Bag a Barra — 6 June 2025

It's time now to head to the Top End and Baga Barra, with Glenn Watty Watt, thanks to Barefoot Fishing Safaris and Uniden. For the best in UHF communications, explore the extract series at Uniden.com.au. Well, the great man, Watty, up there in the Top End, or over there in the Top End. Watty, g'day. G'day, duck.

Yeah, you're not too far south of me today. I suppose you've got some nice sunshine over there, which would be good for you. Mate, it's hot as here, mate. and certainly blue skies and enjoying the Kimberly weather, mate.

It is unbelievable today. Yeah, absolutely. It's, um, he knows that dry season, uh, breeze kicking in, the cool breeze coming up off the desert and clear blue skies. It's a big change from a couple of weeks ago.

So yeah, it's really changed up here as well. Yeah, well, that a bit of rain up here too, which was a bit unseasonal. In fact, there was a lot of rain in Catherine south of you. So we had to take refuge.

You ready for this? The Daly Waters pub. It probably would have got a bit wet there too, I reckon. Yeah, Catherine had their highest ever daily rainfall on record, not even in wet season, but it on record, and yeah, jumped the river up to 6 or 7 metres overnight.

So that'll all be pushing down through the Daly and make things a bit interesting for people fishing down there for the next couple of weeks as well. Well, they really missed out on it. I was talking to Tom Curtin. he couldn't believe how well it was

He was talking over 200 mill of rain. in Catherine, which was big, as you say, the biggest rain ever. A bit unseasonal, don't you think? Oh, absolutely, yeah.

I mean, the 2 weeks leading up to that weather event were dry and cool, just like we've got today. And yeah, that little cell came through for a few days, it actually was good for us in the last few days of fishing out in Kakadu, just completed the last runoff fishing trip and it really jumped the water temperature back up again, got the fish fired up for a few days. So, yeah, it was, that was actually good for us. We got a couple of miller rain, but nothing like, it was just a couple of 100 K's out there in Catherine, there. Well, they had a fair bit here in the Kimberleys with National Parks Closure.

In fact, the Gib River Road was closed for a while, back open again now. So yeah, it might be climate change, Watty. What do you say? Something like that, mate.

Who knows? You just got to live with it, don't you? You certainly do, mate. And listen, just on it over here, man, if you fished in these regions, in this region, I know you fished everywhere, but have you been over here and thrown a line?

Yeah, I lived in Broome for a little while, um, and in the very early 2000s, I drove a WBU with a mate across the Gib River Road. That was a bit tricky. Probably more comfortable in Iran, mate, but um, yeah, and then I've done a couple of months guiding out of motherships up around that area as well. We used to take people to King George Falls, up the Drysdale River, up to Mitchell Falls, and that sort of stuff.

So I've had a good look around from perhaps better from the oceanside than I had from the land side. Um, but yeah, it's absolutely spectacular country, of course, and we don't get much of that over this way, um, as you know, apart from the East Alligator, river's about the only place where we got a bit of rock and escarpment country, and um, yeah, we've spent a couple of days there lately as well, which is good. Yeah, unbelievable, mate. I actually met a bloke here, yesterday, who was actually running one of the cruises here, who used to work with a fishing guide over there.

knew about you, mate. I can't remember his name, but he knew of you and said you were, he's one of the highlights of Dundee Beach, was you performing there? Oh, yeah, right, yeah. Yeah?

Okay. I made that. I made that. That's because I made, I just made that up. But no, he didn't know he didn't know you, but yeah, but anyway.

He didn't know you personally, but he said he'd name and he's done some fishing guide work over in the territory and straight away. I rank a belt with most of my mate, you know, the great man, Watty. and now he was across it. So, but anyway, he does a good job, this bloke, actually. Cruises, that runs a cruise and drives the boat through the gorge here and Elquestro, where we are right now. So a great part of the world.

I'm just wondering, yeah, you would have gone crossing that Pentagon River in a WB Ute. How'd that go? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Well, it was right time, so it, um, yeah, well, it was a long time ago now, mate, and we might have had a couple of cans too, so I probably don't remember too many details, but, um, not many people have probably done it in WBU.

