Bag a Barra — 9 February 2024

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, here's the Bottle O King up there in the Top End, and if you don't know Watty, well, just look for him out there. He'll be going into a drive-through bottle-o somewhere around the place. at least, I don't know. 10 times a week.

But he's also the man behind, the guru, Barefoot Fishing Safaris and angling adventures. And if you're heading to the Top End and you want to go do a spot of barrow fishing. Well, you got to go with this man, Glenn. What do you what?

He is the best in the business up there and he's been on a pretty big fishing trip. I think he took off to get out of the wet, but now the wet seems to be fading away. What are you, what's doing, old son? G'day, duck.

Yeah, that's right, mate. I'm back in the office and in the workshop so I get ready for a bit of fishing season about the kickoff. But yeah, I did just been a week solid out at the cocus keeling islands off Western Australia, which was absolutely amazing, very different to what we used to here in the territory, but something that I'd just, uh, I count late. I'm heading back in October, I reckon, straight away.

So what did you take a group out there or were you just out there for yourself or was the story? Yeah, no, that's right. took an Angling Adventures group of four. Uh, out there and um, I guess the Coke is Keeling Islands is a sort of an extinct volcano atoll, um, with beautiful big um, sand flaps inside, the lagoon, and it's absolutely full of all the real shallow water, tropical, I say, um, sight casting, the fly fishing style, um, species like your bonefish, permit, triggerfish, and various travallis, as well as all the blue water fishing um, out around the, the edge of

old volcano, which amazingly enough, you can be in water that's 2 metres deep and then 15 metres out further than that, you're in 200 metres, it's so steep, unbelievable place, and yeah, we had a really unreal week there, and caught a lot of fish, and learn, learn a lot of new stuff, from some, from some, really well, um, some, some guys that have got a just amazing local knowledge, and especially knowledge of those, those fish, and how to catch them, it was a great trip. You can't beat that local knowledge no matter where you go, whether you're fishing off a jetty somewhere or whether you're doing what you were. So, it's off the western case. Whereabouts, what, up north?

Yeah, yeah, it's right up north. It's actually closer to Jakarta than anywhere in Australia, so you, you fly from Perth, um, and usually stop off at, on a Tuesday flight, you'll stop at Christmas Island, um, hopefully they don't send you through to the, the, beyond the big fence, mate, but stop there for a refuel and then another flight. Hang on, that's where all the boat people were staying. Is that still going?

That's right. Yeah, yeah. Still going, as well as all the, you know, there's that big, the red crab, the coconut crab migration as well there that's really spectacular. We saw 11 crab, he must have been a bit lost or he wanted to get off the island.

He was at the airport on the front lawn there. So, um, that'd be another good thing to go back to. But, yeah. and then it's just another hour flight from Christmas Island to Cokus Keeling Island. Yeah.

So there's about 600 people that live out there, Copus Malay people that originally ended up out there to work on the coconut farm, um, that was established there uh, maybe a 100 years ago or so. But, yeah, they, you know, it's Australian territory. So you don't need your passport to get there and everyone speaks English and they use dollars and there's Toyotas driving around. It's just like being at a sleepy old beach town in Australia, but um just none of that development, you know, so yeah, absolutely. Christine environment.

Oh, spectacular. Yeah, it's right. You're running just unbelievable. So you're running trips out there.

So when's your next one in October, is it? Yeah, I'm going to take another group of probably 6 back in October, I think. There's probably, I think most of the group that went, this trip has already put their hand up to head back for the next trip as well. So I'm about to send an email out to anyone else on Angling Adventures email list or on the Facebook page.

If you're interested, just get hold of us and and we'll get you out there to this tropical um tropical paradise, mate. no other way to describe it. Unbelievable. That sounds incredible.

I never knew the place existed. So there you go. We learned some good stuff here with you. Some of it's useful sometimes too.

Yeah, I know, I know. Well, occasionally. Now, Watty, what's happening in the, in Darwin now, I mean, the, you've had the big wet, you've had the monsoonal range, is that tapering off a little bit now? Yeah, it is.

Since I left it, it sort of, it has tapered off a little bit. We're still getting evening rain, maybe um 10 10 meals a night or so, which is, which is probably what we wanted at, at, actually at the moment because everything was pretty flooded. You'll remember the Daly was up around 12.5 metres, uh, and anything higher than that and it, and the crop starts swimming up and around the local shop and that sort of stuff. So that's actually dropped right back down now to sort of 6 and 8 metres hovering around there.

So it actually becomes really fishable at that time and shady camps had a few fish being caught and so has I mean, you never hear too much from Kakadoo because the guys that live out there in Jaburoo. When they're onto them, they go pretty quiet. So, usually if you stop here and from them is when you probably should go out there.

So I'm actually pretty keen, I might put my boat on the water the next couple of days and go for my 1st pair of fish for the year. Yeah, why not go out there and check it all out and I guess it won't be long then. As time seems to be marching by, it'll start picking up and back into it. Yeah, that's right.

You know, now that we've had that big rain sort of started around Christmas time or a little bit later, I suppose, around New Year's. By the time we get to that sort of 2nd or that 3rd week in February, especially, the bait will have had um sort of one lunar cycle to breed up and build up and then that's when it really starts to happen, especially if we keep getting this little bit of intermittent rain. Should really hold that wet season and that bait breeding cycle, um, going right through until the end of May, is my fingers crossed and on a year like this, in previous years, that's certainly what happens. So good times ahead.

