Bag a Barra — 11 February 2022

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 Watt is the owner operator of Barefoot Fishing Safaris. You can check out the website, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au, or jump on the Facebook page of the same name, Barefoot Fishing Safaris. Now, one thing we that a lot of people don't know about, a lot of people do know about it as well, but a lot don't. And that, of course, is the tides.

And when you get up the Top End, the tides are a little bit different than the tides you've experienced down south, and I thought, it might be a time with people planning those trips to get up there right now, uh, just to sort of give them a little bit of a heads up on what happens with the tides in the Top End, and who else than Watty? Who else will be talking to rather than Watty? Because he knows it all? He's there.

What do you g'day? G'day, mate. Yeah, no one at all might be a big call. He's talking you up.

Good, appreciate it. I mean, I know you're not that bright, you know what I mean? But we don't want to tell everybody that. We only have experts on this show.

Can't you deal with the bloke? Can't you tell other host? I mean, it's a certain there's a certain level to get on this program. Unfortunately, it's just not that high.

Yeah, I know it does. And me too, mate. Now, listen, it is true, isn't it? Because the ties act differently up there than down here. Yeah, absolutely.

Uh, you know, uh, ties, I'm from uh, Victoria originally, and um, which tides were never really something that we considered too much when we were fishing down there, saying Portland and that sort of stuff, the tidal range, even on a full moon, or a new moon is um, is, you know, half a metre is probably a big movement down there, and there's, well, I think we had one year, one day last year that, um, that we had less than less than a metre of movement, but virtually every single day up in Hindu, and you're going to get at least 2 metres of vertical water movement in and out of every harbour and river and right up to close to 8 metres. Once we get into the end of the year and the start of the year, like right now is massive tides around the full moon and the new moon, mate. And um so you got really high water in the morning and then really, really low water and uh by lunchtime. So, we'll have, we'll have some days around here in, in Darwin Harvard's a classic for it.

I'll put up photos of it every now and then I'm always amazed by it. Um, you know, 7 metres of vertical water movement out of a harbour, um, within 6 hours. Unbelievable. pretty amazing. Yeah.

Yeah, that is unbelievable. You see, I've seen you see some videos and the like of people who get caught out by the tides, you know, right up the Top End there where it goes out along, long way, and before you know it, You could be standing in water and a few people have been caught, haven't they? Yeah, absolutely.

I've been caught once myself and sat on the mud for around 6 hours waiting for him to come back. I mean, amongst the midgies and mozzies and that sort of stuff, but yeah, it certainly happens and, you know, yeah, it's, it's, it's real, it is really, it's something you've got to pay attention to, uh, because it can, it can go pear shape pretty quick, uh, particularly in these shallow areas we've spoken about Shoal Bay before being a bit treacherous like that. You know, you can go into a system with 7 metres, like I said, and and then, you know, within 6 hours or 5 hours, if you're heading in there, you're down to one or none. So you've got to plan around it and the big thing, um, is obviously the tides change and move with the moon and if you get stuck on a, on a day that's got a really, uh, say you're stuck on a mud quite high, but tomorrow's high tide isn't as high, it may not float your boat off. There's been, there's been cases, there was a classic one up here a couple of years ago of a bloke who was on a mudbank for 4 days in his boat.

The tides are getting smaller and smaller and he had no hope. In the end, he was on the sat phone. He was fitting well and everything, but he was on the sat phone, called a chopper in. They hooked a rope up to a chopper and had dragged his boat off into the river.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, if he didn't have that sat phone, he'd been waiting there for a fortnight until the tides got big enough again. Unbelievable. And that's why we say the ties that you'll experience up there are nothing like down here.

So it's, it's, it's, I mean, you say it's, it's amazing. It is really. I mean, it's incredible. when you when you see that and you see where there's once watered and there's just nothing there.

There's this, it just goes and then it just comes back again, but some of the distance that it, it travels out. It's just unbelievable up there. And you've got to be very, very careful because you can't get like that. I mean, imagine that bloke. Well, mate, he wouldn't have survived.

I mean, he would have been buggered. He would have been in his bed there for 2 weeks, and no one would have known. I guess somebody went looking for him. I mean, if it was you, maybe not, but and me, but, but, but, I would have landed all good for him.

You remember that bloke? Remember that bloke I told you about the other couple of months ago, we went out on the drink and they reported him missing and then on his way home, he saw the search buddy. So he joined the search party and they'd only to find out that they were all looking for him. It did sound like...

Sounds like something happened to me. I know that Who are we looking for? Anyway, but you know, it is.

It is something and people need to be mindful of that with people planning trips up to the Top End now and there'll be a stack of people doing it because it's been a little bit restricted over the last couple of years in light of COVID. I know when I was up there, the year before last. I mean, it was really quiet because the borders were closed and they opened for 5 minutes and then closed again and there were people trapped and stuck in other parts of the country and it was an absolute nightmare. Uh, and now I guess last year was a little bit the same and now this year we were looking a little bit, a little bit more tidy.

