Angourie Point

Angourie Point is the rocky headland 6 km south of Yamba, best known for its surf break and the Blue and Green Pools — two old quarry holes behind the rocks. On its eastern face a long rock shelf runs between the pools and the sea, and that shelf is where the fishing is. It's one of the few proper rock-platform spots on the Clarence coast: wash fishing for drummer, bream and luderick, and tailor off the deeper edges through the cooler months. The point is a National Surfing Reserve, which tells you how much swell it catches — plan around that.

Locals fish the white water off the shelf with lightly weighted baits — prawn, pilchard pieces, bread or cabbage weed — for drummer, bream and luderick, holding the bait in the foam with a little bread berley. Tailor are spun out with metals or floated on ganged pilchards over the deeper water at dawn and dusk. The sand corners either side of the headland give dart and bream on worms in the warm months. Big baits after dark on the calmer nights are the mulloway play.

Tailor are the headline in autumn and winter. Black drummer, bream, tarwhine and luderick work the wash all year, best in the cooler months. Trevally are around most of the year, and dart are summer light-tackle fun. Mulloway are a night chance off the rocks and the adjoining beach gutters. Eastern blue groper can't be taken by any method in NSW until the end of February 2028 — release any you hook.

Sit and watch the shelf for ten minutes before committing — Angourie's surf reputation comes from swell that lines up and wraps, and the same sets wash the platform. Give the surfers a wide berth; casting near the take-off zone is a quick way to wreck a morning for everyone. The Blue and Green Pools draw swimmers and cliff-jumpers in summer, so early and late sessions are quieter. Bring bait from Yamba before you drive out.

Drive south from Yamba to Angourie and park at the reserve car parks near the pools on Pacific Street, where there are public toilets. Short paths lead to the pools; the shelf is reached over uneven rock and isn't suitable for prams, wheelchairs or small children. The headland sits in the Angourie Reserve, with Yuraygir National Park running south from the village.

The shelf faces east, so it takes the brunt of an easterly or north-easterly swell and shuts down in a big sea. It's at its best in a small, clean swell — under about 1.5 m — with light westerly or south-westerly winds. A rising tide into dawn or dusk is the pick for tailor and drummer.

This is a genuine ocean rock platform in a famous surf spot: sets wrap onto the shelf without warning, and people are swept off ledges on this coast. Check the swell forecast and watch the shelf for ten minutes before going down; never fish alone, never turn your back on the sea, keep off low, wet rock, and leave as the swell builds. Clarence Valley is not one of the ten council areas declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended every time, with cleated boots and light clothing you can swim in. If you are washed in, swim away from the rocks, float, signal and have your mate call 000, and know your retreat to higher rock before you cast. The weed is slippery, the oysters cut, and the cliffs above the pools are a separate fall risk. Swimmers and surfers share the area — keep hooks and lines well clear.

Yes. The rock shelf on the eastern side of Angourie Point, beside the Blue and Green Pools, is fished for tailor, drummer, bream and luderick. Give the surfers at the point plenty of room. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required unless you're exempt.

Tailor in autumn and winter, black drummer (rock blackfish), bream, tarwhine and luderick in the wash, dart in summer, silver trevally most of the year, and the odd mulloway at night. Tailor are 30 cm minimum with a bag of 10; drummer 30 cm with a bag of 10.

Only in small, clean swell and with care. The shelf faces east and takes waves in an easterly or north-easterly sea. Clarence Valley is not one of the ten council areas declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended, as are cleated boots and never fishing alone.

About 6 km south of Yamba by road — a short drive. Park at the reserve car parks near the Blue and Green Pools, where there are public toilets.