Bag a Barra — 5 November 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, it's amazing, really. I didn't think that our man Watty up on the Top End had anything in common with a uniden dash can, but he does because he also goes into hibernation, has a sleep mode, but can be woken up occasionally. Watty, hello? That was a good little segue.

Duck. That sounds like a handy thing, actually, provide a bit of security for arms. Yeah, like some of their remote boat rants and stuff every now and then have some drama people pinching UHF areas and spotty and stuff. Yeah, they're great for the gear. Although they saved me, well, no, they didn't save me, but it found out who ran, who basically came on the wrong side of the road that hit us and kept going.

And if I didn't have the dash can, well, we would never have found that person. So basically they're allowed the way to go. And they've got other cameras as well. They've got these portable cameras that you can put on your boat, as well as your caravan.

So if your boat's in storage or somewhere or anchored somewhere or parked up, you can, you've got security cameras that you can put on your boat, your caravan that you can basically log onto your, fire your phone and see what's doing if you want to check on them or if you camp somewhere. We'll tell more people more about those. But yeah, it's a good gear from Uni then, and their dash cams and their cameras are fantastic, and we like telling people about good products. Now, you, mate, what's been doing, fishing through the week in the harbour and getting around.

How's the how's the weather been up there? you're getting steamy? Oh, yeah, she's plenty warm enough. Don't worry about that.

It's um, it's proper barrow fishing weather now. Like I was saying last week, uh, more uncomfortable it is for us for better it is for the fishing in general. So, uh, um, you know, eating up up here, we're getting regular rain, which is um, really good for our, you know, the start of the wet season, that sort of thing. So, um, yeah, the, the fishing's been really good.

We had a really good sort of meat tides last weekend and then this weekend, of course, we go on to our big springtide, so we're in the harbour, um, fishing for some Barrier in Bynoe Harbour in Darwin Harbour, which is, uh, it's a really good time of you to do it. We've got a bit of rain there and the fish are biting. Yeah, they're biting? you got a few?

Yeah, yeah, we are. We're, we're, we're getting, probably, at the moment, we're sort of mostly doing half day and one day trips, and even on the half days, we're sort of getting, uh, you know, 3 or 4 borough, um, in a morning and stuff like that with a couple of people, which is really good for people who haven't. They have a caught one before, say, and they're, they're in down or they've got a tourism voucher. They just want to have a go for half a day, 4 hours and they can come out and catch their 1st barrass.

So, it is a really good time of year as far as that goes, for sure. Yeah, that's the go, isn't it? Now, what about the $1000000 fish? Any tags through the week have been caught or?

Yeah, no more tags this weekend, but, you know, we're onto the fish, though, and I mean, really good tides, obviously, um, over the weekend is going to help people catch more fish, and then we'll, um, I'd expect another one at least to get caught this weekend. It's a really good set of ties and we're into it. Yeah, you got to be happy with that, mate. Well, I mean, what happens now?

So as the, we move into the wet season, you sort of, you slow, you slow down, basically to a stop date you in regards to customers and the like. Well, yeah, I mean, we're not far off that, um, with interstate travels, rates at the moment, but, um, we've got the tourism boucher stuff that'll keep us sticking along, uh, bits and pieces throughout the wet. But yeah, it'll, predominantly this time of year, sort of 1st of December, we'll, we'll usually pull up and, and we go into maintenance mode where we, you know, pull the boat off the trailer and um, give the trailer a birthday, give the boat a birthday, pick up any little bits and pieces that need some maintenance, bit of paint maybe, and same with the car, give it, give it all, give it all ready, and there's a lot of logistics involved in, uh, in our runoff fishing, you know? So, we, we really, we've got sort of 4 or 5 months there where we don't have any days to do any maintenance really.

Um so I've got to make sure everything's ready to go. You know, over this wet season, you know, um, servicing or replacing rods and reels and all the hooks on your lures and this sort of stuff. So, keep, keep them very busy, but sort of at home jobs during the work generally. They're great idea, those tourism vouchers up there. I think they're bringing them in New South Wales as well to encourage people to travel regionally and visit some tourist spots and caravan parks and the like.

Great idea. I mean, I mean, I remember last year when people were using those when I was up there and certainly helped you out, which was fantastic. Yeah, just on your, your maintenance. you mentioned your boat.

How, how has the new boat performed, mate? You happy with that? Yeah, new boat's going really well. I mean, and that's uh, that's the benefit of doing your research and doing the, doing the due diligence on things before you, um, I guess, turn the welder on.

We put a lot of work into it over the last 10 years, or, or at least 5 years planning this boat, and yeah, it's, it's performing really well, you know, I was saying to some clients the other day. We're, we're doing, um, you know, almost 22 kilometres per litre and we've got 350 litre of fuel tank. So we can go, go for a long way, 600 K's range, you know, on one tank of fuel. So, gives us so many more options and being a bigger, more stable boat. It's, um, yeah, like it's absolute dream to fish out of too.

So, what do you come down and pick me up? For an hour, mate? Yeah, yeah. Oh, you'd need a few. Anyway, all right.

Well, mate, all good. So you're hot and sweaty up there, bit of rain on is about and but the fish are biting, which is fantastic, mate. right. So once it starts raining, we've got mango season, of course, up here at the moment too.

So we have a bit of magpie goose and Barramundi on the barbeque over the weekends and so it's all good, mate. Sounds like you're doing it tough. All right, mate. We'll let you go back into hibernation.

Hopefully someone will wake up the salvo for a beer. Nice if I had a chance for a nap, wouldn't it? That'd be the life. Yeah absolutely.

anyway, I'm sure you'd be sneaking them in. All right, mate. We're all good. You happy fishing up there and we'll catch up with you next week, see what's been happening.

All right, good on you, mate. There he is. That is Watty with the dodgy phone line, but you need to check him out. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au the website or jump onto the Facebook page, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

And if you're heading to the Top End next year, get onto him. He'll certainly want to go out and catch a barrow, and that's what the big plan is for everyone who heads up there. He'll certainly steer in the right direction and a big chance of catching one with him. The fact that I did is proof because, mate, I'm A plus.

So he knows he's way around knows all where all the fishing spots are. So you need to check him out, Barefoot Fishing Safaris. Go to that Facebook page, all the website, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au certainly is the man to go to when you go fishing up there in the Top End.