It looks like it's going to get back to some sort of normality. Yeah, that's right. It is, um, it is looking like the feeling is good for this year, and I'll just, yeah, I'll touch on that just quickly, like, um, that because there is so much demand, uh, this year, anyone who is planning on coming up, whether it be for Darwin Cup in August or not right through until even September, October, it's really worth getting on the job now and start planning that holiday, because all of these tours, you know, I'm virtually booked out for, for the whole year already, and I know every other fish Guide is as well.

And that's going to go for all your Kakadu tools, your Litchfield tours, all the other stuff as well, accommodation. Um, so it really does plan to get onto it early this year. And one thing that a lot of people don't know right now too, is that um, you can have a bit more security or surety that your holiday's going to go ahead or you're not going to do your dough this year because there is travel insurance mobs that are covering domestic travel for COVID interruptions. So it's well worth talking to your travel agent or having a search because you can, um, you can get cover for that this year. It's something that's only just changed.

I didn't even know that myself. That's great advice. Because how many people have done their, you know what? Because of COVID. You know, they've booked and they've struggled and they get money back and some people are just handing out credits and so, well, hang on a minute.

I can't go that time of year. That's why I've booked it now and it's just been a nightmare. That's very, very good to know. So, look, do your research there, folks.

uh because travel insurance. Oh, hang on. Oh, hang on a minute. Hang on a minute.

Is that accounts payable? Who's Reuben? Yeah, you come over, hand feed me, rooster. You there, Bunchie?

You're there, Bunchie? I wondering what time it is. No, that's the accounts department. So if someone rings up looking for a check.

They get put through to that... There it is. It doesn't sound happy. That's usually who we put the Sydney numbers on too. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, good luck trying to be paid from people. Fishing safaris. That's the actual accounts department in the background. I'm years and years ago.

I worked with my late dad in a car yard. I was only young, I was 16 or something. And there used to be a galara in a cage or a white cockatoo in a cage, and we put a sign on the front of the cage warranty manager. which was a bit of a bit of a joke at the time.

That just reminded me of that. But it sounds very natural where you are there, Wadi, with the rooster in the back. Who is he? Reuben.

That's Reuben, yeah. He's a very handsome young cop. Oh, Reuben is. Is he?

Well, well, fair enough. And he's there making a bit of sound this time of day, which is fantastic. You wake up early normally or? Oh, yeah, he works up pretty early. yelling at everyone all day.

Really, does he? I'll tell you. We've got a couple of cattle properties here near where I live. And for the last few days, they must have moved all the cattle down to this end of the farm because I'm sitting in the office, which is great.

I love it. I mean, I feel like I'm on Yellowstone Ranch, which I've told you about. where you just hear the cows, you know, mooing all night all afternoon and day and night and morning and but there was a bloke, just a couple of doors down who had a rooster, he woke up real early and I've got a funny feeling somebody might have got rid of him. It's...

He was waking up about 4.30 every day and so was everybody else around here. Anyway, all right, mate. Well, good advice this week. One on the tides and in particular, that travel insurance.

Certainly, that is worth looking into if you are travelling this year. In fact, if you're going anywhere and crossing borders, because you just don't. Now look, it all seems to have settled down a little bit now, but you just never know of this thing. It can change real quick.

So look into that. You're a good man, Watty. I know you're preparing to get down. Now you're going down this week, but next week looks like it's a go down the Daly River with your caravan to set up a base down there for the next few months for your fishing tours down in that part of the world.

But mate, we'll try and catch up with you next week, eh? Yeah, that'd be good. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that. I'll just um, there's one more thing to say about the tides too.

And that is for people not to be worried about it. But just be just be mindful of it. And there's there's plenty of good advice out there. I've got some free resources on um through the Barefoot fishing academy about tides.

If anyone wants to jump on the website, you can download a cheat sheet and takes the fear out of it, but at least you're aware of what's going on then. Yep, absolutely. And that's what we tell everybody about all this stuff. We get up to and this entire caper, really.

Common sense plays a big part. I mean, it's not when you're up there, be crock, be crock smart. It's like swimming in the beach on the east coast. Remember, there could be sharks.

Don't go in there at night, you know, and don't swim across a river at night and just common sense stuff. I mean, but this caper, you are out in the outdoors and you are out in the elements and you, you know, you take shade with you and plenty of water and plenty of food. If you're going into the outback or, you know, take extra bits and pieces for the car and stuff. It's just common sense, and preparation is everything, and as they sail, as they say, uh, Watty, if you, um, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail, mate.

Is that what it is or something? Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And the other part of the...

you got more. Trying to get rid of you. Go on. It's the tide that actually create the bite time for the fish too.

So it's a very important part of your planning process for your fishing success, not only your safety, you know, and different techniques for different tides and all that sort of stuff, told another conversation. Yeah, we might even do that next week. We can continue that on, but go to that Barefoot Fishing Safaris academy. That's the place where you'll learn all this stuff.

You're a good man, mate. And look, some great advice, as I just said, the tides, of course, don't be afraid of it, just be mindful of it. There's a little bit to learn about it, and the more you know, the more fish you'll catch. And of course, that travel insurance, that was a great tip.

That's absolute beauty, that one. mate, we'll talk to you next week, eh? Good on you, mate. Yeah, look forward to it.

Good on you. There he is. That's our man. Watty up there in the Top End.

You can check him out there for fishing safaris.com.au or jump onto the Facebook page. Bearfoot fishing safaris.