Bag a Barra — 5 May 2023

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.

And, of course, Glenn, what do you what is the man behind Barefoot Fishing Safaris up in the Top End, and of course, angling adventures and whatever else it is running this week. He's got more companies up there than Ripit Murdoch. unbelievable. Watty, g'day, mate.

How are you? I'm going well, mate. How are you today? I'm going all right.

We're a bit of a tropical area ourselves here this week. We're broadcasting from Cairns. I've got the lovely Danny Simpson here with me, Watty, and she, she, um, you may remember when we were up in the Top End with you when we did the radio show when you were sort of sitting there with the headsets on and co-hosting and taking selfies and stuff and all that. Danny's here.

She's not doing the selfies, but is he doing a wonderful job? And to give you an idea of what it's done, what she's done here today, Wadi, which you could learn from based on some of your recent performances on the radio. We actually got her to throw to the brake light just before the last commercial break. This is how good, let's just see how good she went.

Yeah, give me a list. debut at hosting. Here we go. You're listening to the Camping in Off-road radio show. We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be back after this.

That's outs done, Marty. Yeah, I'll have to take a few notes on that. I didn't even get a chance of that, Danny. you're getting special treatment up there.

Definitely getting special treatment up here. No, mate, look, me say this to you, Wadi. I just knew you didn't have it in your son. You probably right.

You're right. You don't have a finger on the swear button quick enough for me to do stuff like that. Hello You are talking to me.

We have spent time together and we have spoken privately on the phone. Oh, fair. How do you think I go? Yeah, that's right.

You love that a good producer. Yeah that's right. Absolutely mate. Well, it's just the way it is.

mate, we're very professional. Now, what is all happening up there. Plenty of fish would be. I saw plenty of people heading north, Spain to a couple of people heading here.

Then I said, heading here. We're actually coming up around this way and then heading across to the territory, hasn't it? getting a bit busier around the place, wouldn't it? Oh, yeah, I mean, it probably is without, I haven't, I sort of keep pretty low profile. I'm not on the water fishing in between weeks, but we're definitely into that dry season pattern now, so the um, the tsunami of uh, of caravans probably be heading up the Stuart Highway very soon, I reckon.

Yeah, we're having some cool, cool, windy mornings and nice cool overnight lows at the moment and um, yeah, season's about change. I think I've mowed the lawn for the last time, probably for the year, um, the other day, so that, that's good, that's good, freeze up a bit of time. I've got to say to you, even up here we are now, whereas it's, they do, it's, you know, they get, obviously have a wet season up, up the Top End and around Cape York and that, but it seems to be extended here. Has that been the case there?

Uh, yeah, probably uh, it probably did extend a couple of weeks. I do, I always have a feeling when I go to Cairns, though, that Cairns does remain a bit more sort of warm and steamy, a bit more tropical than Darwin does throughout the year. Don't really know. I mean, um, yeah, we, we really have this distinct time of year where everything just dries off within a week, you know, and then next thing you know, the whole joint's on fire and we're in dry season, whereas Cairns does seem to linger a bit steamier and a bit warmer.

It always seems a bit more lush and green when I go there than no one is, no matter what time of year. So yeah, I think you're on the money there. It's probably extended a bit this year for sure. They're talking a big wet up at the cave.

Have you ever gone barramund fishing, Danny? Only on dams. I've never, yeah. Oh, no, we've got to get you. We've got to get you up. Can we get Danny up there?

Can you take her out on the corroborate billabong? Yeah, well, Cropby Billablong's open. Now they had the territory freshwater fly fishing open on the weekend just gone and caught. Oh, I think 600 bar of monkey or something for the weekend between... So, yeah, yeah, it seems like it's going to be a good year and croppery this year, which is really good.

It's been a bit tricky fishing for the last few years with some not so great wet seasons, but yeah, I mean, fishing all over the place at the moment is red hot, particularly for the Barra. Yeah, well, I've got to say, Danny, that's where we'll get you. We get Watty to take you out. That's where you took me.

