Bag a Barra — 29 May 2020

It's time to head to the Top End, and Baga Barra, with Glenn Watty Watts, thanks to Shimano. Remember to buy local and fish local. visit shimanofish.com.au. Well, what do you be getting excited up there with some of the restrictions starting to ease, and Kakadu is part of that next weekend, hopefully.

Yeah, that's right, duck. G'day. Yep, we're very excited about, you know, everything's sort of coming together up here now, so we might have borders open within a couple of months, who knows it maybe even earlier, but definitely for all the local guys. We haven't been able to get out into a few of our strict areas um since the shutdown.

So Kakadu's on my list for next weekend. Sure. Yeah, what a ripper, mate. So that'll be, is it a long weekend up there, mate?

That June long weekend they have down here in the east? Yeah, it may well be. It's sort of, it doesn't really, I don't know too much about long weekend because I sort of worry. Yeah, that's because every weekend's a long weekend for you mate.

Yeah, that's right, but I think you're right. It does coincide with a long weekend. So Catherine Gorge, a lot of that sort of stuff opens up this weekend. And then Kakadu will open up next weekend and I'll, I'll be heading out there to do some camping and fishing in some, some of the billabongs, um, just inside the front gate.

So, yeah, very excited. How good is that? Mate. I'll tell you what, mate.

There's a chance I could be up there later in the year still, mate. I'll be going straight there. meet you there. How good would it be?

Mate, right there. straight in the front gate. How many billabongs are in Kakadoo? stacks of them, wouldn't they?

Oh, yeah, look, there'd be hundreds. There's there's a there's probably sort of half a dozen main billabongs that's that's easy enough access. Usually by this time of year, they're open with our um, the, the flood stuff sort of receded and the ranges of going there and clean, clean all the tracks up and, and then we can get in and yeah, so we'll, we'll probably be going to the south alligator billabongs and the um, the wild man billabongs. there's a couple there.

Actually, back to where I caught my very 1st barrow in about 1999 or something like that. So, yeah, beautiful spot and brings back memories and just really tranquil and this perfect time of year to wake up out in the bush out there too. You know, overnight loads out there are going to be somewhere between sort of 15 and 20 I suppose. So, cool enough and um, and but, you know, you warm up to, to our low 30s or high 20s for, for a day's fishing.

So, yeah, it couldn't be a better place to be in Australia. I don't reckon next weekend. Oh, mate. Oh, absolutely.

You're selling us, mate. that is for sure. Uh, and you thought at some of those temperatures, which is why, um, the northern territory is very, very popular this time of year usually with all the gray nomads and all the travellers heading up there for that warmer climate. What's the mood like up there, mate?

I mean, you're in the tourism business, so this has obviously affected you. What's the mood like, mate? people keen? Obviously, the businesses are keen to get people back up, but what's the mood?

they ready to say, you know, come back to the territory? Yeah, it's a bit of a funny one. I mean, when it 1st happened. I, um, I wrote a local minister uh, a email saying, please don't shut the borders, and then after I sort of got educated on it.

I quickly changed my mind to that, and they've done the right thing, and now everyone's sort of like, oh, well, we don't want to have to go through it again. So maybe we should hold off a bit, but, um, you know, like, as long as they put all the right measures in place. I think there's probably going to be a, a lot of 4 wheel drives with caravans hooked up to them idle and in the shed in the next couple of weeks waiting for the green light and help me an influx of gray nomads and fishermen and, and yeah, of course, we'll, we'll welcome them back. But as long as, you know, it's very important to us up here with our local communities and the remote stuff as well.

Just for people, if they are going to travel up, just make sure, like, to spend a couple of weeks leading up to your trip, doing the right thing, and and go and get a check a couple of days before you jump on a plane, if you can, or whatever, like be very careful about it, because if there is an outbreak up here, they'll close the borders for 12 months next time, you know? They don't get them up around these guys, so, yeah, we just, we just need everyone to, to make sure they're doing the right thing as they come up, and um, and, you know, we can all make the most of what, what's left of our, of our tourist season up here, sort of through till the end of um, November, and then um, we'll welcome everyone again next year. Yeah, and that was, that was more next, just a quick, because we're going to run out of time, but your tourist, your tourist season there. When does that end around what, October, November, does it?

Yeah, there's a bit of a drop off, say, from mid-September onwards. I think all the oldies go back home to watch the grand final footy and start bowl. But then, yeah, usually by the end of end of November. It's pretty well done and I'll pack up until mid-Feb.

Yeah, right. Then you sit out the wet season, which we've seen you do now, which is fantastic. All right, mate. Well, look, good luck with that. and it's great news to see that national parks are opening back up in the northern territory and by that next weekend.

might you be able to get into place like Kakadu, mate. Sure you can catch one for me, eh? Yeah, I will do. Anyone that needs any info, just hit us up through Facebook or the website, and if I've got some local spots, I can give you, um, that's no worries at all.

Happy to see you out there. Good stuff. That's for our listeners up there in the Northern Territory. And to do that, just go to Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

Just Google that and you'll see everything there. What are you, a good man? We'll catch you next week. Thanks, Doc.

Good on you, mate. There he is, Glenn. What are you, what? And let me see, mate, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

Jump on the website as well as the Facebook page. He's, uh, he's up there. He's a local. He knows what's doing.

He's got his ear to the grand, as they say. And I bet what, he can't wait to get out to Kakadu. What about what he said? Just drive in the gate and grab the 1st billabong.

How good's good as he makes it sound so easy. And so it laid back and fantastic part of the world. Good luck to him and get in there and no better play. Imagine that.

Where's you going, mate? fishing and kako do for the weekend.