Bag a Barra — 29 November 2024

It's time to head to the top N and Bag a Barra. With Glenn Watty Watts, Thanks to Shimano. Remember to buy local and fish local. Visit Shimano fish.com.au.

And as you know by now, our man Glenn, what do you want? Is the fishing guru up in the Top End, and you can find him at Barefoot Fishing Safaris, if you want to go fishing up there, or if you want to extend your fishing trip and go to some exotic places all over the world, almost. Maybe not all over the world, but he'll work it out. Angling adventures.

That's right. He is the go to when it comes to, you know, those big fishing trips. He's our man up there in the Top End. He's on the line.

What do you g'day? G'day, duck. How you going today? Well, I'm going all right, mate.

Now, through the week you sent me some footage, and it was on Instagram of some of the storm activity up there. Wow. Yeah, yeah, I came back from that um, wedding I had on last week down Victoria to uh, pretty wet old territory and a lot of big storms and stuff. So yeah, she's really kicking into gear here now, mate.

The rivers are starting to pop up a bit. Daly River's on everyone's radar, keeping an eye on the river height. So yeah, it's all happening. I've got to say to you, mate, the light show over Darwin Harbour was as good as the fireworks at Sydney Harbour or New Year's Eve.

I mean, just unbelievable. Yeah, yeah, that's right. And, and, you know, those, um, those recent videos is driven from those storms starting to come in from the north and the west where you can look out over the ocean and, um, from one of those big high rises and, and watch those big storms roll in from the tiwis and stuff like that. So that's when she starts getting really specky.

Yeah, it certainly does look the game now. They tell me someone's won a $1000000 has jagged a $1000000 tag on the $1000000 fish competition, is that right? Yeah, yeah, they got, I think it was the 13th, $10,000 fish so far this season, which is a pretty good effort, really, considering it only started at the end of September. Uh, so probably last couple of weeks of um, chance now, probably leading up till about halfway through December when, when it really starts to rain and then those fish will spread out and then they do get a bit, bit trickier to find those fagfish, but um, between now and then everyone's in with a good shot.

Yeah. Yeah, so another 10 K. So the $1000000 tag fish, the $1000000 fish, a $10000 fish competition. I've got to say to you, it's been going for a long time now, and we've spoken about it heaps here.

Mate, it's the go. I mean, how good it be just to rule that in 10,000, you little ripper. Oh yeah, absolutely. And everyone you jump off or you get a hit and miss him.

You, you, you sort of... new boat that you'd missed out on or whatever. So, yeah, it does get in your head a bit. Oh, that young bloke who caught that one for a 1000000 last week. Last year was well, last time was a beauty.

Well done. Now, mate, like a 1000000 bucks. I mean, life changing for him. So you're talking about some of the rivers, you know, the water levels are rising.

What does that do for the fishing? So people are watching, like you say, the Daly River and the like? What happens now with fishing that still get out there? And does that cause the fish to bite a bit more or not? Yeah, well, it certainly can.

And these guys who I've got a couple of mates in down there tomorrow, actually, and we're theorising it about just before. So, when you get uh, there's 2 things that you're looking for, particularly with the Daly, but it happens everywhere else as well. It's just, with a daily, there's river height markers up and down the river, so you can, you can, sort of, predict it um to a certain degree, so, this time of year, if you're getting localised rain, s- uh, say around the Daly River area, and it, and it starts to fill up those billabongs that are off to the side of the main river, and it'll overflow into the main river. That can create a mass sort of evacuation of billabong fish heading out to the rivers.

That's what they've been waiting for, so they can go and spawn. And also other fish coming up the river to go into those billabongs need all that bait that's spread up there all through the dry season. So that's one and the, and then the 2nd one is that, if the, if the river height um, rises through rain throughout the catchment, say, back down towards Catherine, and, of course, the Daly starts in Kakadu, way, way back. If that, if that water rises from, from that end, it'll, it'll push water backwards into those billabongs and sort of backfill them a bit.

Uh and and then once it drops again, that's when they'll start rushing out. So, there's a couple of different opportunities, and it, it, it will definitely happen, if it's not happening, sort of, this weekend over these um, big tides, we've got, perhaps the next full moon, and definitely by um, by that 1st um, moon in January. So, yeah, so, you can be Johnny on the spot and have a really amazing barr session. You go down there, catch 50 good fish, intercession, um, if you, if you sort of get it right.

Mate, how good is that? That is, I mean, it's a real system, isn't it? Really? Like it's just, it's just nature at work, isn't it? Yeah, yeah.

Well, it's, I mean, what I just said then takes, takes, takes you 15 years to work out if you're fishing 200 days a year, so little bit of a hot tip, I suppose. But if you, I mean, it's very easy to catch nothing if you just rock up down there and go for a fish, but, you know, that's it's not always the worst thing in the world because Daly River's a pretty good place to be anyway. But, yeah, if you, if you, you know, pay attention to a few different things and, and use efficient smarts a bit, you can, um, you can sort of go down there and expect to have a good day, if it all lines up. I don't have those fishing smarts.

I've got all the gear, mate, but no idea. I mean, cheers. Yeah, there's plenty of there's plenty of people like that. And, you know, we all feel like that sometimes too, don't worry.

Well, no, well, mate, that's me. I mean there you go. I mean, I'm prepared to admit it right here. haven't got a clue.

That's why I like going with you. I'm half a chance. Yeah, well, in that way you've got someone to blame too, right? Yeah, oh, well, out what ways, you know?

Well, as if that would happen. How dare you accuse me of blaming you? Yeah, yeah, we'll see what happens in that 2nd episode of... Exactly right.

All right. Well, we'll leave you up there. Stay safe. Obviously, it's a lot of rain, lot of storm activity.

Pretty, the humidity levels would be pretty good, but great place to be right now, the Top End. Yeah, that's right. I spent most of this week sweating out all the party that I had last weekend at that wedding, mate. So, I think I'm on the practice square one now, which is good.

I reckon that's probably what the river level's original, that sweat's running down into the river. The ground surface and made its way and flooded the river. Definitely leaking a bit, I can tell you that. All right.

I'll talk to you next week, Watty. Good on you. There he is. See you, mate.

That's our man, Watty, Glenn, Watty, what? Barefoot Fishing Safaris and of course, angling adventures. And as he says, it's nature at work, isn't it? that wet season, it just changes everything in the Top End and it's very interesting and must be so good just to watch, which I think is why the locals love it up there so much because they're getting a bird's eye view or a front row seat, rather, of all this happening, of their whole, everything just changing.

And then obviously water breeze life and the place is just an amazing. I love the Top End and there's a lot to it. It's not just, you know, fishing and beer is what he normally does, but he's right across this stuff.