Bag a Barra — 10 September 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.

And, of course, our man, Glenn Watty, what is the owner operator of Barefoot Fishing Safaris? And if you're heading to the Top End, and you want to go and catch that elusive Barramundi, or you want to just get out there and go fishing, either, you know, in some of the billabongs, the rivers, or even out to sea, He is the man. He's the best in the business, and he joins us each week on the show, and I'm led to believe it's his 40th birthday weekend, soiree.

Wadi, how are you travelling and how's it all? How are you travelling with all of that? Oh, yeah, well we're gearing up for a pretty big weekend, mate. It's actually, I'm lucky.

I get birthday week or dad's week because it's Father's Day the week before my birthday, so I claim a whole week. So 40. Is that right? 40.

Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah. something smart then. No, no, no, no.

I was just making sure. I just double checking. No, I was only joking before. I wouldn't have thought you were for, to be honest.

Anyway, no, you're going good, buddy. wouldn't have thought you were 40. Well, done, happy birthday, son. And obviously, I'm still, well, I've already sent the missus around to the post office box to see if she could find the invitation to all the celebrations up there that have been going on all week. And obviously Australia Post must be a bit behind in the demand at the moment.

So that's fair enough. So no problem at all. Yeah, that's right. Probably stopped at a border somewhere, mate.

Yeah, exactly right. Well, I would be anyway. Now, listen, what, I'm tipping now with, as we move into spring, you'd be seeing some changes in the weather up there. Yeah, we are.

Definitely. We've had our last sort of a bit of a southeasterly blow. with that high press system you guys have got down south there, this week, and yeah, looking like you're heading into that true buildup weather, where they're forecasting showers and storms for next week, and uh, and that sort of flat um, flat sea and low wind conditions. So, that really gets us excited as Top End fishos. It, uh, actually, it reduces the numbers of tourists generally, but they're probably about the same level as they will be over the wet season at the moment.

But yeah, it gets the fish turned back on and the, and the fishing has, has switched on in the last fortnight just with that slight increase in uh water temperature and a bit more low winds. So yeah, we're looking good. So what happens there? What do you?

Does that change the species that you then fish for once the water temperatures change and conditions change? Or are we always going for the Barramundi or do we start looking around for other species once the weather changes? Well, it does, yeah, I mean, it'll change it a little bit, uh, through the dry season, we, um, we do tend to, uh, do, uh, more of a mix where we're doing some blue water fishing as well, um, uh, those um, inshore pelagics, I suppose, the tuna, mackerel, queenfish, and Trevally.

They, um, they do like the cooler water. So, um, as it does start to warm up. We probably do less of that and and do, and focus more on the, the fish that, that increasing water temperature um stirs up, which is the barra, the Deweys um will come back in closer to shore to start to spawn and so do the golden snapper. So that's probably the switch we actually probably go from targeting the pelagics, a bit, um, uh, a bit less and focussing more on those barr and the inshore stuff.

Um, but saying that, it is a really good time of year to um, to nick off out wide because the seas will be stay, stay flat sort of most of the day, so you can really get some good blue water conditioned out deeper. Unbelievable, mate. Jesus, there's a lot of fish up there. What about with the Billabong, mate?

I noticed you had a couple of spots at a corroborate the other day, mate. And I'm not sure if you saw my comment booked me in. But mate, how's that been? You've been out to corroborate Billabong.

how has all that been going out there? Still biting? Yeah, yeah, look, it has been going really well. We, um, we had a couple of days of uh, tricky enough fishing out there this week.

Mostly because the wind and uh, uh, that's sort of why I ended up there because we couldn't go coastal because it was a bit windy. Um, but yeah, the wind sort of does, uh, change how the fish behave in there, uh, and it does make it trickier to, um, fish of course, but it has been fishing really well and, uh, and it will get better, particularly the nighttime fishing has been going well around the full and new moons. But the girls recently, they had their fishing comp on their last weekend, the secret women's business, um, fishing comp, and they caught a lot of barrow between them, uh, and some bigger ones too, up to sort of 80 odd centimetres. So, yeah, it's it's definitely going well far better than it did for the last couple of years for sure. So it goes to show what a good wet season can do.

It was funny, you know, because I received a random email, which I just sent to, I replied to all emails and I did quickly reply to this email, but then I sent it to the junk file because I thought it was a G-up. But there was somebody up there who sent me an email the other day telling me they thought they saw you wearing a dress at the Humpty Doo Tavern. So obviously, what, did you go there in disguise, did you, in the secret women's business comp? Yeah, it wouldn't have been a bad idea.

Or pencil that one in the neck. It's a wonder you didn't think of it. Pretty easy for people to describe and think that I'm a bit of a from behind it, but long, long mullet streaming down the back there, mate. I'll probably cook all right in some high heels too.

Oh, you have to walk in everywhere backwards, I thought you were going. Yeah, I'll write that in for next year. That's good idea. Good stuff.

we mentioned it last week. The $1000000 fish is back on and people will be gearing up for that, yeah, as we get a bit closer to all of that sort of festivity will be fantastic. Absolutely. Read the station's open, obviously, earlier, they're open now.

So, the thing that a lot of people don't um probably don't realise is that you don't actually need to to fish to win in this uh in the uh $1000000 fish promotion, I suppose. You guys, anyone down south, even if you have no plans or you can't get to the territory, you can still win prizes just by registering. There's a, there's a heap of prizes. I think 20 grand worth of sort of prizes, you know, Engle fridges and um eskies and fishing gear and all that sort of stuff.

So it's worth jumping on the website just checking it out as much as anything. Um for a chance to win a prize, even if you're not planning on coming up for a fish. Oh, mate, I wish I was there. It's fantastic to be up there with you, mate.

And hopefully next year we will, we're working on it. I can't talk to people about it at the moment. We are looking at a big trip I've been asked to be a part of in July next year, which may present the opportunity, Watty, for me to sneak over the border, son, and come and, you know, annoy you for a few days or something.

We'll see what happens Yeah, that'll be right. No worries. We'll have to, we might have some power on that front gate, caravan park for you by then.

Yeah, on the road, yes. All right, mate. On the road there. Well, mate, Abby 40th, you enjoy, and mate, try not to drink too much, which is probably, you know, easy than it sounds.

But you look after yourself up there. But like I say, happy 40th mate, and we'll, if you survive the festivities of the entire weekend, we'll catch you next week, eh? That's right. I'll be done here in the week, but I've got a bit of fishing to do mid-nex week, so I won't be going too hard.

You'd be right, mate. That phone line's a bit dodgy, so we'll leave you there. Wadi, you're a good man. And I was saying, enjoy the 40th weekend and I just know it's been an all week festivity up there in the Top End and why wouldn't it be?

That's the place to be right now. And like I say, I wish we were there with him to help him celebrate the big 40th birthday. Good on you, mate. You can get on to Watty just by going to Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au if you're planning on a trip up there next year.

Look at some availabilities. I know he books you out pretty quick. So you need to jump onto that website, check out the Facebook page as well, Barefoot Fishing Safaris, and he is our, our man, our go-to, when it comes to Top End fishing, whether it's Barramundi fishing. What about you mentioned the golden snappers?

How good would that be, eh? Mouth watering already. What's that down with a cold beer? And obviously talking about my favourite fishing spot up there, only because I went there with him, the corroborate Billabong.

It's all good in the Top End. And if you want to go fishing up there, go with the best, and of course, that's our man, Watty, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.