Bag a Barra — 17 October 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. Ah, yes. We hear him on the radio every week now, man, Watty, and he's out on... And look, over the last few weeks, we've been getting him out there in the middle of action. He was out around some island, somewhere off Dundee Beach the other week, and he was somewhere else on the boat, and this week, we've got him in Kakadu, in the boat, out there doing it.

Watty? What are we catching, son? Are we bagging a barrel or two? Yeah, we're bagging a few barrow, mate.

We've got one in the hole that are going to fill it pretty shortly for the boys to take home for dinner. tonight. We haven't found any with tags in them yet. They haven't got the right one, but we're chipping away and there's plenty of Saratoga to fill in the gaps in between the bar as well.

So we're going pretty well. Well, I knew that there wasn't any with tags on them, because you answered the phone. There's one right now. Oh, oh, oh. You're getting me.

Hang on. This could be this could be the $10000 fish. We should have a drum roll going here, Mulch. Here we go.

We got the fish. He's coming through the water now. Sarah Taker. They tag on those, mate.

You're kidding, aren't you? Any luck looking after themselves with this one? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry, boys.

Oh, no. Good job. Media commitments anyway. So where are you? So where exactly are you?

Are you Kakadu, eh? Where are you? Yeah, we're, mate, we're actually on Jim, Jim Billabong, which is just near Yellow Waters. On the, it's the very top of the South Alligator River, here in Kakadu.

We've fished at home Billabong and Mardigal Billabong yesterday, which is directly out the back of the resort there, and the East Alligator at Kale's crossing the day before. And we're just finishing off 3 days here at gym gym this morning. So, it's um, it's actually been fishing pretty well all this morning. Yesterday they seem to bite a bit better in the arvo, but today they're going pretty consistently throughout the morning, which is nice.

How good is it? So what do you, and what do you stay at Kakita? You got cabin accommodation or something, have you? What's the go there?

Yeah, yeah. So, um, we stay in Jabaroo and just drive out to the different spots each day. So the boys are staying at the Aurora Taffadoo Lodge. Oh, here's another one.

Hang on, this could be. Got him water? How good is he? I mean it doesn't get you better than... He's getting, he's getting, he's catching him every couple of seconds, yeah?

So what have we got now? Another Saratoga. little bit smaller on this one. This is what you call a fishing reporter, isn't it?

While they're catching fish while you do it. Get the boys working. That's good, yeah. Well done, boys.

Nice one. There you go. Are these local fellas, are they from down here somewhere? These blokes you got on the boat now?

Oh, down there. Yeah. Warney's actually me cousin-in-law, so yeah, he's brings a couple of mates up every couple of years and we're having a good trip. Cousin-in-law.

Cousin in law, yeah. Did you get the family discount? Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

+10% What about that? Well, wait, I mean, one thing I will say. At least he's catching fish.

I mean, because you get what you pay for, because as you know, I get the duck discount. In other words, I pay nothing. Although it does cost me a steak sandwich and I don't know how many beers, but... Baking egg roll at crawberry toast, yeah. Yeah, yeah, correct.

And then, of course, the steak sandwich on the way home. Yeah, well, well, yeah, that's right. Part of that, either pay for that and then the beers and whatever else, you know, you fleece me four. But at least he was catching fish.

At least they're catching fish. I mean, we call nothing. Yeah, well, I mean, it comes down to the skill of the angler sometimes, too, doesn't it? There's only so much you can do.

And the guide, of course. anyway. So, all right, so mate, will there be guy, will there be tag fish in this part of the world where you are now? They'll release fish free.

Yeah, definitely. You've got him, you've got him. Oh. They nearly had another one then. Yeah, definitely, there is.

Oh, here is another one. Get the net again for me. The boys are on here. It's good idea right on the radio all weekend, mate.

That would have been the go. they lost him. Yeah, we haven't found one yet, but there definitely is. Every year they get caught in these Billabong systems right through Kakadu. So, yeah, every one that you lose.

you feel like it's you've just done yourself out of a 1000000 bucks. You get information sometimes. Or even ten. You could find yourself working at that bottle shop with your mate.

Yeah that's right. If you were talking about him last week, the bloke who decided to take 3 months off. What they do, they took 3 months off. and said, let's go and let's go and make our forts.

fishing every day. Yeah, well, they actually quit their jobs too, fellas, yeah. Yeah, that's there, them blokes. Quit their jobs, went fishing for 3 months thinking they'd get the $10000 fish.

and now find yourself working at the local bottle, though, which would be busy. Oh, he's on again. We got another one on here. How good?

Oh, you got to hear another Saratoga. There we go, geez, they're hot and good. Nearly 2 at once. Well, what about full-time on the net?

There we go. Got him. That's three. That's 3 since we've been on the phone, duck. Unbelievable.

How good is it? Now, what about everything? and you were said you were fishing near Carl's Crossing. How was that, mate?

I mean, that's still popular this time of year. Yeah, of course, there's not as many tourists at this time of year. Once those sort of September school holidays finish, it does quieten down. But, um, yeah, that doesn't worry us too much, because it means there's no one else on the water, and we, that was our 1st day efficiency.

boys are perhaps a bit rusty, but they, we got into um some, Oh, we might have got a dozen barr that day, I suppose. Um again, all with no tags, so they're getting the wrong ones, but they keep shipping away, you never know our luck. This goes to show how many are up there, isn't it?