We might have been the last ones. You never know, mate. Now, what's happening in your part of the world? Fish wise?

Now, you've changed now because you said that we're going to be a lot easier to find you over the next few months. Why is that? What's changed? Yeah, that's right, mate.

I'm actually just trying to wash the boat up after the last trip. Got me old man, one of his mates and my brother, he's sitting under a tree drinking the last of the beers while I washed the boat out in the sun. Um, we just finished 5 days fishing out there in Kakadu, which was great, and then, yeah, now we transition into the half day stuff for a couple of months, just, um, taking families out to the, sort of Kail's crossing East Alligator area in Kakadu, so that'll be really nice, and a bit, bit more relaxed pace, I suppose, only half day trips and um, and people are just out to have a bit of efficient experience, and of course, see that beautiful scenery and animals and stuff that gets up and down that river.

Have you got an email on the crossing? I'm hearing that it's been, it's pretty full and uh, is it, is it possible now you get through there? Yeah, yeah. Crossing opened about 10 days ago or so.

Uh, I know safer traffic coming back one day from fishing and I thought, oh, geez, they must have opened it and sure enough, the next day we went and checked and they had. Uh, it's still running over there pretty strong. So, if anyone is heading out to Arnham Land, the best time to cross it, uh, is is as the tide is actually pushing up and slows that current flow, because it's probably still 600 or 700 deep across the crossing. And you don't want to be that 1st person to get washed over the crossing for the year, you make the paper every time.

Um, so yeah, just, you, you can get a kale's crossing tide time and, and you want to go perhaps an hour or 2 before high tide, is the best time. Um, but yeah, I mean, that, that, that's great for the community because it opens up Gumbalania, Man and Greeter and Ramo and all those sort of um, remote communities to be able to drive back into Darwin more easily after a few months of being locked behind the river. Right, you don't want to worry about making the paper. don't want to make the dinner plate of one of these.

Oh, well, that's the thing, mate. Yeah, yeah, that's the biggest risk for a start, for sure. There's plenty of crops there. Mate, huge risk.

I mean, who's, who's, who's, who's got a set big enough to go in and get you out. Hello? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah.

And then, um, yeah, it doesn't, nothing happens quick out there. a long way from anywhere. So if you've got to stand on the roof of your car for a couple of hours till a truck gets there, not a good time. No, not at all, mate.

And I might bucket that for a joke. Anyway. All right mate. So the fish are biting, it's all happening and you've got your half day trips on, people can check you out there.

You probably got just about booked out, you'd be booked out, wouldn't you? Just about? Ah, yeah, it's getting pretty busy, mate. I suppose we start in a few days.

It's all online bookings for the half day stuff, which is good for everyone. And um, yeah, so that's easy to find if you just jump on the website, look for the half day tours. But yeah, admin, um, bit of admin stuff going on here. We've got our 1st trip headed to New Guinea to Ben's back for the season as well.

Um so they'll be all pretty excited. We haven't got a report from over there. So, um, you know, fingers crossed. That a good thing and they're busy catching big barrers and celebrating.

Good stuff, mate. I mean, fair, you've got a bit of admin work going on. In other words, sitting around, right, washing the bay, washing the car, drinking cans. Well, yeah, I wish that was, man.

staring at me right now. Fair enough. All right, well done, Watty. Well, mate, we'll catch you somewhere up here.

We'll be up here somewhere next week. I'm not sure where, but we'll talk to you next week and find out how you were in the Top End, eh? Beauty, mate. I'll be around.

Good on you. Good stuff, mate. There he is. That's Watty.

Barefoot Fishing Safaris. Check him out online. Check out the social media. And of course, angling adventures. Be sure to check out that website if you want to take your fishing experience to our bigger level because he certainly has run some big tours there.

But if you want to get up there, check out the top band cruise around in some beautiful places in a boat and catch some barramundi while you're at it, Barefoot Fishing Safaris is the place to go.