I'm going to give you a bit of advice, whatever you do when you meet Watty in the morning, just be on time. Don't, because, oh, I know I've mentioned this before, but oh, he doesn't like it when you're late, do you, buddy? Well, I mean, Danny doesn't sound like the sort of person that would be like, mate, I didn't think you would be either, but you know, sometimes I mischudge people. Yeah, but this was the best bit.

Give it to me. And little sniggering remarks in the car while we're driving, only for us to sit there at some roadhouse waiting for the bacon and egg rolls, for the joint to open. I mean, it could have been another half an hour. Like I said, mate, you want to make sure you get the 1st one off the grill.

That's the best one Yeah, exactly. But you've never, have you been up the Top End, Danny? Yes, no.

No, I haven't, no. I've only ever been into Alice Springs area. I haven't gone. I haven't gone north yet of Nanti.

Well, I think I've seen for a treat, didn't you, Watty? Yeah, I reckon we should get her across here. Actually, I was chatting with my clients last week about something that Danny'd know a lot more about than me. I reckon back end of my 200 series is sagging a little bit.

Is there a lifespan in Shockies in what is in my lift kit? Oh, hang on, hang on. I mean, you've got to be kidding. I mean, that's okay.

consultation call too, isn't it? Here we go. There'll be a bit of a, there'll be an invoice coming your way from, Danny. Can you just advise him?

Is there a light? make a deal here, I reckon. Do Shockies have it? Shockies have a lifespan.

Go for your life, Danny. Answer the question. Generally, when we see shock starting to fail, 200 series, even if it's one of the early ones, shouldn't be shouldn't be that bad.

Normally it's the springs that go and from excess weights, normally the drama there. Your shocks will only start failing if your spring rate's not correct. So for the weight that you're carrying. So once your spring rate's good, set of shocks should last you the lifetime.

Yeah, alright. I'll have to have a look at it. Maybe I'm loading the bloody angle up with too many cans. I don't know what.

Well, there's no doubt about that, no doubt about that. Well, exactly right, Danny. Well done. You got to drink them faster.

And any other questions? Any other tips you need for your car? You got anything else wrong with it or? Oh, no, that's going pretty good, mate.

Actually, I've seen a fair few of these rams that you've got going up here, so that's pretty popular these days, aren't they? You're getting yours all tricked out now. looks good. Yeah, they look pretty good, mate.

Mine's sitting here now, looking at it, and yeah, it was pretty, a lot of, got a bit of attention coming up here. And all of that. But, um, mate, just the, um, you mentioned you're off to New Guinea, uh, that's obviously with a guided tour. You got any spots on that?

Very late comers. No, like coming spots on these ones. There's few are definitely all booked out. There's a bit of availability going to Lake Murray for the Black Bass through the middle of the year.

I'm probably a couple of spots there, if people want to jump on the Angling Adventures website, they can check that out, um, but yeah, it's, um, it's, I, I'm only going to the Bendback Lodge, uh, leg of this particular trip, which is the sort of big barrow destination down there in the southwestern corner of the Western Province. We actually fly a charter plane straight from Cairns to straight to the lodge. We got to stop off at Daru Island, um, and clear customs, then we, so you leave cans at um, 8 o'clock in the morning, you're fishing by lunchtime on those particular trips in, in a whole nother country. So pretty cool stuff.

That's unbelievable, isn't it? So you're going to, so I'm going to miss you, because we'll be gone from here. Yeah, that's right. You will miss me.

I've got a couple of mates I could send down there to stir you up, though. Oh, I could just imagine. imagine what this bloke's makes you like, Danny. If you've ever met what do you have you?

Oh, mate, I'm telling you, they come any loose than him. You know he was thinking about running is for the chief minister's job up there. It's not the premier. Look, he was going to get into politics.

When we were getting behind him, weren't we, Watty? Well, there was a bit of a campaign going on there for a while, but yeah, I think I was running the campaign, wasn't I? I was a bit of a reluctant participant there, I think. It would be good to get... Danny up here for a look around the Top End.

I mean, you bring the old, what do you got, a 70s series? Oh, that's Mars. Mars, Mars, she's got Yeah, but what about Mars? Danny's dog.

he wants to talk on the radio. Yeah, well, mate, her forward was very popular. Just tell Watty what it is, Danny. Yeah, yeah, it's a 9175 series.