Oh, yeah, there's plenty of fish. I mean, this particular water hole where we are right now. I don't think I've ever seen another boat, um, out of you when I've been here, you know, so it's really good. And especially right now when it's, it's actually landlocked between the other billabongs, so you've got to drive to a specific billab- boat ram to launch.

So, uh, it doesn't look like there's been another boat put in at the ramp for a few weeks around here. Yeah, they're on your own, eh? You're on your own. Yeah, we haven't seen another fishing boat all for the last 3 days of fishing.

Not one. That's unbelievable, especially when you're in the fishing capital of the country. Yeah, yeah, that's right. It goes to show just how driven the Kakadu sort of fishing scene is by that genuine tourism.

So, um, you know, the, plenty of locals will come out on the weekends, but the, the actual tourism, fishing tourism is, is really geared around that sort of, that peak season, which, you know, of course lines up with the southern winter and and now that things are perhaps starting to warm up a bit down south that, um, we don't get as many visitors. Plenty of crocodiles. Oh, oh, shit, there's another one. Oh, no, you lost it.

There's one big fellow that's sort of being lurking along in front of us here. But we haven't been seeing too many kales was pretty quiet for crossings. We were there on the neat tides, and you don't see as many crocs on those tides, but in a few days' time when the tides get really big again around the moon, they'll, they'll group up there again. I did hear that last uh, full moon, that there was a heap of pelicans turned up, the kale's crossing too, and the crocodiles are eating the pelicans as well as the mullet and barrel.

So there you go. Are they well fed there, aren't they? Oh, yeah, yeah, that's, um, like living in McDonald's if you're a crocodile, I think there. I've got to say, if you're a pelican, if you're a pelican, then we do know a few pelicans.

It wouldn't be a good place. It wouldn't be a good place to go for a little wait on the water there. Is that what they've been doing? Because that's what they do.

a bit of a unique thing. I don't know why they turned up there, but yeah, one of the sort of cultural tour guides was on the radio here in town after it happened and said he'd never seen so many. They reckoned there was over 50 pelicans there and the crocs probably ate, 10 or a dozen while he was sitting there watching them. So, yeah, it might have been a bit lost or landed at the wrong water hole.

I go back there again, will they? Not those ones anyway, no. No, definitely not. All right, mate.

Well, we won't hold you up. Well, well done. So you're out there on the boat. What's the weather like?

Buildup happening. What's doing there quickly? Yeah, we haven't had a hell of a lot of rain the last few days, but it's hot and steamy, and it's going to get more so as we go into the end of October as well, of course. Is it humid?

Like very humid now. Ah, yeah, everyone looks like they've been standing under the sprinkler. I swear to you where that, but that's the way it goes. You know, you want the good fish and you got to be a bit uncomfortable yourself.

It's the same everywhere you go. Yeah, no, fair enough mate. Well, it's obviously turns a lot of people off that humidity up there, doesn't it? But you love it.

Well, yeah, I mean, there's, there's plenty of ice in the esque, mate, and there's cold water, you keep putting a bit of water through yourself, and it actually gives you paws, a good cleanout, they have a bit of a sweat, and it, it's perhaps good for you, unless you're putting too many beers through your system, and then maybe goes the other way, but, Yeah, you just got to embrace it. the way it is. You're going to be sweaty from the minute you wake up to the minute you go to bed.

So, you just got to get used to it. No, fair enough. All right. Well, good luck.

a tag fish out there. If we can't find you next week, we'll know you probably did, all right? That's the one, mate. I'll sail past my yacht.

Yeah, yeah, good, Pope. Well, I did live on the river down here, but I don't know where you're going getting married in a yacht, but anyway. All right, well done. Good luck to you, mate. Enjoy your time there in Kakadu, and we'll chat to you next week, eh?

Right on, mate. Good on you. That's a feeding and fishing report. See you, mate.

How good's that? while he's catching them on the phone. Unbelievable. They what do you get 3 there while he was talking to us. Anyway, these good man, what?

He got a big handful, what did he say the other day yesterday, um, of Barras, and, mate, out there doing it, and it's, it's, what about the point that he just made, that it just goes to show how tourist, tourist driven Kakadu is, when the Top End's probably the capital of fishing, boat, you know, trailer boat fishing, anywhere in Australia is up there. And here he is in Kakadu, and he's the only bloke out there hasn't seen anybody for 3 days, and it just goes to show that Kakadu is mainly driven by the tourists who head there through the cooler times of the year. So apart from the locals on the weekend. So, anyway, it's a very interesting point that he made there.

Barefoot Fishing Safaris. That's how you find Watty, you can get up there yourself and have a bit of a crack, and who knows, you could be on the boat with Watty while he's talking to us. Barefootfishingsafaris.com.au. Check out the social media pages, and if you want to take your fishing adventure to the next level, Well, Angling Adventures is the way you do that.

Of course, all controlled by Watty, and his brothers, of course, involved with angling adventures. But if you want that Top End experience, you want the real deal stuff, and you want to get out there and catch some Barramundi, and what was he catching there, Saratoga's, and everything else in there, in them, in those parts, well, you need to go with what he, Barefoot Fishing Safaris. Check him out online, check out the social media pages. I'll tell you, it won't be long before you're booking your spot with Watty, and he's a pretty good bloke as well.

He's got a great boat, great setup, and a good business there, and knows where to catch them, and that's the main thing. You just can't catch those tag ones. Don't worry, won't take him long. You'll find one for sure.

I reckon you deserve fun. He catches enough fish, but anyway. So check him out, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.