Unbelievable. Well, it all sounds like it's happening up there, and that spot you just told us about. Sounds like a cracker. So people can jump onto the, any adventure.

I don't think you'll get a spot, to be honest. you've only got 2 well, you think you've got 2 more vacancies. I mean, for the true in October, I mean, you'll fill that pretty quickly, but people could go on and have a look at your socials and see whether, you know, see this place and you might have put it. We've got a couple of, we've got a couple of social posts up at the moment.

I haven't even got to put in the website listening up yet because of course this was our 1st trip there. But yeah, I mean, just get straight on to me if anyone's interested in going, catching some sponefish and triggerfish and permit in Australia, you know? There's a couple of other places that you can do that in Australia, but none that are as good as this by far. I've got no idea what those fish are, but it sounds like they sound like they're good. I wouldn't have.

Well, I know about brim. Super popular sight casting fish all around the world. And this was definitely the best place in Australia to get them. Yeah. Now, I'll tell you what you could have called if you were with us here.

We're at a place called Hat Head on the mid-north coast of New South Wales at the moment. And you know, you're not going to believe this, but where we are, the water is beautiful. Pristine. The difference between the water here and where you are is you can swim here.

You're not going to get eaten. Oh, yeah, that's right. Yep, That a big difference between most places in Darwin.

Yeah, I know, right. But you know what, we're swimming across here this morning, a big rue. Oh, really? He was having a bath, was he?

Good on him. I don't know. Have you seen him in the water before? Ah, yeah, they do.

They'll swim when dogs are chasing them. I know that. You can be a fox hunting down south and silly dogs will go off chasing a kangaroo and they end up straight in the water. Yeah, they're actually very powerful strong swimmers.

Well, mate, this one this morning, he was an athlete and mate, he was here and we were actually checking him out, seeing how big of a, you know, fit looking kangaroo he was. The next thing he's in the water having a swim. Yeah, yeah, it's unreal, isn't it? I mean, people come from overseas, their mind to be blown. seeing a big 6 foot buck kangaroo going for a swim across the river, I think.

stepping out, all ripped up. Well, we actually, we actually were lucky enough because Gav had the camera rolling and so we've got it all on film. So that'll be on our episode of Oz off RA TV and you'll see Skippy going for a swim. In fact, they've already we've already started working on the VO.

You know, you're obviously on the business there. And they're suggesting I should, I should, exactly. They're suggesting that I should do it as a David Attenborough style. do you think?

Ah, yeah, yeah, that's right. You should just give us a little impression now, what you might say. I can do. I can do it for you. Skippy for a bit of a swim, a big night on the drink last night.

Blow off the cobwebs by diving into the water, looking for a flathead, here in Headhead. There you go, Rick. That could work? Yeah. He goes, all right.

No, I need another glass of warm honey and tea to just get those real lows, that sort of, yeah, you know what I mean? Yeah. Get the John Laws happening.

Might have to have a couple of witty regs and then come back and turn the microphone on and do his stuff from the mid-north coast. That's the one. There we go. There was a blue kettle dog in tow as he chased him across the water, and the kangaroo was too much for him, went in, and just took off and was last seen, surfing a couple of breakers.

I reckon you've got it nailed. Mate, David, that would be nerves, have you heard that? Oh, well, yeah, I'm sure. He, um... I think he's shaking any books.

I think he's safe. I think he's job safe. Anyway. All right.

Harry's back in the studio, listen to all this nonsense, you know. Harry? worry, isn't it? I think Harry?

I think I think I can do better. Oh hang on. There we go. Yeah, go on.

Harry going? As you can see. No, hang on. No.

Oh, no, no, you don't get you got to do it 1st take. Ready? Yeah. As you can see, the wild kangaroo is swimming through the lake.

It's a creek, creek. The lake is a creek. It's swimming in water. Jeez, this show's hitting new heights, Harry.

Who got your contracts all in place? See, if Harry was smart. He's a studio producer. He would have just played some David Attenborough.

He's got it he's got it at his fingertips there. He could have just said, I can do this better and play the actual rule bloke and we would have gone, oh, how good is Harry going? He sounds just like him. I didn't think about that, but maybe I should.

That's why you've got to get onto the job, Harry. No, what I'll do. I'll just take it out. Take all this out and then put that out in there. And then it'll sound great.

All right, Watty. Don't worry, mate, I tell you. I just want to put up with each week. I talk to you next week, eh?

Right, good on you. See you, mate. There he is. That's Glenn.

What do you want? Barefoot Fishing Safaris. You can check him out. barefootfishing safaris.com.au.

You guys here, check out Angling Adventures. He's everything up there in the Top End. He's going to be, well, we got to nominate him for Prime Minister, I think, when we move the Capitol of Australia to the Northern Territory. Get it out of the Australian capital territory.

Get it out of there, Canberra, and just move it. The Darwin. I think it's, I think we've spoken about this before. How good would Australia be then if we were just running it up there on their rules and put what are you in charge?

And we've got our man, Harry, Attenborough Hughes, who could be up there working with him now. So there you go. Barefoot Fishing Safaris, jump onto it, and that, look, that trip that he was just talking about, you need to keep an eye out for that. And he's got trips all over the place throughout the year as well.

Barefoot Fishing Safaris. You want to catch a barramundi up in the Top End.