Bag a Barra — 3 October 2025

It's time now to head to the Top End and Bagger 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, as you know, we call this Bag a Barra, and, in fact, we've caught Watty now out on a boat, who is trying to do just that Bag a Barra. He's hiding in a little creek somewhere at the back of some island. Doesn't get any more feeding than this.

What do you get, eh? How are you today, mate? Yeah, you're dead right. We're just tucked into a creek.

The tide's just dropped out to the level where you can start expecting to see a few barr poking around. So we're going to try that and we've had a good morning chasing some queenfish and Trevellia stuff around so far. Fingers crossed, this keeps working. Well, you got to be happy with that.

Now, I did see, um, that the, uh, I've got an email yesterday from, um, from the people who look after the $1000000 fish comp. It launched through the week and it's all happening and what about this? There is something like, um, let me have a look. I'm looking at it right now, the $10000 fish, there's the big $10000 one, but then I think there's how many about a 100 fish with 10 grand on them?

Yeah, there's usually around a 100, sometimes, depends on how many they can catch throughout their tagging process, but generally a 100 or a 120 or so, and yeah, it gives us a good chance. I actually made sure I registered and I don't know if Kath and Alex are registered or not, but if they're not, I'm sure we'll be able to come to some arrangements. Well, mate, it's running. It's a, it is, it's 11th season, which is fantastic, isn't it, really?

that they've done really. Yeah, it runs from the 1st of August. Sorry, the 1st of October through to the 31st of March, and the tag fish have been released in all the places that you head to, they've been released the top ends, 5 main fishing regions, Darwin, Kakadu, Arnumlang, Catherine, and the Tiwi Islands. So these are all your hangouts. 11

There are 11 $1000000 barrow, and a $110,000 barrow swimming around ready to be caught. Get out there, Watty. When you say it like that, it sounds like a sure thing, doesn't it? It certainly does.

11. There's 11 fish swimming around now with a $1000000 tag on them. 11. And there's 110.

I'll tell you what, what it does do. If you say they normally release a 100, $10,000 fish, they've done that again this year, but there's obviously 10 left over from last year. It goes to show how many people have caught the 10 grand, doesn't it? Yeah, that's right.

So the $1000000 fish, that's the $1000000 tag fish from each season. So that's why there's 11 of them. But the $10,000 ones, I think the average is up around 15 or 20 each season for recaptures. So, it is actually really surprising, the guys who do the tagging, when uh, after the 1st season.

I think it was like 26 or something got recaptured and is, uh, you know, it's exponentially more than they expected. So, that got them a bit of a shock, but it just goes to show how much effort and how many uh, people uh, uh, going bowfishing up here on a, on a daily basis right throughout the season. Yeah, it is amazing really. When you say it sounds easy. Well, it isn't, it isn't really, you think about how many people go fishing, it's been running out.

It's in its 11th year, so it's run for 10 years, and there's been more than a 100 fish that've been caught, and more than $2000000 has been paid out to the winning fishers. When you're breaking up over 10, 11 years, or you know what, it's 11th, so it hasn't really started yet, it's just starting now. It's still hard, isn't it? Like, isn't it?

When you think of it that way, it's, you know, there's been 2 there's been, you know, you think it's a 1000000 a year. Well, it isn't. It's there's been more just over 2000000 bucks being paid out. with just over a 100 fish being caught in all that time.

It goes to show just how many barrow, there are, because, you know, there might be a 1000 barrow a day caught in the territory at this time of year, and, you know, they don't all have a tag in him, of course. So, yeah, um, but it's, um, it's something that everyone chats about and the big conversation, of course, is, okay, how are you going to split it up on the boat if you get it, you know? Yeah, start pushing people overboard. Yeah, that's how you'd roll.

Fails from the Tinny radio show was going. They had a piscatorial prenuptial agreement that you could sign with your... And yeah, that'd probably help a little bit, but... Oh, listen, I could imagine you... I could imagine you just jagging the fish, the big $1000000 price tag and saying nothing to anyone else on the boat, except just watch your step. We'll just take this one home for Louis.

