Bag a Barra — 2 September 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 shamanofish.com.au.

Well, he's the guru. They're the man behind the Barefoot Fishing Safaris empire up there in the Top End. He's got everything going on. In fact, he's missed it. You know who he is now?

He's Mr. NT. He is the man. Barefoot Fishing Safaris. is now big business.

He does have selective hearing and deafness problems though. Watty, how are you? What was that? Exactly. I'm going good.

I'm sure, I'm sure, I'm sure, Mrs. Watty would have a few hearings, selective deafness too, and you're trying to tell her things, you just want to know about. Yeah, that's right. Lovely Louise. He does tend to hear the things he wants to hear as a lot of us do.

Mrs. Duck's no different. Yep that's right. Oi, oi, did you get that? What?

Anyway. How are you, son? You've been happening all that all happening up there. Um, I've got some,

some mates up there. Oh, hey, mate, at the moment up there with a bit of a touring group with Great Divide 2, as my man, Captain Dynamic, and Shelley are up there with off the track 4 by 4 and Adelaide River through the week and all over the place, and Arnum Land and the like, a bit happening. How's it looking? Because they were telling me they actually passed a few tourists heading south. Yeah, righto. Yeah, I mean, it's still flat out here.

I'm actually in the city today doing a bit of running around after, spent an 8 days fishing last week, but yeah, they're still, they still all go, of course. Um, it does, we do start to send, see a little bit of a shift to um, a few, particularly the grey nomads um, heading off once we get to September, and it's a funny thing why. Obviously, a lot of people want to get home for the footy final, which obviously starting to happen now, but also, um, I'll grow nomad uncle of mine told me that a lot of them like getting home for the start of bowl season, which is in the 1st or 2nd weekend of September, so. Is that right?

I thought of that. What is there a bowl season, is there? I thought it went all year round. I guess the bowls runs when the weather's good outside down south and that coincides with the start of spring.

So, yeah, anyway, I don't know if there's any truth in that, but um, so it's funny how uh, something like that can impact an entire economy up here in the in the top East. Exactly. I actually thought I would have thought, well, I didn't know. I thought it was all year round.

But I've got no, but I don't know. You know, I mean, I've been to a few bowling clubs. I'm sure you have as well. Yeah, that's right.

I didn't know when the last time you won the local pennant was duck, but obviously they've changed the season since you were in the competition in the tournament scene. No, no, no, no. I'm talking about at the, you know, the end of the day part of the club. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. No, we have Barefoot bowls down here at the ski club, actually, which is a really good thing to do. And of course, run all year round. They've got a big undercover area for the wet season.

We have our Christmas party there most years, actually. It's good fun. There you go. You, you, Louise and what, that's it.

The Christmas party. I mean, all your customers. I mean, who you invited? I mean, Fanning, I mean, who would you invite to the Christmas party?

I mean all your customers are back at home. Well, it's true. Mostly of guide fishing clients are, but a lot of the online course guys are in Darwin, as well as this other industry crew, a lot of other guys we all get together and tackle shop guys and stuff and talk about how much we hope it's going to rain in the next couple of months and off we go. Have a good time.

Yeah, fair enough now, mate. What's been biting? You said you were away on an 8 day trip. How did you go?

Where was that at? Yeah, that's right. We just finished it yesterday. Jumped around a fair bit for this one.

It's one of my um, sort of uh, main sort of program trips that um, that we do these days where there's a fly fishing trip actually, so there's 2 boatloads of 2 per boat. Um, I'll reel them off and then we can chat about them if you're interested. We did a day in Shoal Bay for a start. Um, then your favourite corrobery Billabong, then Dundee Beach, then 3 days at Bynoe Harbour, and then what'd we do after that?

Oh, Vernon Islands for the big G GTs and Queenfish on the last day. Oh, actually, that's 7 days. And then we did a half day yesterday down at Manton Dam for some Saratoga on little poppers off the top. So, yeah, big week and a lot of travelling around, but a lot of fishing, a lot of beautiful spots too, of course. Absolutely.

And you are, you are, right. That is my favourite. I know, I half on about it, but I did love it there. Although I was 5 minutes late getting to you.

It was still pretty good to watch the sun come up over the Billabong. But I think next time I come up. I think we want to go back there, but I wouldn't mind, wouldn't mind it if you took me out to Dundee Beach because you did, you mention Dundee Beach a fair bit. I mean, that's obviously a pretty popular spot for fishing, eh?

