Bag a Barra — 22 July 2022

It's time to head to the Top End and Bag a Barra. With Glenn Watty Watts, thanks to Shimano. Remember to buy local and fish local. visit shimanofish.com.au. Well, he's the guru up there in the northern territory when it comes to fishing. He's the man, and I'm led to believe we've got him on a boat on Darwin Harbour.

Is it one of those, is it, is it an actual fishing boat you're on or you want some sort of a cruise, some raw drinking, you know, crown lager and eating prawns? What's doing? Oh, that'd be nice. Actually, I'm not too far off it, I suppose.

I am in my boat heading around through Darwin Harbour to catch up to the big mothership we use and help we go again for another week up to remote Arnland, which I'm very excited for. Beautiful weather up here at the moment too. Not a breath of wind today. It's absolutely magic out here.

Oh, how good is that? So you're on your boat. You're heading to the mothership. So how far away from you is that?

Oh, so I launched my boat sort of at the boat ramp nearest to my joint just 5 minutes down the road from my place and then drive right across Darwin Harbour and around to Cullum Bay out near the casino there. And that's where the clients are already on board. I'd say they've probably already cracked their 1st one. and we'll hook we'll hook up and get away pretty shortly. Oh, well, you know, thirsty weather up here, mate.

Oh, mate, mate, while I understand that concept, in fact, I wish I was there with you. I mean, thirsty, thirsty work and the weather's right. You got to be happy with that. So you jump on the mothership.

So what do you do then? You know, what, tie your boat to the mothership, and not if it go for you, go? Yeah, that's right. We've got a couple of boats going on this trip, so we tie one off each sort of back corner of the big boat on some big long pole lines, about 40 metres long, and yeah, off we go, go and have a,

probably go and have a little nap. I stayed up a bit late last night, actually, but I'll... What happened? celebrating something?

What are we celebrating? What a fridge opening? Whatever day it was. Whatever day it was.

You imbecile. Well, I've seen a bit of a team meeting for this trip we're heading over to Lake Murray in New Guinea. A couple of blokes are going over on that trip there. So I'll make a few plans with that.

That was cool and yeah, that dragged out a little bit. So I might have a little nap, as I wait for the chef on the mothership to bring my lunch into my room for me. That'll be nice. Oh, mate.

And what, what, just on the mothership. So you've got a few people on that, and then you've got the chef. What's the guy with the tucker? So what's, what's, I'm going to use.

are you eating your catch as well? What's on the media? Yeah, we ate a lot of fish throughout the week, as you imagine. Of course, Barramundi's pretty high up there, Gold of the Snapper and Fred Fit salmon. And then we always run the crab pots out too, so usually have 2 big crab mug crab feeds as well.

And yeah, I mean, if certain groups want to take a box of fish home to share with their families when they get home and they can do that as well. So, uh, but, you know, we also have steak night and, of course, we've got all the good desserts and cooked brekkies and she's, uh, yeah, get pretty spoiled, uh, going away on these trips, better than veggie mite sandwiches at home every day. There's a lovely Louise know how you're eating on these things or does she think you're struggling eating baked beans out of the can. What she thinks going on.

What she thinks? Yeah, she knows well and good. I have to get into me post-mothership pants when I get home for a couple of days until I lose that little couple inches around the waist every time. Pace mothership pants.

That'll do, mate. But it sounds fantastic. off to Armland off there, though. I mean, that's just incredible.

You said the weather's good at the moment. I'm tipping now is, well, obviously I know that this is the best time of the year for up there for weather. So it's been really, really good, eh? Yeah, I mean, as far as holiday and weather goes, it's absolutely Mickey Mouse, I suppose, it's probably at my joint half an hour out of Darwin there.

We've got overnight lows, probably around 15 or so at the moment, which is cool enough for us, but they make a beautiful day's tops of about 28 or so. Yeah. And of course, this time of year with the burning off, that's happening around all the local bush and that sort of thing, and get these beautiful smoky sunsets and sunrises. So, yeah, it's... You imagine those burning offs.

I remember when I was up there, I saw those burning offs. You don't see any people, though. You just see the burnoffs happening. You don't actually see anybody around them or lighting them or managing them. You just saw them happening.