So he's nice and old and few K's on the one H Z, so still going good. You want to know the best part about it? It's got a bug deflector on the bonnet, right, Watty? And it says mine, not his.

So when Danny went home for Christmas, her dad borrowed the car to go out to the shops. You get it? Sometimes I have trouble getting your jokes, though. on the on the on the back on the back deflector of the carrot. It says mine, not his.

Yeah, I get it. Right? And then when Danny's dad took the car for a drive, he's borrowed the car to get on the shop, he's driving along with the car with it written on their mind, not his. Yeah, that's okay.

He's probably talking about his brother or something like that, I suppose. Fair enough. Okay, Watty, all right. Just line the up.

Harry, can you believe this bloke? I mean, fant deep. All right, mate. good stuff.

So they're biting up there. Another bumper season coming for the Top End, as people, as you said, the tsunami, your 4 wheel drives and caravans heading up the highway in heading in your direction, which I'm sure there'll be plenty of plenty of fishing trips and tours all on and you'll be a part of that. You booked out, aren't you, for the year? Yeah, I was actually just chatting to a fella on the phone there before, so it's fresh in my mind.

I've got, well, if he books, which I'd say, probably Willard. I've only got one trip available for the whole year, I think, in November for the rest of the season. But... take that spot now.

Danny Simpson will be there in November and we'll book that spot now. Yeah, we can do that. We can I'll get a set of shockies and Danny can put him in. He blue tarp tied to a tree inside my place. It'll be a contra deal, Danny.

Okay. So you got to go up there and service his car and fix his shocks and anything else that he's doing, he'll take your fishing. Pretty standard. Trade for a tread.

He can catch them. Even he even got me to catch one. They're pretty good Not bad. I've told everybody about it.

Anyway, so it's one of those things. All right, you're a good man, Watty. So anything else? Well, I mean, just go along with that same theme that we seem to keep chatting about each week.

I run up to a bit of a speed bump myself actually trying to book some accommodation for one of my charters. Um, only um, yeah, uh, not far out, um, is just for people to get organised early, um, if you are planning on being here. Make sure um before you pull the trigger on any um activities is to actually make sure you can get a bed nearby because it'll be very, very busy come middle of the year, July, August particular. No doubt about it.

That's evident by the amount of people I've seen taking off early for Cape York, which was quite incredible. Still very, very wet up there and pretty early and plenty of people already been there in the last few weeks. So plenty of people on the move and out and about next. I got one other for you there.

Duck, go and try the dark and stormys at Gilligan. They go, all right. Oh, hang on. I did see a song Gilligans.

What is that? That's the place here, is it, in Cairns? Yeah, yeah, down the waterfront there. I'll send me my Fazra around there, get him to take you down there.

He's a good local man. I wonder if we want to bump into locals, especially if their mates are yours. But we're going to say Gilligan's, and we're going to try the Dark and Stormys. Yeah, try dark and stormy.

get a pint handle. That's the one. Okay, Danny looks like Danny's face has just changed. Some sold. She's gone.

She's already done. Dark and stormy up there. Yep, darkened. You a fan of Dark and Stormy, eh? Okay. All right.

Wadi, we'll let you go, eh? You've been on for a while today. It's probably too long. No hose, mate.

Good on you. You enjoy, we'll try and catch you next week. Will you be around or you've been new guinea fishing? Where will you be?

Next week, I'll probably be, I reckon I'm going to be on the water. I may still be in Darwin. We see. All right.

Well, try and track it in. I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow, mate. All right. Have fun with me and Danny will try and avoid your mates from Cairns, okay?

All righty. good luck with that Good luck, there you use that, of course, that is former politician. Hopeful.

Glenn, what do you want from Barefoot Fishing Safaris? In fact, he was going to bring in no more mid strength or light beer, if he was to be in charge up there, which was, or you only had to drink mid strength while you're working, whatever it was, one of those ones. But of course, you can find in Barefoot Fishing Safaris, and of course, angling adventures.