Norah Head has long been a popular area for surfing and fishing, with locals and visitors enjoying all it has to offer for many years. Although there is some great beach fishing around Norah Head and many offshore anglers use the boat ramp at Cabbage Tree Bay, rock fishing is also first-class and there are plenty of good spots to try.

Living within a short drive of Norah Head, I’ve been lucky enough to have spent many great days hooking into a variety of fish there over the years.

While it may not have the land-based game fishing potential of some of the major headlands and platforms of the south or north coasts, it does have just about everything else.

Probably the most obvious and easiest place to cast a line from the stones at Norah is the huge platform just below the lighthouse.

Getting down to these rocks couldn’t be any easier. You can park the car at the lighthouse carpark, take a stroll past the lighthouse and an easy walk down the stairs. Alternatively, park at Cabbage Tree Bay and walk around from there past the rock pool. It’s all incredibly easy.

Because the lighthouse platform is so big, it may be a bit confusing to those who’ve never been there before when it comes to picking a spot to fish.

The main point is quite high and really stands out, so most people probably try there first. However, it faces the main force of the ocean and has little protection from wind or waves, so it’s best fished in calm conditions.

Pretty much any type of fish is possible from the point but tailor, salmon, kingfish, bonito, groper and drummer are most likely.

The northern side of the platform is also quite exposed but reasonably safe and it’s easy to fish when a southerly is blowing.

Drummer are possible right along this whole ledge, but the better fishing is normally towards the western end. There you’ll see a high flat ledge covered with green cabbage and quite often waves will be spilling over it. But at low tide in calm seas or a southerly blowing and low swell, it’s quite safe and is a reliable blackfish spot.

It’s also pretty good for spinning up bonito, salmon or rat kingfish at times. The only problem is that there’s a submerged ledge in front of you and fish often try to bury you under the ledge. But once you’ve got them over it, they don’t have anywhere to go.

Just south of the main point you’ll see a couple of finger-like formations with channels cutting back into the rocks. Towards the end of these fingers can be good for drummer when it’s a bit washy, or for groper when it’s calm.

Salmon, tailor and the occasional bonito can be caught here as well, but it’s a bit snaggy so don’t let the lure sink for more than a few seconds. The main channel here isn’t a bad spot to catch a few pike or yakkas for bait.

Towards the southern end of these rocks is very shallow, snaggy and exposed so it can really be fished only at low tide during very calm seas. The better fishing, however, really is back on the main part of the big platform.

Another smaller platform between here and Soldiers Point is also quite low to the water and exposed to the elements.

Drummer, bream, luderick and trevally are possible close in around the washes, mainly around the north-eastern part of the rocks.

At low tide try gathering a few crabs for bait and cast them out on heavy gear for groper.

At the northern end of Soldiers Beach, this large flat platform is very easy to access. You can just walk over the sand spit that’s normally quite dry at low tide. On some of the larger tides, though, it does get covered with water so keep that in mind when planning to fish there.

The main fishing area is a weedy ledge facing north-east, which is a popular and productive blackfish spot at times. From this spot other fish like bream, drummer, groper, jewfish, tailor and bonito are all possible, depending on the season.

It’s normally quite safe here with a southerly blowing but you’re likely to get a bit wet when the winds come from the north-east.

Closer in around the sand spit area, bream and squid can be caught when seas are relatively calm. The rocks right next to the beach are also worth fishing and I’ve caught bream, tailor, salmon and jewfish there over the years, although it can get a bit weedy with kelp after a few days of rough seas.

To the south of Soldiers Beach is Pelican Point, which is well known for drummer, tailor, bream and jewfish. Other species that can be caught here include salmon, snapper, trevally, blackfish, frigate mackerel and flathead.

‘Pello’ is all quite low, exposed and very snaggy but when conditions are favourable it can be very productive. That normally means average swell that creates a bit of whitewash without being hazardous and the first few hours of a rising tide.

Cast lures or lightly weighted baits from the south-facing rocks towards the washes for tailor, salmon and bream early in the morning or later in the afternoon.

Fish some of the pockets at the east for drummer, bream and blackfish closer in or cast surface poppers for tailor, salmon and the chance of a kingfish. Metal lures will catch fish out the front but they tend not to last long because it’s so snaggy.