Bag a Barra — 20 November 2020

It's time to head to the Top End and Bag a Barra. With Glenn Watty Watts, Thanks to Shimano. Remember to buy local and fish local. visit shimanofish.com.au.

Well, we've been to Western Australia. We've been everywhere today, and now we are in Darwin, speaking to the future mayor of Darwin, the Lord mayor, in fact. We're going to push him into politics, this man, because we believe it could do with a little bit of a layback. Just kick back, although it is, although gunners up there is fairly laid back, I think. Let's find out what he's up to. What are you g'day, mate?

G'day, Doc. How are you this week? mate, I'm going all right, mate. How are the political plans going?

You're just getting your banners and your pamphlets and all your brochures worded up for what it's on. Yeah, well, you might have, you might have triggered something actually, though, because I've actually, we've got the amateur fisherman's association of the Northern Territory AGM coming up shortly up here, and I've actually nominated myself for a position on the committee of that, so we'll see. There's nothing like nominating yourself for something, is there? Listen, now, look, we're just talking a bunch of you.

He's obviously got no idea when it comes to fishing. I'm tipping that, well, when he was a little kid, somebody put a little broom on his hook and said, well done, Bunchy, look what you've caught. But mate, you get people, you get people up there in the Top End who are like punchy. You don't normally fish, but just want the experience, do you?

Oh, absolutely. That's probably half of our clients are that way especially throughout the dry season when we're doing the half day fishing charters in Darwin Harbour. And yeah, like probably most of those people coming on those trips have never been fishing before.

So it's a really good way to start and Darwin Harbor's a great play to introduce, I guess, kid and people who haven't had a go before because there is so many fish in there, um, that you're pretty well guaranteed that you actually catch something and have some fun, so you're not going to go out and um, and sort of come home disappointed on your 1st trip, which is not what, not the way you want to start kids off. How good's that? So you're basically guaranteed to catch something there. I mean, the amount of places where you can go fishing and you spend, if you're using bait, you spend, you know, 6 hours feeding them or just sitting there getting sunburnt.

But you're talking about, you go up there and in Darwin Harbour, you're basically more or less guaranteed to catch something. Oh, yeah, I mean, certainly, as long as the wind isn't too rough for you in your chosen area or whatever, but the beauty of Darwin Harbour, like we've mentioned before, is so huge, about 6 or 7 times the size of Sydney Harbour. So there's always somewhere where you can get out of the wind and um, and have a fishing. Yeah, I mean, it's, it hasn't been commercially netted since the 70s or something like that.

So there's absolute abundance of fish and it's a really healthy ecosystem. So, um, yeah, it's a, it's an easy place to go out and catch catch fish for sure. Yeah. And what are they catching up there at the moment, mate, as the season changes and you're getting the storms and it's fairly warm up there now?

What are we catching up there, mate, in the Top End? Yeah, well, there's been actually some really good reports of Big Barra coming out the last few days. I had a mate who caught his 1st barrow over a metre which was metre 3 and then one hour after that got a metre 20, would you believe? So absolutely extraordinary capture for Curdy Barber there.

Shout out to Curdie, who's been battling for a few years at it. and there's still, I mean, there's people who have been barofishing for 20 years, who haven't caught one and, you know, you hear, then you'll hear stories of people who catch one on their very first. You do hear those stories and for people that want to see proof of that story, just go to my Facebook page. You'll see me with my Barra that I caught up there. There was, I mean, I mean, that was what, there was a bloke I spoke to after that day when we got back from the 2 pubs that we went to on the way home and everything else.

And he said, mate, he said, oh, he's been going out there for years and he's got blokes who'd go up there with him. He was from South Australia, who, for years and years, have tried to catch that elusive Barramundi and haven't done it. Now I've just jagged one on my 1st go. Yeah, well, that's right.

I mean, uh, we put, put it down to the fishing guy. and um, and I, I dial, sent that fish a text message the night before and I said, mate, I'll let it go. and just so just turn up at this time at this place and that fish, he did his part. all he needed to do. Yeah, well, it's all about the fishing guide. and let me tell you, we let him go, all right?

Straight on the barbeque plate that night. Let me tell you. But and what did you tell me during the break, they eat jagging a bit of snapper up there as well? Yeah, yeah, definitely.