Yeah, that's right. It's really just a part of our life up here and um, there's not too much worries with um, with uh, sort of property damage and that sort of thing on, uh, you know, when it's sort of remote and and then you got to remember these areas. It's just last season's grass, so it's not as if it's, you know, dense southern bush that hasn't been burned for 10 years, like we get down there in Victoria. But, um, so yeah, usually um, sort of pretty cool and quick burns and um, and then uh, the bit of June, you know, the next couple of weeks starts to bring it back that fresh rain growth already.

Yeah, well. Oh, you've got it right up there. And the thing is too, I mean, there's not too many. I mean, now in here, the greenies get involved and a couple of other imbeciles, you know what I mean?

But they're thinking, let's try to get in every part of your life. But up there, I mean, no one cops that, do they? Well, we all I think we probably consider ourselves pretty green up here and that's why the land... Yeah, well, that's, and hang on, that's exactly right.

I mean, the fan income. I mean, when you think about it, anyone who loves getting out in the bush and, you know, exploring tracks in four-wheel drives and your cleanup tracks along your way and I mean, that's that is what you would traditionally call a bit of a greeny. But it's sort of, they've redefined their role. Yeah, it's a, it can get extreme sometimes in the political stuff, but coming from a farming background, mate, I did a pretty strong connection to the land and looking after it and stuff like that.

So, yeah, we've always considers ourselves pretty green and the custodians of the land. So if you look at it from that point of view, we are pretty greenies up here and we do try and look after it. A lot of natural bush out there and... You don't put up with the nonsense, do you? Well, we don't we don't have the population and and I think people up here because they are more connected to the bush.

Most people do spend at least some time in the bush. They actually understand the real issues, which has passed some of the guys down in the cities don't get to experience as much. Underline those 2 words, real issues. Yeah, exactly right.

I mean, I know, you know, down here, I need to put gates on tracks and stop you from going in and doing this and doing that. You actually enjoying the bush, respecting the bush, and looking after it, rather than trying to run it all from a coffee shop in the city somewhere, and you've never been out to yourself. I mean, it's, that's what goes on, you know, but, uh, but no, and I'm not saying they're all like that, but I mean, you know, but I mean, the political views are the things we need to keep out of it and just get out there and look after the country so we can all enjoy it. And I just think what happens up there is just so much so much easier is just no fast things just happen.

It's done. So, but mate, um, so fish wise, what's been biting about the place? Oh, yeah, well, the bar have been going really well. Actually, I just drove past the school of clean fish busting up out here in the harbour, which I would have loved to have time to stop the flick at, but we went out for a quick run in the, in Bynoe Harbour, um, as a family there a couple of days ago and, uh, fished to run outside, just at a little hotspot of mine to, um, see if a few of these new slides that I've been tying up are gonna get a new bites, and we saw a heap of active barrel.

Actually, it was the 1st sort of calm and warm day after a bit of a cold blow and I get up on the flats, sun bacon in the shallow water and yeah, in sort of 2 hours we saw 23 individual fish. saw a few of them a few times, of course, um, but, uh, yeah, really good to see the good numbers and they weren't entirely sort of active and responsive to what we were trying to get them to do, but we did get a couple and um, we'd lost a few others and stuff, but it's just really cool to be able to see fish, you know, living happily in their natural environment and try and engage them enough to trick them into buying something that's not, not what they would normally eat. It's part of the challenge of it for me. Yeah, no, absolutely, mate. Well, it sounds fantastic.

So you're away, how long, you say, for a week and a bit, is that right? Yeah, just a week, it's 5 days of fishing and a day travel either side. So we'll travel um all afternoon today and then um through the night and we'll arrive at our 1st uh suspicion spot tomorrow morning. Fish there for a couple of days, then we'll probably move spots down to another system and fish there for the next 3 and then back we come home.

Who picks a spot? You? Yeah, we, we do, as, as a group, we do the guides and the skipper of the boat who, who's been out, you know, every week, sort of thing, so we've all got our favourite spots on certain tides and that sort of thing, and the wind plays a big role. of course, in decision making. So, yeah, we're all on the same page and we know exactly where we're heading right now.

Good stuff, mate. Well, we've established one thing tomorrow morning. Yeah, well, it sounds fantastic. I actually got a couple of friends heading to Arnle very, very soon.

