Bag a Barra — 26 January 2024

It's time to head to the Top End and Bagabara. With Glenn Watty Watts. Thanks to Shimano. Remember to buy local and fish local. Visit shamanofish.com.au.

And of course, yeah, man, what do you use the guru behind Barefoot Fishing Safaris? And he normally talks all things fishing up in the Top End. But I think they've had a lot of water up there, supply trucks can't get through and roads are closed, roads are open. I've seen footage of and photographs of empty shelves in supermarkets. Watty, don't tell me the bottlos run out of beer, has it?

G'day, duck? No, I think that's one thing they do keep well ahead of as far as that. They've got their approach. Got the priorities, right?

Don't worry about the food on the they about the food on the shelves, but make sure the bottle loads are stocked. You'd remember from COVID days that it was declared an essential service up here, so they take that quite seriously, which is good for us, but hang on, hang on, hang on. What? What?

Well, you remember during COVID, being able to go to the bottle shop and get a slab of beer before a lockdown was declared an essential service up here. So, um, you know, it's an impressive nature. Yeah. Well, although bottle loads were open everywhere, but I mean, I think they were regarded as, although I suppose they would have been essential services, but in the Top End, they take it very serious. That's right.

The important issues, mate. But yeah, the small things that no one really cares about, like fresh fruit and vegetables and meat. They've been very sparse on the shelves, I can tell you. Now, I actually went into the shops there a few days ago, right in the thick of it, and yeah, there wasn't a single bit of fresh fruit and veg, all meat left on the shelves. Um, apart from you, you find this one lonely little um, section of um, of that not meat um, protein substitute stuff that no one seems to like too much of or whatever, but um, no, they, they have opened up the road here and there, um, as they sort of, uh, as the water recede and they get the road bit fixed up, but um, we, we are on restricted rations as far as um, things like rice, um, minced meat, frozen veggies and that sort of stuff, uh, 2 per, 2 bags or 2 um, trays per person.

Per day type thing. So yeah, as long as everyone does the right thing, we should be able to get a feed this week, hopefully. Unbelievable. So it is, look, people do panic by, don't they?

I mean, that happens. Oh, yeah. It's a reality of life up here. I probably wouldn't call it panic buying.

It's more, you know, preparation because we have it regularly enough where we have a cyclone and you do need to get supplies for maybe a week. So yeah, it's probably, it's probably not quite the extreme as, as panic buying where people are reselling and doing all silly stuff like that. You know, they'll just go in and get enough for 4 a week, and um, and it's sort of not, nothing out of the blue, but yeah, go, it does go to show the reliance we have on a, on a road transport and rail transport system that perhaps could do with a bit of an upgrade. Well, it's a bit tough.

remote out there, mate, isn't it? Then you're talking, you know, one major highway in and out of the place. It's, you know, when it's when, and when you get, and you're in a place where you get monsoonal rain. So I mean, it's, you know, what do you do?

It's pretty, isn't it? It's very, very tough. It is hard. They just, I mean, it's perhaps it's not a huge deal because most people up here are well aware of what happens, but yeah, there will be days every year almost that, yeah, you do have to perhaps go into the shops and go,

Oh, that's a bummer, I have to change my mind tonight and have noodles or whatever, you know. Luckily for us, we've got plenty of fish and a bit of meat in the freezer, so we're good. Exactly right. I mean, yeah, well, I mean, you've got the family farm, you've got the fishing business. And you've got, you know, obviously you're a VIP at a couple of bottle shops, so I mean, you're not dipping out anywhere.

So, I mean, how good are the future? You can always go to the pub for a feed, can't you, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world? No, certainly not. It wouldn't be.

What about just quickly? The fish biting with all this water? What's happening? Not much been happening, mate.

It's been too wet. You can actually, you might be able to hear the insects and the birds chirping in the background. We've just got a little bit of a window of sunny weather here at the moment, but it really has just continued to rain. Um, It's, we've had well over 550 mil of rain here, um, since Christmas.

I tipped out another 40 mil from storms this morning, and it, yeah, it just keeps going, which, you know, it's, um, it's something that's going to be really good for the territory in sort of 6 weeks time, uh, and anyone who's been around here long enough knows that this is the time of year when you just sort of hunker down and do your maintenance and get excited and, and we'll, we'll get out and um, make up for lost time in the water once the conditions get right. So, yeah, it... It is great. I love that.

It is, it does sound fantastic. All right, mate. Well done. Well, you stay dry and all that, and I'm sure, well, you've been not there for a few years now, so you've been through this before, and I'm sure once it, once all this water's gone, it's going to be in for some bumper fishing and all everything else, and it's just the northern territory at its best at the moment, isn't it?

Yeah, it really is. This is going to be sort of 3 or 4 really good wet seasons in a row, the way it's shaping up, so the fishing just gets better and better if we keep getting good wet seasons. So, it is really exciting and I know I've got plenty of excited clients that keep messaging me. Um, I think the, the Bureau of Meteorology radar and the Daly River height measure is probably the 2 top visited sites, websites in the, in uh, northern territory this time of year over on screenshot in the rain and send them through.

How good, how good. So, yeah, the excitement is palpable. I can't wait for late February to get into it. Well, mate, we'll be up there a little bit later in year as well.

So get prepared for that. Okay. Yeah, that's right. I've only got that fence sorted out.

actually. I should have electrified by time. Yeah, you're good anyway. All right.

What do you do on Australia Day long weekend? What do you do? Well, we all know what we all know what you do, but what go on quickly? Yeah, there's all sorts of stuff down at the waterfront.

There's a big, massive Ute run. Every pub has big, you know, frog races and all that sort of stuff. Bit like a Melbourne Cup style and yeah, like it's a really highly celebrated thing here in the territory. We, um, we tend to get along with things and get along with each other rather than get.

And there it is right there. We don't get we don't get tied up with all the nonsense that surrounds this day. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, unbelievable.

It is quite incredible, really. And yeah, it's anyway. But look, I think, yeah. The Northern territory for me should be the capital of Australia.

That's what that's my view. We don't even count properly in a referendum, mate, let alone be the capital. So yeah, but that's because they're jealous, I reckon, all these other southern states, yeah. It should be the capital of Australia.

And I'm nominating you now for a senior position. See you later. . Watty for PM.

good would that be? Here he is, Barefoot Fishing Safaris up there doing his best, and it's, look, I just mentioned, it's the northern territory at its best. And what he lives there, he loves it and he's not lying. He loves it and it is at its best.

And this, what comes from this. Water just breeds life and it's going to be full on in another month or two. It's going to be beautiful up there. So this is where he said, people are getting excited.

They're bunkering down, they're planning, they're prepping and they're getting ready, and it's going to be fantastic, and it isn't all the territory at its best. Monsoonal reigns and just filling the place up with water and life. How good is it? Absolutely. Love it up there.

I'm telling you, I'm not mucking around. It should be, that all the territory should be the capital of Australia. If you haven't been to the northern territory and you haven't been to the Top End, do you have a favour and get there? and you will not regret it. It's for me, it's the pinnacle.

I love out back Queensland. I love North Queensland. I really do. And they're probably 2 of my friends.

I love it all. I mean, I love the Flinders. I love the Nullabar. I do.

But for me, there's just something about the Northern territory, in particular, the Top End, I just, I felt right at home there, I can tell you. I absolutely loved it. No wonder what he, he loves it and he should be the mayor up there. No doubt about it.

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