So there's been particularly on coming up to the weekend, next weekend will be really good tides for our snapper and dewfish. So they come back into the shallow waters to spawn and that sort of stuff this time of year as well. So there'll be plenty of them around. So match that up with some favourable wins and you're well on the way to a nice tasty feed of fresh fish.

Mate, sounds fantastic. All right. So just tell us quickly about this committee that you've nominated yourself for. Yeah, okay.

So it's a, it's a, it's the recreational fishing body up here, the Amateur Fisherman's Association of the Northern Territory, Affan. Um, there's, there's 10s of 1000s of members. It's probably the biggest sort of lobbying, body, lobbying group up here. actually.

It's really active in, I guess, restoring fish habitat and ensuring, um, you know, a, a positive experience and the, the longevity of recreational fishing for the northern territory. Well, for everyone who comes to the Northern Territory to fish, recreationally, as well as guided. So, yeah, it's a good organisation. I'm looking forward to hopefully being a part of it.

Yeah, hopefully. Well, mate, we'll push you here. Don't worry about that. But anyway, that's good, mate.

Well, we're on two, mate, you can hear us on two, tell them that you're on a weekly radio program, 261 radio markets now, mate, right around the country. So tell them that they want a voice, put you on the committee. Stand over them, Watty. Are you allowed to do, you allowed to do that or not?

You know what, though? They need blokes. They need, in all seriousness, we're mucking around, but in all seriousness, They need blokes like you on that committee who live their life on the water doing just that.

That's fishing every day. Um, so basically, uh, they could do a lot worse. Mate, just on the boat, you sent me photos of that boat, with the big rap on the side of it, Great Northern... breweries or Great Northern Beer, the Great Northern Beer anyway. Mate, the boat looks beautiful.

Have you got on your Facebook page? No, I haven't, mate. I'm actually keeping it on the down a little bit until I get it properly finished. I'm hoping to be actually test driving it in the next couple of days, but yeah, I'd rather wait till...

Maybe you should have told me you were cooping it on the download before I just... That's all right, then, but they haven't seen it. They haven't seen it yet, so when they do, it looks fantastic, mate. You did send me those photos.

So, mate, it's going to look fantastic. It's certainly going to stand out on the water. and it's going to look right at home up there on places like Corrobory Billabong and Darwin Harbour and Dundee Beach and all those other places you had too. It's going to look, it's going to look like, it's certainly part of the furniture.

All right, Whitey, well, we wish you well, and we hope you get on that committee that can do with a bloke like you on there. I'm tipping and pretty level headed and you know your stuff. So I think you'll be sweet. Just, mate, do you want me to join and nominate you as well or you think you're okay?

Yeah, yeah, I mean, it might need a secondary, yeah. Yeah, all right. Surely you've got some mates. It was 3.5 1000 people, and then surely you know one of them.

Yeah, well, we'll see. See if anyone can win. I'm going to tell you now, what, if we can't get you on the fishing committee, we're going to struggle to get your Michael Gunners job, aren't we? Yeah, that's right.

It's a good 1st step, isn't it? Oh, absolutely. Gideon, get into that and get yourself into some politics. You love it.

Does he get political? I suppose I suppose it does, does it? The fishing committee? Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, there's politics involved in everything, I suppose, but at the end of the day, the Afan committee is there to, you know, for one thing and that's to protect the interests of recreational fishing in the northern territory.

So, as long as they do that and do it fairly, that's all good. Yeah, you're very passionate about, like I say, they can do a lot worse than sticking you on that committee. All right, mate. Will you enjoy and we'll chat to you next week, eh?

Good on you, mate. See you later. Good on there. There he is.

My man, Glenn, what? Glenn, what do you watch? You can find him at barefootfishingsafaris.com.au or follow him on Facebook. The same name.

Barefoot Fishing Safaris. And not what like he just said. Plenty of people go up there and fish for Barramundi for years, never caught one. He took me out and I jagged one on the 1st attempt.

So I'm got to be happy with that, and like I say, it's not about my ability. It was all about the guide, and he is one of the gurus up there in the Top End, Barefoot Fishing Safaris. You're playing a northern territory trip, and you want to go fishing, and be guaranteed to catch something, and you might even jag that bar of money just like I did, you can do a lot worse than getting on to what he is our man, and we really love him being on the program, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.