Bag a Barra — 15 August 2025

It's time now to head to the Top End and Bag a 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, we head up to the Top End now and catch up with our man, Wadi, up there in the Northern Territory. Wadi, what's doing, son? Oh, g'day, mate.

Well, yeah, funnily enough, we're talking about that funny weather we've been having, and we're back to cool overnights and clear skies again this week, so you never know what's around the corner, but, you know, that provides us with a extra week or so of nice camping weather, and, and, um, you know, these dry season activities. that just continue to stack up on top of each other. It's absolutely packed out. Um, at this time of year up here with the Darwin Festival as well as um, all sorts of motorsports and then, of course, all the camping and general tourism stuff that wraps around that.

So, yeah, it's a busy time. It's hard to pick what you're going to do each weekend. Actually, we've got a weekend next week. I think we're, we've got 3 or 4 different invites to go to different things and you'd all, you'd love to go to all of them.

So yeah, it's a big problem for us up here, mate. The Christmas party yet, there'd be one of them soon. No, Christmas parties yet, mate. No, but yeah, like we say, once we get into September, I reckon they won't be too far off.

I know. I know. Mate, it's a great Darwin festival. I mean, is there any, any, is there any time up there where there's nothing doing?

I mean, there's always something on. Yeah, there is always something. And even in the wet season when it's sort of not really a tourist time. There's plenty of stuff going on, just a bit more targeted to locals, but yeah, the Darwin Festival, and of course, Darwin cut. It was last week, so Darwin Festival runs for a couple of weeks, and, um, yeah, it brings a lot of people into town, um, to see all sorts of different acts and shows and stand-up comedy and music and all sorts of street art and stuff that we don't get a hell of a lot of up here at other times.

So, yeah, it is something that is really well supported by the territory, um, even though it's perhaps a little bit out of, um, out of what you, the normal, um, perception that you would have of stuff that we'd like to do, but we try and get to a few shows, mate, and, and then, of course, we had the international cricket up here as well last week, so, yeah, it's, um, it's full on, man, and it's good. All happening now. You were telling me about a video that you tripped over or somebody sent you of someone going for a special swim up there in Dundee Beach, which probably isn't really highly recommended. Well, no, a little bit sketchy probably, but yeah, I mean, if you knew this particular fella, you wouldn't be too surprised.

One of the local territory identities, Houston. Uh, he, um, yeah, mate, they had their, someone has taken a video of them catching this huge big Spanish mackerel would have. I mean, it's as big as anything I've ever seen, and yeah, the sun was setting, you know, and they're walking around all sunburnt backs and they're yelling and yahoo, and this thing came up. They tried to fit it in the net and it didn't fit in the net and tried to gaff it, broke the gaff, and then it eventually broke the, broke the line and Houston, um, jumped in after it, and wrestled it, and they get, they got it and dragged it over the side, and of course, big celebrations, but yeah, um, in certain areas, um, you probably wouldn't do that because there's probably a few sharks swallowing that fish around, and you, you know, want to become on the menu, but, yeah, um, maybe Houston, not too attractive, very shark to eat.

I don't know. That is unbelievable. So he's jumped in and wrestled it and then got it and ended up catching it that way. Yeah, yeah, it would have been 6 foot long, this thing.

It was huge. and yeah, after all, they're sort of messing about with it at the side of the boat for a minute or 2 He ended up just jumping in and wrangling it anyway. So, yeah, that's... Only the information we've got of our fishers up here, mate. Only in the territory.

That's right. You only see that up here. Yeah. Now what else is biting up there, mate?

Well, it continues to go pretty well everywhere. Um, I know the harbour on these tides that we've just had um, fired pretty well because it coincided with some nice weather, and of course, you've got all the people up here for Darwin Festival activities to, perhaps not your keenest fishos, but a lot of them do want to do like a half day trip, just, uh, just to experience it, go for a ride around in the harbour and stuff like that. So, there's a lot of that going on. There's, um, there's mud crabs, um, you know, coming over the side of the boat as well, and, Of course, whatever they are, 50 or 60 bucks a throw.

It's a good way to save a bit of money on a crab fee, but also have a bit of fun while you do it. So, yeah, the, um, it's, it's, of course, perfect timing for the Darwin Festival guys to get up here and have a little bit of an experience of, of, um, you know, what they can, uh, uh, see and do on the water and then that, um, obviously sparks a fire and a few of them, and then they might come back up for a few days, another time, so. Are you a fan of the crabs? You get into them? Oh, yeah, I don't eat them too much these days.

