waning crescent |
Each day's rating comes from the tide, the solunar periods, the light and, when we have the forecast, the weather.
What can you catch in West Pier?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 19 mi of West Pier: European plaice, small-spotted catshark, thornback ray, common sole and Atlantic horse mackerel. October is one of the months when these are seen most: thornback ray and whiting.
- European plaice Pleuronectes platessa · fish · 4,023 records Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula · shark · 2,303 records Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Thornback ray Raja clavata · ray · 1,774 records Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Common sole Solea solea · fish · 1,492 records Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Atlantic horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus · fish · 1,010 records Photo: jujurenoult · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Too few sightings to tell the months
- Whiting Merlangius merlangus · fish · 736 records Photo: Georges Jansoone ( JoJan ) - · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis · cephalopod · 603 records Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Black seabream Spondyliosoma cantharus · fish · 456 records Photo: Roberto Merciai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
These are sightings and catches recorded since 1970 (reports from divers and anglers, scientific surveys and museum collections), not a promise that you will catch them. The months come from sightings only, adjusted for how many there are each month; hatched months have too few to tell.
Source: GBIF.org, which also gathers OBIS data. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0, from 1,130 datasets (retrieved October 24, 2026). Where the data comes from
Photos: each species' image on Wikidata (Wikimedia Commons) or, if there isn't one, one from GBIF; only licences that allow this use, each with its author and licence.
Piers, ramps and tackle shops nearby
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Brighton Pier 0.7 mi
- West Jetty 2.3 mi
- Albion Groyne 0.7 mi
- Shoreham West Breakwater 4.3 mi
- Boat ramp 2.1 mi
- Boat ramp 2.9 mi
- Boat ramp 3.3 mi
- Brighton Marina (Outer Harbour) 2.4 mi
- Barrett Steel 3.4 mi
- Forward Fishing Products 0.7 mi
- Lagoon Bait 2.2 mi
- Hc Angling 2.2 mi
Within 9.3 mi. A spot may be missing or closed. Open the map on OpenStreetMap · Missing one? Add it to OpenStreetMap
Spots: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps.
Artificial reefs and wrecks to fish from a boat
Artificial reefs and wrecks draw fish, so they make good spots to fish from a boat. The nearest ones, within 16 mi.
Check the rules before you go: some have closed seasons, protected zones or banned gear. Wreck and reef positions are approximate and not for navigation; a wreck’s depth runs from the top of the hull to the seabed.
Wrecks: EMODnet Human Activities (AND-International), from UK Hydrographic Office data, CC BY 4.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we work out the best time
We score every moment of the day, every 10 minutes, with simple rules anglers have used for decades:
- Tide: 2 to 3.5 points in the hour before and the hour after each high and low tide. Spring tides (high coefficient) score more, because the water moves faster.
- Solunar: 2.5 points in the major periods (moon overhead or underfoot) and 1.5 in the minor ones (moonrise and moonset).
- Light: 2 points at dawn and dusk, from first light to the end of the morning golden hour and from the evening golden hour to the end of twilight.
- Weather: falling pressure adds 1 point and rising pressure takes 1 away; wind takes points away from force 4 (about 12 mph), up to 5 points in a gale; waves of 1.6 ft to 4.9 ft add half a point (they stir up the water) and from 8.2 ft they take points away (up to 4).
- Best windows: the stretches of 40 minutes to 3 hours with the most points, at least an hour apart.
- Day's rating out of 10: the best window (up to 5), the moon (up to 2, near new or full moon), the tide coefficient (up to 2) and whether a solunar period lines up with sunrise or sunset (1). Without a tide, we score out of 8 and scale it to 10. Good weather adds up to 1 point and bad weather pulls it down.
Today: best window 3.8 of 5, moon 1 of 2, coefficient 2 of 2 and lineup 1 of 1; the weather multiplies the rating by 0.85.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: fish don't read tide tables. Always check the sea conditions and local fishing rules before you go.
Learn more
Fishing rules at West Pier
Licenses, size limits, bag limits and closed seasons are set by the authorities and change often. We don't copy them here: check the official website before you go.
Questions about fishing at West Pier
What's the best time to fish at West Pier today?
6:10 am to 7:00 am, with the 6:05 am low tide, sunrise and some swell, though with rising pressure and moderate wind. Also 12:00 am to 12:50 am and 11:10 am to 1:10 pm. Today's rating: 7/10 (good day).
What about tomorrow? When's the best time to fish at West Pier?
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29: 6:10 am to 7:40 am, with a rating of 7/10.
Which day this week is best for fishing at West Pier?
Thursday, October 29, at 7/10. Its best window is 6:10 am to 7:40 am.
What can you catch at West Pier?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 19 mi of West Pier: European plaice, small-spotted catshark, thornback ray, common sole and Atlantic horse mackerel. October is one of the months when these are seen most: thornback ray and whiting. These are sightings and catches recorded in GBIF and OBIS, not a promise that you will catch them.
When are the solunar periods at West Pier today?
Major: 12:22–2:22 am and 12:54–2:54 pm. Minor: 9:41–10:41 am and 5:01–6:01 pm. Solunar activity today: high.
Does the tide affect fishing at West Pier?
Yes. Today high tide is at 12:11 pm and low tide at 6:05 am and 6:28 pm, with a tide coefficient of 92 (spring tides). The hours around each tide change tend to fish best, because moving water carries food.
How is the rating worked out?
From the tide, the solunar periods, the light at dawn and dusk, the moon phase and, when we have the forecast, the pressure, the wind and the waves. Each factor gives a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
Does it take the weather into account?
Yes. During today's best window: rising pressure (+0.56 inHg in 24 h), moderate cross-shore wind (17 mph) and some swell (3.9 ft waves) to stir the water. Strong wind and big waves lower the rating; falling pressure raises it a little.
What are the fishing rules at West Pier?
Recreational fishing rules at West Pier (licenses, size limits, bag limits and closed seasons) are set by the authorities: Marine Management Organisation. They change often: check the official website before you go.
More about West Pier today
Our own calculation: tide from Brighton (TICON-4), sun and moon with astronomy-engine and, when available, weather and sea from Open-Meteo (ECMWF, NOAA GFS and Copernicus Marine, CC BY 4.0). Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database). Source: Hart-Davis, M., Dettmering, D., Seitz, F. (2025), TICON-4: TIdal CONstants based on GESLA-4 sea-level records, SEANOE, https://doi.org/10.17882/109129. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: see https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database#modifications-to-source-data