Bag a Barra — 4 December 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 shamanofish.com.au.

Well, Watty, it's been a bit like your part of the world down here. We've had days over 40 degrees. The other day here, it was a stink of 41 all day, and then we had an absolute cracking storm, which caused that much mesh power out all around the place. I think I brought a bit of Darwin back with me, son.

Yeah, that does sound a bit wild. I think I got a couple of pictures on the phone there from me cousins down south the other day. Yeah, coming on in the cricket on the telly, so they don't know it's summer. That's a good good indication.

Yeah, that's right. Usually here's summer what's got the cricket on. And keeping back with the air on. But mate, we've had real tropical weather down here, I can tell you.

It's been, it's been certainly a bit different, especially, you know, straight into it this time of year. But anyway, we'll that's just the way it is and we'll just put up with that. That's all good. mate, you've had the new boat out.

You've done a bit of filming with it and other stuff. What's been happening? Yeah, that's right. So, um, I think we spoke, yeah, last week about that a little bit.

I'd, um, yeah, we took the, the new boat out for 4 days of filming with Mark Berg's fishing addiction, very popular television show, and uh, It was pretty terrifying to, you know, be driving off for the very 1st shakedown of the boat with a film crew on board just to, just to, you know, document all the stuff ups and things that didn't work, but luckily enough, it all went to plan and it was good. Oh, that's all right. So that's a television show that's on up in the Northern territory, is it? Oh, it's on Australia wide.

Mark Berg's fishing addiction. Yeah, I think it might be, I'm not sure what channel it's on. But yeah, a lot of your listeners would know. Did you have your t-shirt on vote one, Glen and what?

Make the Turkey great again, huh? Yeah. Make the territory great again. Oh, vote for vote one Barefoot Fishing Safaris. So, mate, the boat, the boat, the boat looks fantastic.

So when will that go to air on television? That little trip? I'm not too sure. It doesn't usually take them too long to get it all edited up.

They're doing it now, and I'm sharing a few of their, um, their social media posters. There's a fair bit of good content there. Is much a, um, is a pretty analytical sort of guy and and thinks fairly deeply about what's happening at any stage of the fishing day and and that sort of compliments how I like to fish as well. So, we have some good interesting conversations about how things may or may not be going. The tricky thing with fishing up here at the, at this time of year is, is the weather, you know?

So, we've got the afternoon storm, sir. You know, I'm consider as well as uh our wind changes and then our glass out periods and how that then coincides with the tides and what the fish are doing. So, there's a big old jigsaw of sort of put together, but, um, yeah, we made it happen. We got a, got plenty of barrow and um, lots of other history species, including, I think the biggest barrel we got was an 87 centimetre, I have some really nice shallow water, which was a pretty meritorious catch, um, in that particular system. So, yeah, it was, it was good, and they, they, they're great fun guys, and um, I think they'll, they'll hopefully come back next year.

Yeah, so now your tours are finished for the year now. Yeah, that's right. I'm all finished now. So I'm, um, I'll be off until mid-February.

I'll probably, I'm just looking at the tides here now. I've got the 1st trips booked in for the 24th of February at the moment. I might do a couple of earlier ones and that, but in between now and then it's pretty much just prep and making sure the car and boat and all the plans for that next 6 months are um, are in place because from that mid-February, right through till the end of June, um, we're solidly booked, so we need to make sure all the logistics are sorted out, and, um, you know, that's what I spend the next couple of months doing, as well as I'm looking forward to our, you know, Christmas party sort of time of year, which is, um, you know, it's exciting. It'll be good to.

I guess, say goodbye to such a strange year for a lot of us and hopefully welcome in a 2021 that's going to be, you know, a bit more prosperous for everyone. Yeah, we've been saying that here already today that, yeah, let's put the year behind us. It's been pretty test pretty well, you know, pretty testing on us, but we've got through it and here we are. It's um, it's an amazing business, really, when you think you just close down right there.

You look at now, down the southern states, around where we are, um, people are just getting into their fishing. It's amazing, isn't it? Up there you stop because of this time of year, but down here is when it really takes off. Yeah, that's right.

And it really does. I mean, I, for a couple of years in a row, I was taking my boat down to Western Victoria and doing some guiding in, uh, say the Hopkins River around Warrnambool and areas down Western Victoria, um, because yeah, there really is a, um, a start and stop to each of these seasons and you can work both of them if, if you're that way inclined. I, I tend to these days be too busy trying to get everything organised to sort of continue to work, although we will go South for Christmas in a couple of weeks, which we're very excited about to go and catch a couple of redfin and a Murray cod and some yabbies and, you know, uh, Down to the farm. for a swim and a ski on the farm.

Yeah, that's right. So, really, look forward to that time for you every year. They put you to work down there, don't they? Cheer and sheep, chasing sheep and all that.

There's a few lands lined up for me to shear or crutch or something, and of course, we got a, we got a very big family duck. We had a family reunion there a few years ago and there was 300 people turned up. We had to have name tags. So we um...

No, they would have went. They wouldn't have. Oh, there he is. Yes, the bugger's going to make the northern territory great again.

Watty? I usually get down there the week before and we've got to kill half a dozen sheep and go and get a couple of pigs and kill them and hang them and get them all ready for the crowd that turns up for Christmas dinner, you know? Yeah, very big job catering for, you know, 30 or 40 hungry watts, that's for sure. Yeah, I'm sure it is.

Not to mention all the beer that must get consumed down there. Oh, listen, logistics involved in that too, don't you worry? I could imagine, mate, I could imagine. All right mate.

Well, that's good to see that you better, look, what he's very good to see is the, I've got to get going here, but is the fact that you've got a big year booked already next for next year, and that's great news, like you say, it's been, it's been a bit different this year, but the fact that you've already got bookings locked in for next year and you're prepping for that now is great news, mate. All right, mate, we'll let you go. But what he will still talk every week anyway. Yeah, absolutely.

I'll have some updates on weather and fishing up here as well as, you know, what's going on down south. Obviously, it's that time of year, so we'll keep into it. Yeah, absolutely, mate. All right.

Well, good luck, mate, and well done on the new mate. It looks sensational, and if people want to find out more, they can just go to your Facebook page, Barefoot Fishing Safaris all to the website. barefootfishing safaris.com.au, yeah? That's right, Doc.

Yeah, no worries. thanks a lot for that All right, there he is, Glenn. What do you want?

Keep up to date with him. I know he's still as a finish for this year, but there's still plenty of people up there fishing and getting out and about, and he'll give us all the latest on that, and tell us what's biting around the place as well.