I got there with my me and Vic. You know, that's George and Shelley from off the track 4 by 4 getting everything organised, go up there for a bit of a 4 wheel drive trek, and I'm just imagining how good it would be to be in a boat just off there. Mate, you're living the dream, that is for sure, but we've established one thing here today, mate. Well, 2 things you and I are greenies.

Well, yeah, I bet, you know, sometimes can get a bit of a bad image. Yeah, and the image gets distorted about people that care for the land and I'd say that probably most of the people that listen to this show, mate, have got a bit of a experience to them at once in one way or another. Oh, look, I think everybody, I think at the end of the day, anyone who goes camping four-wheel driving and fishing and the like, um, treat the, treat every, the land and and where they are and the locations with a fair bit of respect. They don't leave anything you didn't take in there.

Yeah, whatever you take in, take it out. You don't want it rubbish and the like. And it's just when it gets political and all these other little agendas that run on the side, which what gives it a bad rat? But traditionally, they've got some great values, which is what we are.

Whereabout. which is now looking, looking after the land and looking, preserving what's happening there because we want to, we want to preserve it for our kids and their, our kids, kids and future people to get out and enjoy it and see what we see and do those tracks and see that history that's laying on around the place. It's just a great thing to do and it's just been people get real political about it. We don't get political on this show, which is probably why we, you know, there's a good reason for that.

Other people can do all that stuff. We don't want to know about it. Enough of that out there already. Yeah, we don't need to be doing that. Oh, mate, feed Inkham.

I mean, I mean, yeah, we don't get too political on E. I mean, that's just, I mean, we can certainly follow it from the sidelines or read about it or we don't care about it, whatever you want to do, but on this show, we're not, we're about. Where about getting people to get out and do just exactly what you're doing right now, mate. So it sounds fantastic, and that's why people like to listen to it.

Switch off button, this show. You can switch it off, but we don't want you to do that, but you can just get off from the switch off from the real world. And I'll switch off from all the nonsense world and listen to us. We're the real world here.

Yeah, it's a worry, isn't it? when we're the real world and not the nonsense world. Tell you what, I don't know if I spoke to you last week, mate, but I went to the Flinders Rangers. I tipping you would have been through there being an old Victorian, mate.

How beautiful are the Flinders? Talk about getting out in the bush and into its natural environment. How beautiful are the flinders? Mate.

Yeah, that's right, especially when it's got to be a green tinge on it like it would right now. Beautiful. and fresh. Yeah, beautiful. flowers down there pretty soon too.

Yeah, I started to see them pop up along the side of the birds will track when I was heading down towards the bottom end of the track, towards Maree, and you could see the wildflowers coming out, but the colours and mate, the life, the bird life, mate, I would have seen, I would have seen 1000000s of budgies. It's like just, mate, it's just unbelievable. Yeah, that's extraordinary, those budgy schools. We get them in Darwin in the city of Darwin.

Actually, there's a couple of big trees right in the city and the main drag where a 1000 budgies go to roost every night. They all find the same. It's unbelievable. smart, aren't they?

Yeah, yeah, they're great little dirt. Yeah, they're unbelievable mate. All right. Well mate, you enjoy that.

Travel safe and listen, try and have a few early nights on that, mate, will you? You expect to be a responsible guide. Yeah, yeah. On school nights, I'm into bed early, but last night obviously wasn't one of them.

Fair enough. All right. We'll have fun. talk to you if we can get hold of you next week, otherwise we'll jag you after that and you can tell us how it all went.

Yeah, beautiful mate. I look forward to giving you a report of plenty of fish and good weather. Good on you, mate. There he is, Glenn, what do you want?

Barefoot Fishing Safaris and of course the, you know, he's the alternate green party now. No, he's a good man, Watty, and certainly does. I know he's way around fishing and doing things and travelling in the bush. He loves it all, just like we do. You can check him out.

WR, you just go to the website, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au, or you can follow him on Facebook. So the same name, Barefoot Fishing Safaris, and go in and check out what he's up to now. He's got trips happening everywhere, not just in the northern territory, but overseas, he's got all these things happening, and he's the go to when it comes to fishing in that part of the world and others, by the look of it. And how good would it be?

Imagine Watty entertaining the crowd there on the on the mothership. At night. I'm having an early one at a school night. That'll do me.

But no, he does know his stuff and geez, imagine out there living those people on that boat. What do you say? Crab pots out, barramundi, snapper.