Local sea bass that don’t leave
Why some English Channel sea bass never go to France
The surprise from tagging
For generations of British sea anglers it was taken as gospel: when the weather turns, bass migrate off to continental waters. Recent tagging work tells a different, much more local story. In places like the Solent, the Thames Estuary and parts of the English Channel many bass simply stay put — moving into warmer, food-rich creeks and estuaries rather than making a long offshore run to French shelf grounds.
What that means on the bank
These “resident” bass use estuaries as winter refuges, exploiting tidal channels, wrecks and deeper pools where sandeels and shrimps congregate. The behaviour is seasonal and partial: some fish do migrate, others overwinter close to home. For anglers, that explains why low-water winter sessions in the Thames or sheltered Solent hotspots can still produce decent fish despite the chill.
A rethink for local anglers
The lesson is simple: target structure in tidal estuaries and change tactics with the tides — you’re often fishing the very fish many assumed had long gone abroad. It’s a neat reminder that British waters hold more resident character than old sea lore suggested.