Watch your step. Don't get too close to the side and then all of a sudden in they go. Oh, mate, anyway. You gotta be careful.

Oh, hang on. We lost Watty. think we've lost him. No. Oh, we've got him.

We've got him. Yeah, yeah, I know. Well you are. Well this is the real deal.

money mucking around about that. Look, it is good on them, and the beauty of this is the, uh, it is, it is, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, are involved, which is Northern Territory Surf lifesaving, uh, who receive $1000 for every $10,000 fish, and if the $1000000 fish is caught, they cop 10,000. So it's a good thing. And I know you're a big part of all of that and you support all that stuff.

So, anyway, it's a good thing. So it's back on the $10000 fish comp and people are getting excited, I'd imagine now. Where are you? So you are hiding in a creek trying to jag a barrier yourself.

Yeah, that's right. So we're we're on the western side of Bynoe Harbour. uh in a creek on one of the aisles. Around the area and um, yeah, we're just feeling in a little bit of time until the tide drops out a little bit more, then we'll go up inside a big, inlet, um, write down actually to the, actually to the exact spot I spoke to you a fortnight ago, where we see all those barrers sitting under a tree.

So, uh, fingers crossed there there. When we get in there in an hour or so. Yeah, how often does that happen though when you go somewhere and you see a big bunch of them like that? and you think, well, go back there and are they usually there or they're gone? Oh, it does change a bit.

These spots and these fish, they do follow certain patterns. You can't do it every day, but um if you sort of work the tidal movements and stuff like that, you can predict perhaps 2 or 3 days of a fortnight that they're most likely to be there. And, yeah, of course, we can't force them into sitting at the same tree every time we want to go there, but, uh, you know, a good spot is usually a good spot, um, sort of ongoing until a tree falls over or something happens like that, you know, which, which can happen each year during a monsoon or a cyclone, of course. Yeah, absolutely, mate.

All right. Weather-wise, mate, up there at the moment. I see some some social photos and also some videos, the build-up people getting excited, the locals. Yeah, it's been a bit of a mixed week for weather.

This last week just gone, some windy days and some sort of hot, steamy days. So, it's still perhaps a bit unsettled, but we, there's, uh, you know, there seems to be rain getting registered engages every 2nd day or so, and, and that's a, that's sort of a means of getting a good start to it, which is all you can ask for, I guess. No, all right, mate. Okay, so you got some customers on the boat?

Who have we got on the boat with you today? Yeah, I've got a long-term friend and fishing buddy Cathy and Alex is down the back at the moment too. He's been relegated. But yeah, we've had a bit of fun chasing some pelagic fish around this morning and now this is the real deal. We got to catch our dinner to take back to Dundee pub.

Yeah, no fair enough. And you're staying over there tonight? Yeah, we've got a few more nights there, 5 or 6 actually. So, you'll be able to get up to a balmistic with the big popey.

Mate, 5 or 6 more nights out there at the pub. And is the, you know, the lovely Louise handle that? bobbly wrap. Well, Louise, she often comes down over the weekend, so you never know, but no, she, um, she knows that I, I, um, go to bed early when it's a work night, so that's all okay.

How early is that? Not far after the sun sets, mate, I can tell you. We've got to get everything pretty early to run this show. Yeah, no, no, fair enough, mate.

Well, that's big, isn't it? So you're just in the campground at the back. Yeah, I've got a Caribbean there on an en-suited site. The ensuite's as flash as anything you'd see in a hotel as well, and their clients have got a, um, they've got a one bedroom cabin each, which, uh, um, they face the ocean front.

So you get the nice sunset and stuff there each afternoon if you haven't made to the pub yet. Yeah, how good is that? mate, I'm going to be honest with you. I've said it before.

The best sunset I've ever seen is there. The best I've seen. Well, the pretty beautiful sunrise this morning too. Don't worry.

Oh, because they're telling me you, mate. We get those storms around and it all happens. Yeah, mate, I got to say that it was like someone had painted the sky orange. It was like, mate, seriously, unbelievable, and we were sitting on that big open area there at the pub and just looking at that sky and thinking, God, how it doesn't get any better than this.

