Bag a Barra — 27 May 2021

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 shamanofish.com.au.

Well, he's been MIA over the last few weeks because he's been very, very busy. He's been on big 9 day fishing adventures and out of range and out of those billabongs and creeks and rivers and he's the man. But he's back. We found him.

Glenn, what he, what? How are you, son? Yeah, good, mate. Good.

Yeah, it's a bit fortunate to catch up again. I only just stepped off the big mothership today after pretty much spending a month at sea, so I'm busy trying to get me land legs back again now. Yeah, fair enough. Now, listen, I've got a bit of mail that you've got a VIP fishing guest coming up there.

Uh, you're about to take a mate of mine out fishing. Yeah, that's right. How to speak, yarn to halves on the phone the other day, actually, pretty... Oh, that'll do me.

halves. I mean that's one of your best ever. So, Adam, I say to you when I'm up in the territory last year. I said, mate, Adam Harvey's a good mate of mine.

He's a keen fisherman, and you're telling me how you'd love to take him out and all this. So then I've told him. Anyway, he rings me the other day and he says, mate, you mate up there in the territory for the fishing. I'm going to be playing in Darwin in a few weeks.

Can you send me his number? So he's gone from Adam Harvey, the great Australian country music singer, to halves. Yeah, mate, that's a, we got, we got pretty chummy there and now we're on our phone conversation. We got a bit, got a few plans ruined.

Oh, I could imagine. I'll tell you now. What's your beers? You better stock up, son.

Yeah, yeah. You probably go better than you, I'd reckon. Oh, watch your beers. Oh, yeah, mate, just be careful because he'll lead you astray.

Well, look forward to it. Which I've got to say would be a fair job achieved because you are one of the biggest stray jobbers going. I mean you can lead yourself astray. You don't really need, you don't really need, you don't really need halves as help.

No, that's all. Mate, 9 days on the mother, 9 days on the mothership. mate, that would have been something else. How many people did you have with you on that? Yeah, that's right.

So that was our 3rd trip in a row. They're normally a week long trip, but these guys want to do 7 days of fishing because they've sort of missed out last year. There's a group of 7 of them. So, yeah, it becomes a 9 day trip with sort of a day of travel, either side, head up to West Arnhamland, fishing there in some estuary systems up there and sort of targeting Barramundi, but also all the other species of fish as well.

I think we, they sell it up all their fish. They've got 24 different species of fish for the week, which is really interesting. Yeah. That's one thing with you.

I mean, because, I mean, it's okay to, you know, to be a good fishing guy, which you are, and I can attest to that firsthand. But, you know, people that go out with you, they, you know, they, they, you know, hopefully they expect to, you know, catch some fish. But it's more than just the fishing techniques for you, isn't it? Because you need to be able to identify all these species.

Well, yeah, that's right. And for me, it's another, It's sort of a major interest within the fishing thing, is, is, you know, like being immersed in uh nature and wildlife and knowing and sort of having an interest in that sort of stuff as well. So, you know, we do a lot of bird watching and that sort of thing, and, you know, of course, you're seeing a lot of other sea critters like the occasional dew gong, turtles, lots of dolphins, and of course, the fish, yeah.

It's really interesting once you start actually writing them down each day, how much you can, you can sort of see, um, that you perhaps would never have got a chance to see anywhere else. So yeah, it's a really cool part of it. Yeah, absolutely, mate. I think it, uh, I think what you do.

It's a lot more than just fishing. You got to really know your stuff and knowing the species of fish, like when they, somebody lands a fish and they go, geez, what have I called here? You can just, you know, based on your experience, go, yeah, well, that's a halves. Don't let it buy you.

But so, mate, 9 days. So you did all right. So what happens now, mate? got a couple of more day trips and things and then back out again or what's the game?

No, so at the moment, I was giving myself 5 days off at the end of this trip, it sort of signified the end of runoff fishing for me. So, the end of May, really. and they'll go into our, I guess, the barren blue water season where, um, we sort of based a bit more local to Darwin, um, with the odd mother intertwined into it. But, um, yeah, back into Bynoe Harbour and Dundee Beach, uh, sort of 3 and 4 day trips, um, sort of right through until August now, so, um, that'll be good to, I guess, be land based and a bit closer to home again.

But yeah, it's uh, it's, it's all, all stations go, mate, for sure. up here, you can't get a room in town and all these events and stuff are going ahead now, so it's like that's a normal. It's great, bro. Yeah, I know, I've noticed too, just, you know, all the stuff that I look at.

There's a stack of people already in the territory for that dry season. And now's the time to be heading there. I mean, it's beautiful up there in the dry season. It's basically just 30, 32, 34 every single day, not a cloud in the sky, and if you live in the colder parts of the country, head up there if you can.

Yeah, it's, I know last year I just couldn't believe how good it was. All right, mate. Well it's good that we found you this week and that you're back on land and that you're catching fish and I'm sure over the next few months, there'll be a fair bit of that go on, mate, and we'll see if we can't jag you next week as well, mate, depending on where you are. Yeah, that's right.

It shouldn't be too much of a problem from now on. I think I'll be a bit more accessible, which is which is good. Yeah, good. What about when's my mate?

Sorry. Your mate and my mate, halves going up there. I think it's soon, isn't it? Ah, yeah, a few weeks time, I think, um, so we'll go to the concert on the... Oh, hang on. What have you?

what have you got? Hang on, what have you done a contra deal, have you? You got your tickets? Yeah, yeah, no, I've got to see, he's he's pulling me in to play the triangle up there, so pretty. Yeah, exactly.

You go there and play the teaspoons. Well, mate, I'll talk to him about getting you backstage, you can get stuck in what they call the beer rider, okay? Yeah, that'll be a pretty big thing on his shows, I reckon. I've warned you, son.

eh? Be careful what you wish for. Be careful what you wish for. All right, mate.

Good luck with that, eh? Thanks for that, Wadi, and we'll chat to you next week. Good on you, Doc. Thanks mate.

Good on you, mate. There he is. Barefoot Fishing Safaris. If you want to head up for some Top End fishing, he's your man.

Glenn, Watty, Watty's a top bloke and a good mate and Adam Harvey. Yeah, I did put out him in touch with Watty, and I don't know who's more excited. Harvey for going fishing up there. I mean, halves or Watty, to be taking Adam Harvey out for a fish, though.

It should be great. And I'm pretty sure they'll get on pretty well together, those 2 blokes. But Barefoot Fishing Safaris. That's what you want to check out if you want to head to the Top End and catch some fish.