Bag a Barra — 8 October 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, Glenn, Watty, Watty is a mate of mine, and he is the owner operator of Barefoot Fishing Safaris in the northern territory. And if you if you're planning a trip to the Top End, and you want to go and grab that elusive barramundi, well, no bigger chance of catching it, catching one is, if you don't go with waddies. you got to go with him. He'll help you do it.

He's on the line. He's up there fishing 24 hours a day at the moment because the $1000000 fish competition is on. Someone won 10 grand through the week. Why did I check the name?

It wasn't you, son. No, what was it? But I tell you what, it was at the spot where I would adorn if I, uh, if it was going to be me down the Daly River there. Oh, Fed Incom. Okay.

Now, listen, before we get into it, I asked Frank at the Walk about Creek Pub as well earlier, I'm not sure if you caught up with the story of the bloke in Turkey, and I know you don't, I know you travel overseas, but we can't at the moment, but I did think of you, of this bloke who went out. He got on the drink. He then didn't turn up home. The family and everyone has rung the police reported him missing.

They've put together a search party to search for the bloke and he actually joined the search party himself. It sounds like something that could easily happen up here. I know. But I had to check and I've got to tell you, I actually read the story on the NT news website.

So that's when I thought, hang on a minute. What he's been out on the drink. he's been reported missing. The lovely Louise has gone, he's not home.

We've got a report him missing and then you've turned up and saw a crowd of people and said, well, I'm in. Who are we looking for? He walked he walked around for a couple of hours. I think he walked around for 2 or 3 hours before and they started yelling at his name and he goes, yeah, what's wrong?

He's been walking around. I mean, yeah, I mean, I tell you how elephant struck he was, mate, but anyway. Now, why do the 10 grand fish? How good is it?

Someone's caught one. I think we mentioned last week that last year, a young girl turned up to a survey, bought a handline, threw it in at the boat ramp, or off a jetty and caught one. Uh, mate, that the Daly River. How good is that?

So it's made it's up and happening and plenty of people are getting into it. Yeah, absolutely. It's um, it's uh, the, one of the most interesting parts of the whole um, $1000000 fish campaign is the, the interesting stories that sort of um, the, uh, the background of, of how all these fish are getting caught, and that one last year was an absolute crack. But, yeah, this one was, you know, almost predictable to a disagree that there's been a lot of the tag fish court at Bamboo Creek there on the Daly River, over the, over the years, and um, you know, those guys are down there at the right time and, and got one to buy.

Yeah, one of the boys was up at the car getting probably refilling the esky or something like that, I suppose, and his mate wound in on his own and had a net on his own, but then they went halves with the money anyway. So good news story. Oh, that's it. Would you get halves in the money if I come up there with you and I actually caught it?

No, well, I mean, you have to read fine print when you go on a charter, mate. I know, and part of that, part of that fine print is be on time. Yeah, but anyway, which is another story. Can't be late, but now, mate, what's biting?

I know, as we, the season changes, now I'm tipping, she's probably getting a bit steaming up there and has that changed what you're fishing for and the way they're being caught? I mean, yeah, we certainly, we've had some good rain, actually, uh, a few days ago and the whole place is all nice and green again, which is good and uh, hopefully we get enough to keep that going. Yeah, the focus is really switched. um to the build-up barrier stuff for most people.

There is a, um, the Bill Fish, fishing, um, gets, uh, gets better or, or me, more easily accessible up here at this time of year as well, and they've got a couple of, um, the Top End Bill Fish series, comps happening, so the Marlin and Sailfish out a bit wider. All associated with the sea calming down and some water temp changes and that sort of stuff, but the bar fishing is probably the one that most people are into and it's absolutely going off already. Uh, just with the water temp increases and then it coincides also with um, some really sort of amazingly small tides for, for up here. So, we're only getting one or 2 days of it, a fortnight, but where the water really isn't moving a hell of a lot in and out of the system, so it cleans right up, and it's just providing a really spectacular window for people to get some bites from lots of barra, but also some really big barra, some guys that have done, that did my course earlier in the year, um, have just been absolutely cleaning up out it, uh, places like Shady Camp, at Sydney and Creek there, Tommy Cut, um, Leaders Creek and the Adelaide River as well,

which isn't known for easy fishing, but it actually has been fishing really well in the last couple of weeks. So it's pretty exciting. I saw, I think it was Adelaide River. A tour guide copped a bit of a nip on the hand or the arm from a croc.

