Bag a Barra — 9 December 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.

And, of course, Glenn, what do you, what, is the man behind Barefoot Fishing Safaris? He's not up in the top bend now, but he's actually putting together some great little concepts that are going to be happening up there very soon. But, of course, as always, he's got his finger on the pulse and what he's happening in the Top End. He's taking a bit of a break in the southern part of the country.

Whatdy, how you going, son? Are you enjoying the cooler weather? Not the so much humidity. Well, I think you got your wise cross a little bit, mate.

I actually am back from down south. Oh, well, Finn. I mean, you've just made a complete imbecile out of me. So you're back.

Yeah, I'm back, mate. We only just a quick trip down there 4 days. It was beautiful too. Nice and yeah, that nice sort of summer weather and yeah, but back up here into the steamy weather now and waiting for it to rain again, the Savo, which would be nice.

What a stitch up. I mean, fair, Dingham. I thought you were going down to see our thing going to New Zealand. So you can find a front in the French.

mate, I got commitments everywhere, you know? Yeah, I know, mate, mate. I don't doubt that mate. But getting to New Zealand to see if you can find a couple of friends in the fridge.

Yeah, that's right. We'll go and have some biscuits for some crim filling in them with some of my kiwi shearer mates from back in the day, I reckon. They call over there they call Devon luncheon. Yeah, that's right.

We're going to buy ourselves a nice new chilli bun when we 1st get there too, I reckon. I don't even know what that is. I've got some great kiwi mates, but that's what they say. They said, oh, we call that luncheon.

Is it OK? Yeah, but I've got a mate of mine who's from New Zealand. A Maori bloke who, mate, let me tell you, you've been to, you would have been to a hangi. Oh, yeah, we used to have them for cutouts in the woolshed.

That was awesome. part of the job, yeah. He does a traditional hangi, mate. Unbelievable.

unbelievable. He did one one time at a duo. was that big. They dug the hole with the excavator.

He did the catering for about 300 people. Unbelievable. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Incredible. just incredible.

Anyway, we do wonder, mate. So, mate, quickly, what's happening up there, the $1000000 fish. Obviously, nobody's caught that one yet because hasn't made the news down here, but any other little 10 grand has been caught? Yeah, still ticking along with one or 2 of them a week, actually, and they've announced a new part of the competition, which is whoever catches the biggest one for the season. Uh, it gets an extra 1000 or 10000 per centimetre.

I think it was 10,000. No, a 1000 extra 1000 per centimetre. So, so you've caught the biggest $10,000 fish, um and it's 65 centimetres, you'll get 65 grand. So there you go.

It's a pretty good little indeed, that one, a little bonus. How good's that? But I'm surprised you're not out there sleeping on the bait. Well, yeah, I mean, that's probably what a lot of people are doing up here this weekend.

Some nice big spring tides for us for our barrow fishing in the harbours up here, so there'd be plenty of getting caught and you'd be very surprised if one of them, one or 2 of them don't get ticked off again through the weekends. So just locals now, mainly just out fishing and getting into it because as you say, this is the time to catch a barrel. Yeah, that's right. Locals and family of locals and just a few random tourists here and there, but um, yeah, I mean, it's been great for the locals, especially they follow us down the Daly River.

Every year they seem to jam 4 or 5 of them and get a little Christmas bonus for themselves off the crossing there, usually on a hand line. So it's pretty easy way to make 10 grand. Yeah, good. How good is it? Off the crossing of the hand line, pick up 10,000.

Unbelievable. Now, mate. You've got some, now you're working on some projects for next year. Just tell us a bit about that.

Yeah, that's right. So part of part of my, the other part of the business, of course, is the online training for people to learn how to catch Barra and all other fish up here, of course, but yeah, we open up the main course sort of twice a year and that usually coincides with the time that people are really looking for the information. So next, next year in early January, I'll be doing for a start doing a 3 day sort of a boot camp, which will um, which will help, or at the end of it, if you say you, you rock up to it. Duck, you'll come out the other end of it, um, with the perfect plan to suit what you want to do for the next 4 months of your runoff fishing, so, um, you know, to work around your work commitments, your home commitments, and, and also got a few um, cool little tips in there to help save a bit of money when you go barrow fishing at the moment too, because as we know, the price of diesel and fuel and everything else is through the roof.

So, anything helps? Yeah. And then, and then we'll um, yeah, we'll probably, we'll let a few of those guys um, join up to the, the main course and and then really kick some goals uh, through their fishing as well. So that'll be good fun.

So these boot camps and all these other things that you've got online and things. These are just all little add-ons to Barefoot Fishing Safaris, aren't they? Yeah, that's right. I mean, COVID sort of stopped me from going fishing there for a couple of years.

They have plenty of time to sit around and stare at the wall and I thought, you know, like going forwards, to leave sort of a positive legacy on, on the Barrowfish industry up here, I, I like to share some of the knowledge that I've got. So it's been super fun and get really rewarding, just helping other people sort of accelerate their bar fishing up here and, you know, then they enjoy time on the water more. They get their family out more, and they make those really good memories, which is, you know, I've been fortunate enough to spend 12 years making awesome memories on the water, so it's great to be able to sort of facilitate other people to do the same thing. Yeah, absolutely.

What we might do over the next few weeks is because your fishing trips have dropped off. We might talk to people what they can book with you, just not just going barrow fishing or whatever up there, but there's a whole lot more to what you do these days, isn't there? So we can, we might tell people about that. You've actually got some big trips, you take people overseas on big safaris and all that stuff now.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, we're looking for some We've got a few more spots groups over in New Guinea. We've got a trip to Alaska, one to Christmas Island there, Curabas and plenty of others as well.

And of course, this New Zealand trip that we're heading off on shortly, uh, this part of it. We've got a really nice trout fishing fly fishing lodge over there called Owen River Lodge that we booked for as well. get over there and catch up with the guys and then hopefully see them a couple of groups over there, through the coming trout season, or the trout season that's actually happening right now. All that sound.

Well, you got the life. I wouldn't think much happens on Christmas Island these days, wouldn't it? Used to be pretty full on. Well, goes on there now.

Actually, a different Christmas island, this one. I was going to say, that's a fair way from you. Okay, so it was a fair away from you. Yeah, that's right.

This one's um, is actually uh, uh, uh, Cure Baddy, so it's a, the different Christmas island. It's a, it's a series of um, Sandy adult islands that's just surrounded by, um, you know, really shallow water site casting for all those um, sort of tropical flatsfish as well as the big some deep sea blue water species like your Trevalli and that sort of stuff as well. Pretty awesome spot. Twice now, look like an idiot talking to you today.

I was just going to say... Yeah, no dales over that one, mate. Yeah, no detention centre is exactly right. I was going to say to you. hang on a minute.

That's a long way from you. Jeez you're getting out there now. All right, mate. So it's all happening Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au.