Bag a Barra — 13 June 2025

It's time now to head to the Top End and Bagabara 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, this is one bloke who is out and about every day of the year. He's, like, just like us, except he's catching fish. Unlike us, we don't do that.

Watty? How are you going, son? I'm going well, mate. I'm actually pulled up under a tree halfway down the Arnham Highway on the way back from Kakadu, heading back on, I promise back to home.

So yeah, we're sort of opposite ends of the country out, um, sort of doing what we keep yarning about, which is great. Yeah, fantastic, mate. which is you are up there doing it, that is for sure. And how are they biting the fish?

There'd be plenty happening at the moment, wouldn't there? Yeah, yeah, it's um, it is still going really well, actually. I've just done a couple of half day trips um out in Kakadu, one on the East Alligator, uh, not, uh, yesterday afternoon where I think we probably boated about 20 odd barra, mostly undersized last night, but a couple of nice ones in there, one big Saratoga. And then this morning, just got off the water, out the back of Coinda Lodge, there, we're fishing home, uh, and Marty Billabongs there, and, um, had a family with the young kids, and, and they got into a few as well, so, yeah, it keeps ticking along, mate.

Fingers crossed this, um, you know, the pattern just, um, sort of keeps doing its thing, because the fish and staying good, even with a bit of cold weather. So, yeah, it's it's all happening. Look, you'll be pleased to know that I sent you some text messages the other day, we were at, uh, I can't remember the name. We were at a cattle station on the river there and they said, yo, you'll catch a fish here.

So I'm sending you photos of soft plastics, lures. What do I do? You know, these are the go. Yep.

Anyway, we caught nothing, Watty, as you'd expect. We could hear them jumping out of the water at nighttime. I mean, fed, Hinkum. Yeah, it's an amazing thing.

If you're parked up next to a barr spot at night, and especially if you've had a tough day fish, and you think there's none in there, and then they're buffing and popping all night long, especially on these full moon nights. So yeah, can be frustrating. I've got to say to you too, why do we put a big spotlight down on the water and we could see this thing just cruising along? Big coloured eyes.

No early swim tomorrow. I've got a mate who's with me from O Camp, 4 by 4 accessories, who's heading back and then doing this trip of game, but he's heading into Kakadu, and you are the king of Kakadu, because you'll spend half your life there, and you've given me a few tips on places that he should visit. Um, but uh, you're saying that at the moment, Gondolam Falls is closed, but may be reopened by the time he gets there, but there's a few good places he should check out and probably Jaburu isn't one of them. Yeah, Jaburu is pretty quiet these days since the mine closed.

So there's not a hell of a lot to do there. The Crock Hotel is interesting. The Kakadu lodge has got a really nice swimmer, sort of poolside bar bistro, and there is a really good art gallery in town there as well, Murra Woody. Um, but yeah, most of the Daly activities happen out at the waterfalls and the rivers and stuff, of course, and um, you know, right now with this um, the big moon that we've got, you get a moon rise at the same time as the sun set.

We filmed a couple of those, Watty. Yeah, we've been getting them. good is it? You know what?

That's probably a stupid, you know what? That's probably a stupid thing to say We're getting them here as well. Oh, yeah, that's true. The moon's everywhere.

The moon's everywhere, mate. And the thing that really enhances the sunsets where you and I are right now is all this dry season burning that's going on. So you get a bit of smoke in the atmosphere and it just, you know, the colours really dance across the, across the sky for even longer. We don't really have that twilight period up here, which you would have noticed since compared to, say, down where you're from.

But yeah, the smoke in the air sort of holds it for a little bit longer and just beautiful. Such a calming thing to do, just sit up on a rock and watch the sunset this time of year. Yeah, absolutely. Well, as you said, there's plenty to do in Kakadu, where he's heading and a lot of fishing as well.

I think he's doing the cruise and you're saying, what was it? Yellow, waterfall, is it yellow waters? Do a cruise zoo if you can. Yellow water, there's the upper South Alligator River. They've got, it's sort of the floodplain section of the river.

You can do a sunset and sunrise tour there as well as they offer a fishing experience out there as well. So, yeah, there's plenty to do, sort of all around, Kakadoo, and yeah, go, Gunlon was closed off. We had that bit of rain, but I think it's probably open again. Yeah, no fair enough.