Yeah, that's right. It's, uh, it's, I think it's the 2nd most popular boat ramp in the Top End can, um, next to the Diner Beach one here in the city. Um, but yeah, that's where a lot of the, the blue water sort of refishing charter guys operate out of. um there's some good barrier fishing down in the rivers and around the rocks there as well as all the pelagics stuff out to sea in the blue water as well and then it's um the sort of northern end of Dundee is um is where we do a lot of our shallow water side casting on sand flats and around the islands and stuff. uh for the flying and finest lure stuff. and yeah, I mean, there's plenty of accommodation down there that actually in the process of building a new lodge too, which will be um pretty flash. So, yeah, it's a, it's a um, ripper.

spot to base out of definitely for a few days and that's what we did 4 days efficient for the base down there and just jump around. There's half a dozen boat ramps within a 20 minute drive where we stayed there. So, yeah, you've got really good variety. Oh, mate, sounds fantastic, mate.

We're trying to get up there next year, I reckon. I think I'm a chance. I got to just make it happen. Now, before we go, let you go, just quickly, mate, the $1000000 fish, that'll be on the game soon, wouldn't it? When does that kickoff?

Yeah, that's right. It will be. It'll probably start on the at the start of October, I reckon. about it yet, but yeah, that's right.

be time to anyone's keen to book a build-up fishing trip and have a chance of catching a $10000 fish or those, or, you know, generally over a 100 of, of the $10,000 fish are released as well. So, um I think they probably average about a dozen or 15 of those going off every year. So, yeah, definitely in with a chance to pay the holiday off and have a bit of change for a few skillies at the airport on the way home. Yeah, I've got to love that, haven't you, Fan? We'll tell people more about it.

It's only a few skillies at the airport. I mean, I love that. I was just talking to Danny Simpson. She, and she agrees with me.

Let's tell you how good is the Northern territory? A few skillies at the airport, not way home, and then hamming yourself on the plane. Just have a few quieties looking out the window. Oh, you got to love that, mate.

All right. Well, it sounds fantastic, mate. We will keep football posted on what he's doing with the $1000000 fisher. who puts up the money for that?

So Crown bet up until this year, I suppose they will be. They're a major sponsor, along with a lot of other sort of industry partners, but funnily enough, it's actually paid for. They take out insurance against it happening, um working on some odds and stuff. So, yeah, I think the money actually comes from an insurance company, which is a bit of an interesting one, but obviously that's the best way for them to set it up and they don't have to pay for it.

That's if someone jags the big $10000 one. Jesus, it'd be good to see, wouldn't it? Yeah, that's right. It'd be a big party that night.

Oh, he's imagineing they're at your place, eh? Big, big, big, big. Imagine Wady winning that. yeah.

You were near for me for a while? Oh, I reckon so. 3 months to save her up. All right, mate.

Well, you enjoy. We'll catch up with you next week as we get into the warmer part of the year. And, of course, the, um, we're just, the weather will start to turn, what, another month? Oh, well, to be honest, I reckon it started to turn here the other day. We, um, we had a sort of a last blow, uh, well, not really cold, but windy, southeasterly, from that big high, that was down south there, and then we actually had some spots of rain a couple of days ago, and um, the humidity is back in the air now, which, um, you know, all the, all the locals, we sort of rub our hands together and go, beauty.

That's the end of the, you know, a bit windy at times and less predictable weather and more flat seas and build up fishing for, like, get those big barrified up and into that buildup conditions and hopefully, um, you know, that, uh, leading into a big wet season, which they are predicting, which is, um, you know, that's exciting for us for sure. Yeah, I don't think I meant one local that didn't love the wet season. All right, mate. We'll talk to you next week and we'll see what's happening, eh?

Yeah, no worries at all. I'll probably be, um, I'll either be in transit 2 or, or already at, um, Papa New Guinea next week, so, um, do going over there, do some black bass fishing. Very exciting. Yeah, we might not be able to get ready. We might not be able to get hold of it.

We will have to catch up with them when we get back. Maybe not. Yeah, yeah, we'll see how we go. All right, mate, take it easy.

chat to you soon then. I'll keep in touch. Get on you, mate. See you, mate.

See you, mate. There he is. Glenn Watty Watt, our man. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

Go to the website. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au or check out the Facebook page, Barefoot Fishing Safaris. He is the man when it comes to fishing and everything up there in the Top End.