I'll tell you what, it's a great pub, isn't it? I mean, I don't know if we've spoken about it before, but geez, I tell you, it's, it's, it's, um, It's a great spot and they've done a bit of work there too. And they've always got something going on there, haven't they? It's a great, great drinking off.

live music on over the weekend as well. and yeah, I mean, it's, it's obviously the fishing mecca of the northern territory. It's the 2nd most popular boat ramp. used up here. So, um, you know, there's always something to watch, um, out the front of the pub there too, with all the boats coming and going and um, talking a bit about fishing and crabbing and stuff too.

So, yeah, good place to spin a yarn and have a frothy. You have any jet skis, eh? Not around this side. In Darwin Harbour, there's jet ski.

You can do a jet ski tour in Darwin Harbour. Yeah, perhaps we're a bit too close to a big river around here, which is full of snapping handbags, mate, so you don't want to be going around. Well, it's all right, as long as they fall off. That's right.

I think you'd end up talking yourself into falling off. I would. I mean, I've had jet skis for over 20 years and I reckon I've come off twice, touch wood. That little tap that was me just tapping the wood.

was rather the top of me melon. But mate, I've, um, geez, I reckon you'd end up just, you'd end up talking yourself into just falling off. Oh, there's no way, no way. of any of those rivers.

Yeah, absolutely mate. All right. Well it sounds like it's all happening up there. Great time of you to be in the Top End. And of course, you're out there now on the wall.

It's getting more real than this. 5 or 6 more nights at Dundee. Jeez, I'll tell you what, there'd be old pope, you'd be glad to see the back end of you, I reckon, by the end of that stint. Oh, no, he goes.

bank account goes all right when we're hanging around there, mate. So... Yeah, no, all right. Well, mate, I'll tell you what, we're trying to pay the trip there next year.

And we had tried... for a while in the doctor. Well, that's that's the plan, mate. I'm thinking what we're thinking is knockover a film. We had a meeting about it this morning.

We're going to knock over a central Australia trip, which will finish 2 episodes of Oz off Road TV. The 2nd one, the filming would end at Airs Rock, at Ularoo there. And then I want to try and have like a bit of a 3 week lay period where we just just gun it north and spend a couple of weeks up there kicking back. work out all right, wouldn't it?

Work out really good, mate. It'd be a good time too. when we're looking at it. I'll talk to you and talk to you and talk to Pey and all of that.

All right, mate. Makeup artists on the go again. Well, there'd be no cameras. It'd just be a bit of a, you know, it'd just be a late period. This would just be a bit of a couple of weeks, just, you know, just doing radio, just not, no, no, gave our cameraman.

He's too busy to bang around with me in his spare time fee, the income. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's hard enough work. Enough working around me when we're working. All right.

Well, we've got to go. Well, good stuff. You keep at it, mate. and well done.

And I hope for you, Jag, one of those tag fish over the next little while, eh? Yeah, I reckon you'll know if we if we do get one, mate, I'll be hard to contact. Well, nothing's different than any other week, but anyway, though you are pretty good. All right, I'll let you get back into it, mate, Jag, that bag, that barrel, mate.

We talk to you next week. Oh, he's gone. He's exploded, Watty? He's falling off the boat out there.

I know he's there. He's there. He's there. All right, well, let him go because the line's just about to drop out there, but there he is.

It doesn't get any more real than that, does it? He's out on the boat, out there on the other side of a little island there, in a creek trying to bag a barra. That's what this is all about. If you are heading to the NT, good luck.

Try and get yourself one of those tag fishing, who knows, it could be a Christmas to remember, with a bit of cash in your pocket, the $1000000 fish it is back on, and as we say, runs from October, right through to the end of March, or the 31st of March, in fact. So good luck to everyone who's up there trying to jag one of those tag fish and geez, I'll tell you what, one of those ones could be a dead set life changer, couldn't it? You get one of those $10000 one of those big $10000 ones. Woo-hoo.

Yeah, good would a pea. Anyway, good luck to anyone who's up there having a crack at that. We will have a quick break of, oh, it's going just quickly too. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

You want to go with Watty? Increase your chances of catching one of those fish, get onto it. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.