I think I might have overdosed on them early days and it does seem to be a bit of a common thing with some people um where I'm a bit intolerant to it now. Uh, but yeah, I mean, one of my greatest memories, early days when we used to come up here, just for fishing trips at a time was, um, you know, we, we caught a couple of crabs in a creek out at gunpoint and found an old, um, fridge shelf in the scrub there somewhere, and we chucked it on the fire and chucked the crabs on it, and just ate them straight off the coals, and yeah, I mean, that, the, they're the type of things that, I mean, I don't know how well the crab was cooked, but it's all those memories that wrap around those type of experiences that, I really value. So, yeah, but I mean, obviously plenty of people like crabs because they are expensive to buy.

I see them every now and then when I go into the fish markets to buy some fish boxes for the groups. Yeah, 50 or 60 bucks a throw. I mean, that is a fair whack if you can catch them when you're in front, aren't you? Yeah, that's right.

and you can go pretty well. Even like the best crabbing around here is right close to Darwin Harbour. So, um, you know, like, and you can go out and catch 10 crabs in an afternoon session without too many troubles uh, most of the time. There's not a hell of a lot of science behind it.

But, um, perhaps the only thing that, the only, or, or perhaps the best tip is, for people just to chuck their pots out on an incoming tide, and that, and that sort of washes the scent of the bait up into the creeks and the nooks and crannies where the crabs are hiding and and will draw them out. You don't get as many on a run out tide. So, there you go. A little tip there.

But yeah, it's really easy to get a feed of them close to town and especially, you know, when you get visitors coming up from south this time here, it's always something that they want to do. So makes it easy. It's amazing, really, when you think about the amount of people that were heading to the territory when we were up there, oh, gee, a couple of months ago now, and the place is still bulging at the seams. It's incredible.

How many people will spend this time of year in the northern territory for, you know, short periods of time, but then you've got a whole heap of people start there for a long time that, you know, two, 3 months. Yeah, for sure, yeah. Um, you know, the, the whole, whole economy and everything benefits from that. People that are on holidays bring a nice positive vibe to the place.

Not that, not that we've really got a negative vibe to fix, but, yeah, a nice feeling to live in a holiday destination, mate. As you know, you get to spend a lot of time away and when people are away doing things that they like, they're always in a good mood. It'd be good if it was all holiday time. I'm not always in a good mood

We get it under pressure, you know, when we do what we do. But I got to say to you, I tell everybody, everybody. They say, if you could live anywhere in Australia, apart from where you live now, where would it be? And I just say the Top End, northern territory for me.

I reckon I'd fit in there, what? How would I go? How would I go in all feeding in the feeding of department? I'd go up there.

I think you fit in pretty well, mate. You got the, you got the duck blue singlets on the go there and you got the big black can't trust me hat, hat on the go, so, yeah, you'd probably go, all right, down, the Humpty Doo. Maybe take you there on a Saturday night, late one night in the wet season, see who fires up. Yeah, no, a bit past that, mate.

you know, maybe 60s, you know, Watty. But I'm still happy to gather up, you do, end every other pub up there as well. Well, and the other thing that's coming up that you'd enjoy too is the Nunamaradeo's on in a week or 2 as well. So that's a big monthly event at our local, you know, we can walk to the Nurni from our place.

So that might be good. It'll be a stagger home, but um, yeah, we got some VIP tickets for that event, uh, this, this month, so pretty looking forward to that. I remember being camped right behind the big garden there. Great little.

It's a ripper pub, mate. It is a river pub. There are all river pubs up there. All right, mate.

Well, we're supposed to be talking about fishing. We spoken about everything, but really, although we did talk a bit about fishing, but of course, crabbing is part of fishing when you're going out with your pots and your traps and all of that stuff, and that's just something else you can do up there. It's a great part of the world. You a lucky man.

Mate, we'll chat to you next week, eh? Righto, mate. Yeah, we'll keep chipping away. All right.

behave yourself at that festival. There he is. That's our man, Glenn Watty Watt. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

You can check him out there. Go to the website, of course, check out his Facebook, and social media platforms as well, and angling adventures if you want to take your fishing experience to a whole new level. Well, you need to check out angling adventures as well. He's a good man, Watty, there, not too many up there, across this stuff as more than him.

He's not just across the fishing, but he's across all the big events, even the envelopes and the fridge is opening up there. You'll find Wadi, he'll be right across it. He loves it all. Barefoot Fishing Safaris, living the dream, the NT life up there, and you can get up there even for a short time and experience some of that with him as well, just by going to the website, barefootfishingsafaris.com.au.