Bag a Barra — 1 August 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. Uh, well, it's time now for us to head up to the Top End and go fishing with our man, Watty, and, of course, we love talking to him because he is the go to when you go fishing in the Top End, Barefoot Fishing Safaris. Check out the website, check out the social media platforms, if you want to go fishing in the Top End. If you want to take your fishing adventures to the next level.

Well, angling adventures. Because that is what he and his brothers have run that business, take you overseas, some of those exotic, hard to get 2 places, and go fishing. That's funny for the very, very keen. That is for sure.

But anything that happens up in the Top End and around that, around that area. We always want to talk to Watty about it. And he's on the line right now. Wadi, did you see the bloke run over the crocodile and Carl's Crossing this week?

It'll be wild, wasn't it, mate? I did actually only recently see that, but yeah, it did happen a few days ago. Bit bigger crocodile than I expected too. It would have almost been as long as that, you.

I couldn't believe the fact that it had come across the crossing. And at no stage could you see that crocodile in the water, and you think back to some videos and photos that I've seen in that little spot with people standing over their knees in, you know, knee deep water and even more, fishing. Yeah, that's right. Um, mate, that that croc, I mean, the water does look a bit deeper.

That was because the high tide running out there. So, um, it has pushed up and it was, I believe it was on the run out, but, yeah, I mean, he's in water, no deeper than your knees, and he's probably 4 and a bit metres long. He probably weighs a couple 100 kilos and uh, yeah, I mean, it just goes to show just how sneaky and cunning they are. And even, there was a tiny little swirl where I thought I saw it at the start when he bumped over him and then you didn't see him at all until he, he pushed his big old head out and I thought, oh, he's a fair bit bigger. than I thought, and um, it's probably lucky, or lucky or unlucky, um, depending on whether you want some battle scars on your car or not, but um, yeah, a few, um, bite marks in the, in the back fender of the old Ute would be a story to tell for sure.

Yeah, unbelievable. It just goes to show. Um, you know, it's I just couldn't believe it. And dude, it would have give old mate a bit of a fright driving.

You're always, you know, there. I mean, you don't need too many obstacles and you'd run over a crocodile. No, that's right. Yeah, there's a couple of little potholes in the track there.

So it's not uncommon to sort of feel a bit of a bump and just, I mean, of course, you've got to keep pushing through. You don't want to, um, stop in water like that, um, do fix damage to your vehicle. So, yeah, and then obviously felt like he was dragging something, gets up to the top there a bit to exit, and yeah, does a little backup, and the old crop bloody pushes out. But, um, like the, um, the owner of Crocodilus Park was on the radio up here earlier in the week, uh, Dr. Graham Webb and, and he made the point to everyone that crocodiles are bloody tough animals.

They're very resilient and he'll be just fine. I mean, I did jumping crocs over the school holidays with the kids and the big fella. Oh, what was his name? I can't remember, downstream of the bridge there.

He only had one leg because all the rest of them been bitten off throughout his 17 year life, you know, so they're pretty tough. You don't have to worry too much about him. Yeah, no, you see them. I saw one at Malcolm Douglas's crock farm that had a bit of battle damage there as well. But have you fished near there?

I mean, I know you fish everywhere up there. Have you fished from the boat near Carl's Crossing? Oh, yep, absolutely. Every trip, during the runoff, we'll be fishing right there when exactly at that same time, when the tide pushes up, because it brings the mullet up and those bigger barrel really switch on.

So we fish there a lot. Sometimes we'll be fishing in amongst 30 or 40 crocodiles. And it's pretty spectacular. So, yeah, as well as this is the absolute perfect time of year to get up there into that freshwater section and and do those half day fishing trips as well.

So yeah. And um, I always make a point of going down there in the boat, um, when the tide pushes up. It's such a great view of the crocs and everything that happens. Plus, you know, a bit of free advertising, mate, you get your photo taken a fair bit when you put the boat down there.

Yeah, well, you know all about free advertising. get plenty of it here. Yeah, so... But no, well, yeah, because and I guess the advice is fish from a boat there, not from the bank. That would be my end.

Oh, yeah. Would that be just in that, when you look at the Top End, and you look around the, you know, all the water around the territory? Would that be, would that area be the most populated area for crocodiles? that little spot? Uh, it's, it probably is at times.

I mean, on those big tides, it certainly you would think that it perhaps is, you know, the the highest density in a small area, the official highest density is in the Mary River, where there is one, one crocodile per kilometre, and then it sort of goes out. Actually, it might be 2 per kilometre there and then Adelaide River, one per kilometre and stuff like that. So, I mean, in the scheme of things as far as the whole river goes. The East Alligator isn't the most densely populated, but at those particular times, all the crocs in the area do group up together, which is unusual.

They don't usually tolerate each other in their own little bubbles. So they just know there's so much tucker going to come up there and there's enough for everyone so they don't fight as much. Yeah. Yeah, it's unbelievable.

I mean, it's funny how they sort themselves out and they have their little stouches, isn't it? Yeah, that's right. I mean, a little stouch for a crocodiles biting the end of your tail off or biting your foot off sort of thing. I mean, they're incredibly resilient animals, so a little stouch for me is being told to put me washing away. I go hide under the bed for the next day and a half.

You're washing away. When the lioness is in here about not doing your bit around the place. Yeah, that's right. That doesn't happen too much, mate.

I'm pretty good around the house as you know. Oh, mate, I know. Yeah, I know. Well, I know what you've told me, so if that's what you're saying, I can't argue with you, mate.

Just quickly, mate, what else? Anything else happening? It's exciting there at the minute. Oh, well, yeah, I mean, it's the reason I couldn't talk to you last week, because I was actually out fishing myself and I did plan on having the starlin going, but little bit of a yarn.

I ended up in the drink myself. I had a drone flown into me back and then jumped in after it, thinking it was only ankle deep and yeah, it was a bit of a bit of a disaster for a drone and a bit of camera gear. But, yeah, I tell you what, the fish, the weather has actually been pretty warm and steamy here, and the barrow fishing in particular, what we were trying to do, site cast nose barrow and chalet water, it really went off last week. So, um, probably a good excuse to to miss radio, mate.

I don't get much of a chance to have a fish for myself, but I did 3 days and it was, it was really good and yeah, I mean, I, yeah, I'd sort of um, rather be out there right now than sitting in the office, organising everyone else's fishing trips to be honest. Yeah, I bet, I bet that is for sure. I bet you you want me back out of the. I bet you got back in the boat quick.

Yeah, well, that's right. It was, I, we were drifting along a real shallow spot, site Carson and Barrow, only like literally ankle deep. So you can see for a couple 100 metres either way. There's definitely no crop in the air, but, um, yeah, we drifted into a little bit of a hole and um, yeah, I went in over me head and I mean, yeah, the boat drifted and I just jumped back in, so no big deal, but I certainly wouldn't swim to the bank or anything like that, give them too much of a chance. You'd probably find out if it was only around pretty quick.

I reckon there'd be no Watty. All right. I'd be good chewing too, I'd reckon, don't you? Yeah, yeah, I reckon they'll be going, but yeah, they'll be going looking for some list around to get the bad taste out of their mouth.

I talk to you next week. Right, okay, God, good on you. There is. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

That fishing in the Top End with our man, what are you?