Did you see that? Yeah, that's right, yeah. Yeah, he's actually, um, I know he's a bloke who, who works on that boat and I thought, oh, straight away. I thought, oh, that's me, mate, for sure, he'd been playing up, but no, it was actually, um, it was his co-worker, and yeah, a bit of a, I, I suppose perhaps a lapse of concentration on, on the Adelaide River, those crocs do follow those tourboats around because that's where they get fed.

They know the boats. They notice the engines and the whole lot. So, yeah, he dropped his, his hook is what they're saying, and what that is, is, is like a bamboo pole with the, um, with the hook on it, so they can actually feed these crocs safely. sort of dropped it in the water and instinctively just reach down to grab it.

But of course, there's little crocodiles sitting there waiting for his turn in line. And he thought, oh, mate's hand was the chicken leg, which didn't end up too good for the bloke. But yeah, no massive damage. But that sort of stuff doesn't really happen or does not happen, um, when we're in a normal fishing situation, even if you're on the Adelaide River, the crocs don't follow the boat around, um, your fishing boats, but, you know, when you've, when you've been actively feeding them and then you're dropping them in the water, you're, you're in for trouble. Yeah, absolutely.

And just before I let you go, I noticed, I think it was a couple of weeks ago, I think I'm meant to mention it to you. I saw a picture of a bloke up there standing in the harbour. waste, deep fishing. I mean, Fed Incombe.

I mean, keen as. I remember when you and I were up there and we were about, I think when we were on corroborate Billabong, I think we were about 15 foot off the boat ramp and I said, would you dive in and swim to the bank from here? He went, nope, straight away, quick ass. Nope.

Mate, I'm looking at the water in my swimming pool over the fence here now. and there's no crocodiles in there. I wait till I get home. Oh, give yourself a rap.

You've got a joint with the pool. What about that other joint? Get all those watering holes, dug, all through the property. So as the wet season coming, and with the gazebo and drinking area at each watering hole,

I mean you've got to love it, haven't you? Yeah, yeah. That was pretty awesome. And we're actually planned on doing a similar thing at this place that we bought this year. So we need to see where the water runs and then we'll get the digger in and start digging some arms.

Yeah, absolutely. All right, mate. Well we'll leave you to it. And we wish you luck, Woddy, because we know in between, you know, your drinking times, which is a big part of the day.

You'll be out there trying to jag one of those tag fish yourself, mate. I hope you get one, okay? Yeah, thank you. I actually probably could do with that.

at the moment after having a pretty quiet last of the year. Thanks for some border closures for us up here, so perhaps I should go and make a bit more of an effort. Yeah, you'll be right, mate. you know where they are.

All right. Well we'll talk to you next week. We'll keep telling people to book with you, all right? Good on you, mate.

Appreciate it. Talk to you soon. There he is. Of course, that is our man, Watty.

you can check him out. Barefoot Fishing Safaris. You can go to the website, barefootfishingsafaris.com.au, or check out the Facebook page and he's got plenty of videos on up there. He actually sent me some videos which we'll post on our page.

He sent them through Messenger. And so I'll get some of those and put them up. And if you want to go fishing in the Top End, we'll go with the best in the business. And of course, that's our man, Watty, Barefoot Fishing Safaris, and you won't go wrong.

It's where I, the only time I've ever caught a Barramundi was when I was there with Watty. He certainly knows the places to catch them. Go to that website, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au or check out that Facebook page by the same name, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.