All right, mate. So what about yourself? You've got plenty of bookings happening, plenty of people. You'd be seeing tourists everywhere there now, wouldn't you?

Yeah, it's really busy. I've just pulled over here now and it's probably 10 of those big sort of bongo vans driven past. Yeah, everyone's turned up now, so that's good. Of course, all the big events are on in Darwin this time of year.

It's really hard to decide what you're going to do. There's a couple of big events on every weekend, so, um, you know, And yeah, like I say, the fishing just continues to be number one really busy, but also really good results. So that's that's really great.

Oh, the beer can regather. Is that on soon? I saw something of it. Mrs. Duck showed me something about that the other day.

You'd be big on that, wouldn't you? The big can, Regatta? Well, we wanted to go, but it actually was last weekend. You know, you had a 3 day Greek Glenty festival.

beer can regatta, and there was something else on. Oh, a big Darwin Symphony Orchestra concert on the Saturday night in the gardens. So, you know, you've got to choose from all these big events. We, we went to the, um, orchestra concert and the equip, so there was about 5% of Darwin's population was there, mate, and the old mate said, if this was in Sydney, that'd be the equivalent of 300,000 people here.

So, it goes to show, um, you know, the tourists and Darwin locals really get out and about and support all these big events. So yeah, it's really great to be part of. Yeah, absolutely mate. All right.

Well, well done mate. Well, good luck with what's happening with the fishing this week, and thanks for a few tips on Kakanoo for my mate, Pete, who's heading up there, and we'll be in Darwin for a few days before he comes back across the gibb again. There's plenty to do there and makes a great time of year to be in the Top End, mate, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely.

You know what? I just installed a set of their airbags from OKM 4 by 4 on on the line SSU the other day. Absolute rippers only took an hour to put in too. So that means we...

What do you get someone to do? What did you get someone in to do, did you? Yeah, well, well, I'm not like you, duck. I've got to actually do some of these things myself.

Well, you must have been, that was, but the day you're on the mid strengths then. Yeah, well, it was before lunch, so yeah, that's right. Oh, fair, yeah, fair enough. We only drink mid-strength while we're working or before lunch, so then fair enough.

Exactly. All right mate. Well done. Well, we'll yarn to you next week, see what the latest is and what's happening up there with a place that's probably one of the most popular places in Australia right now, Darwin and the Top End and all that region.

It's a beautiful part of the world. And some of the people that we've met along the way here. They've all said the same thing as me. The Northern Territory is my favourite place.

Yeah, I mean, anywhere, once you get up into some warm weather, that brings with it all those good experiences and stuff, doesn't it? So, yeah, the whole of the Top End of Australia is really good, but hopefully I'll have a report of me actually doing some fishing next week, mate. I'm really keen to get out and have a crack myself. been taking everyone else fishing for the last 4 months.

So time for me to have a go. Good on your ear. Keep, yeah, keep up your schools and pass those on to me. I need all that money.

I might need you to teach me. I've had a car for a week. Yeah, no, no. What about, I was just talking to Neil Stewart before, and there's a thing in St. George in Queensland where they have a casting competition.

How far can you cast? This bloke cast 120 metres. Oh, wow, that's a long way. Yeah, I mean, you want 500 bucks.

Yeah, yeah, there you go. That'd be good for you, surf fishing and that sort of stuff. But, you know, we're only casting 10 or 15 metres. Mostly out fishing.

So, yeah, good on you. That's a long way. Oh, absolutely. Anyway.

All right, talk to you next week. Right, good on you, mate. See you, mate. There he is.

Thats Barefoot Fishing Safaris. My man, Glenn Watty, what? He is the king up there in, we'll just turn his fader down back there, Mulchi. He is the king when it comes to the Top End.

And if you want to go fishing with him, well, you need to go to barefootfishingsafaris.com.au. If you want to go bigger, we'll go angling adventures and you will take it to places like New Guinea, Puerto Rico, South America. goes everywhere. Angling adventures, go and check him out.

If you want to go and check out the Top End and catch that Barramundi. It's the only time I've ever caught one. And that was because I was with old mate Watty there. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.com.au checking out on social media as well.