Do you need a lifejacket to rock fish at Norah Head?

Yes. The Central Coast local government area is declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, so an approved lifejacket is required by law at the high-risk rock-fishing locations the council has declared, and this swell-exposed ocean platform is exactly what the law is aimed at. The rule applies to anyone fishing, anyone helping, and children in your care. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater and children under 12 need level 100, correctly sized and in good condition, and going without carries a $100 on-the-spot fine. You also need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish anywhere in NSW.

What fish can you catch off the rocks at Norah Head?

The rock platform below the lighthouse produces tailor and Australian salmon off the wash year-round, bonito and yellowtail kingfish in the warmer months, and a strong winter run of rock blackfish (black drummer) and luderick on the lower ledges. Yellowfin bream, silver trevally and squid round it out. Eastern blue groper live here too, but their bag limit is zero and line fishing for them is prohibited in NSW until 1 March 2028, so they go straight back.

When is the best time to fish Norah Head?

A rising tide into dawn or dusk on a small to moderate swell is the prime window. Tailor and salmon fish best from April through winter, bonito and kingfish from late summer into autumn, and the rock blackfish and luderick run peaks in winter, with midwinter the pick for black drummer.

How do you get to the Norah Head rock platform?

Park on Bush Street or in the public parking outside the Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve, because the parking inside the reserve is for the cottage accommodation guests. From there the lighthouse walk descends to the rock platform and continues down to Lighthouse Beach. The shelf is uneven open-ocean rock and is not suitable for prams or wheelchairs. Families with young kids are better off at the Norah Head rock pool or sheltered Cabbage Tree Bay, both off Bald Street.

Is the bream and luderick limit different in NSW?

In NSW, yellowfin bream have a 25cm minimum and a bag limit of 10 shared with tarwhine, luderick a 27cm minimum and a bag limit of 10, and tailor a 30cm minimum with a daily bag of 10 and 20 in possession. Rock blackfish — black drummer — have a 30cm minimum and a bag of 10; the drummer with no size limit and a zero bag is the blue drummer, which is a different fish and must be released. Check the current NSW rules before you keep fish, and remember a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Norah Head

Thu 05 Nov 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Forecast updated 1:07pm AEDT

Bite Alert

←

5 Nov

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Today Tomorrow Sat 31 Oct

📍 Norah Head

waning crescent · 25%

Weather: Rainy Wind: NW 298° · 18 km/h Swell: 0.6 m @ 4 s E Water: 18.8 °C Pressure: 1003.3 hPa → steady Faces east · Offshore: SW, W, NW · Onshore: NE, E, SE · Forecast wind: offshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

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▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind N 11 km/h

Moon waning crescent all day

Water temp 18.8 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:24 am Last light 7:50 pm

High 6:13 am Low 12:10 pm High 6:05 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

6:30 pm → 10:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

8:30 am → 10:30 am

First light

5:24 am

Last light

7:50 pm

Sunrise

5:50 am

Sunset

7:24 pm

Moonrise

3:20 am

Moonset

3:30 pm

High tide

6:13 am

Low tide

12:10 pm

High tide

6:05 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☁️

16°

↑︎

342°

5 km/h

1am

☁️

16°

↑︎

355°

6 km/h

2am

☁️

16°

↑︎

8°

7 km/h

3am

☁️

16°

↑︎

17°

9 km/h

4am

☁️

17°

↑︎

21°

10 km/h

5am

☁️

17°

↑︎

18°

11 km/h

6am

🌧️

18°

↑︎

10°

11 km/h

7am

🌧️

20°

↑︎

355°

11 km/h

8am

🌧️

22°

↑︎

338°

11 km/h

9am

🌧️

24°

↖︎

324°

13 km/h

10am

🌧️

25°

↖︎

312°

15 km/h

11am

🌧️

26°

↖︎

304°

16 km/h

12pm

🌧️

27°

↖︎

298°

18 km/h

1pm

🌧️

26°

←︎

292°

19 km/h

2pm

🌧️

26°

←︎

286°

20 km/h

3pm

🌧️

25°

←︎

281°

21 km/h

4pm

🌧️

24°

←︎

278°

22 km/h

5pm

🌧️

24°

←︎

275°

23 km/h

6pm

☁️

23°

←︎

275°

23 km/h

7pm

☁️

22°

←︎

276°

22 km/h

8pm

☁️

20°

←︎

277°

21 km/h

9pm

☁️

19°

←︎

279°

20 km/h

10pm

☁️

18°

←︎

280°

19 km/h

11pm

☁️

17°

←︎

280°

18 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 0.7 → 0.3 m E

12am

0.7 m

@ 5 s

↘︎

Slight

chop

1am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

2am

0.8 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

3am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

4am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

5am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

6am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

7am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

8am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

9am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

10am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

11am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

12pm

0.6 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

1pm

0.6 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

2pm

0.6 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

3pm

0.5 m

@ 4 s

→︎

Slight

chop

4pm

Calm

5pm

Calm

6pm

Calm

7pm

Calm

8pm

Calm

9pm

0.3 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Calm

chop

10pm

0.3 m

@ 7 s

→︎

Calm

chop

11pm

0.3 m

@ 7 s

→︎

Calm

chop

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 18.8°

Mon

2 Nov

19.1°

Tue

3 Nov

19.0°

Wed

4 Nov

19.3°

Thu

5 Nov

18.8°

Fri

6 Nov

18.7°

Sat

7 Nov

18.7°

Sun

8 Nov

—

Mon

9 Nov

—

Tue

10 Nov

—

Wed

11 Nov

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 18 km/h NW (298°).

Wind map data: ECMWF HRES (operational), updated every 6 hours. Not for navigation.

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

6:30 pm → 10:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

8:30 am → 10:30 am

First light

5:24 am

Last light

7:50 pm

Sunrise

5:50 am

Sunset

7:24 pm

Moonrise

3:20 am

Moonset

3:30 pm

High tide

6:13 am

Low tide

12:10 pm

High tide

6:05 pm

Nearby Spots

Species at This Spot

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