Bag a Barra — 24 October 2025

It's time now to head to the Top End and Baga 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. Oh, we love going to the Top End. In fact, we had a little bit of a chat here around a big table. What about, Woodsy's got this massive big, all these tables put together, like it's a big boardroom table, in the show office here at Adelaide, and we're sitting around it talking about our favourite places, and I mentioned that my favourite place to go to, and there was a couple of people there agreeing with me.

The northern territory. Watty, g'day. Ah, g'day, duck. Yeah, it's my favourite place too.

So, yeah, that makes another one. Yeah, we were just sitting around having a yard. We weren't having any sort of a formal meeting. We're just talking, you know.

And they were talking about some of the places we go and what we do, and there was a couple of people there, and I started talking about the Top End, and Woodsy sunk Chris Woods as going, yeah, he agreed, loves it up there. It is the best part of the country, I reckon. I love it. I mean, the cat's all good everywhere, but the territory's just got something about it. There's like a magnet there, pulling me towards there, whether you've got an influence on that, I don't know, but I just love it.

The lifestyle, it's everything. How good is it? It might be that 1st cold beer as you cross the border from South Australia and get to Mala, is it the 1st town in the territory? It's a pretty cool old pub, that one?

I don't normally go that way. I normally come up through Queens. No, you would. through the 3 ways. That's right.

Yeah, yeah. But although we're in Adelaide at the moment. Yeah, we're in Adelaide at the moment. In fact, we will be going up that way next year, Watty?

Believe it or not, from there? Well, do they do that a track? Yeah, dude, that attract our housing springs, I think, and up through South Australia through and cross over that way, through all of that. Well, actually, I think we... No, we may not.

We may be, we may be coming in through Fink. Okay, we're putting the trip together anyway at the moment, but we are going to end up at Ularoo, where there's rock and then, um, and then up in your part of the world, probably for a bit of a, you know, a break. Yeah, Ripper, yeah. I've done the you data track myself years ago and the old Pink Panther pub. I suppose it's still going.

There's lots of interesting stuff along there. Yeah, you got a lot there, exactly. Now, you're not a mouldy yet? Catching fish with tags?

What's happening? No, not me yet, mate. Although, you know, we've been putting a few numbers in the boat in the last few days. So, every, every time, you know, you get one jumping, you, you sort of um, probably spending that money a bit early, but no, we haven't had any luck getting a tag fish ourselves, but as we speak, I think there's been 6 caught already.

So, um, you know, that's, that's 6 people an extra 10 K in the pocket at the moment, so happy days for them. Maybe it'll be me next time. You'd have to think. I mean, you go fishing most days, and you do a lot of it.

And you go on, you know, these trips where you're away for days, fishing day after day after day with your groups. It's a wonder you've never jagged one, you know. Yeah, sometimes I think about that too. Uh, uh, and uh, but then I, I, I sort of also acknowledge that I tend to um, fish and take my clients away from really common spots that, um, perhaps, uh, you know, when uh, catching and tagging the fish that, um, that's easier for the, the taggers and stuff like that.

So, because I, you know, I want to, I want to be away from the crowds, so to speak, um, but yeah, I mean, that said, um, it goes to show how much luck's involved and how anyone can actually win it. So, you know, it could be your very 1st bar, it could be the 10,000 or $1000000 fish. Well, well, there's that story from a couple of years ago where, um, basically, um, you had, uh, the, what was it, the girl who went to the 7-Eleven, bought the, yeah, yeah, bought the hand, bought the hand rule and bought the hand rule from the survey and won 10,000. Yeah, that's right.

Off the nightcliff jetty too, you know, and that's somewhere where, you know, land-based, great land-based fishing spot, but I would never go there in the boat, you know, because we've got a boat and we can go other places, but yeah, it goes to show that they're, they're in really easy to access spots, you don't have to be remote. So, um I guess that's a big, big part of the, the whole promotion. Imagine how filthy it'd be if I just landed up there and got one. I mean, you'd be just, doesn't it?

The tourists that have sort of rolled up and they're here for a day or whatever, and, oh, yeah, we'll just go out for a fish and couple of them being caught at Dino and Dundee where I fish a lot too, yeah. And you're thinking, shit, man, I've spent 15 years here. What so, what's biting at the moment and how is the weather? I mean, obviously the buildup's on.

It's getting closer. How is it up there at the minute? Yeah, we've had a we've had a bit of interesting weather. It's sort of got a bit dry and windy again a few days ago, but it only lasts for a couple of days at a time now and then it gets back to steamy in it.

It was interesting to show. I had a group last week where on the 1st day it was sort of cool and windy and that and it didn't really happen. You know, the fish was sort of a bit tricky or whatever. And and then uh, it sort of progressively got better and by the 3rd day, uh, it, like they caught 15 or 20, Barry, you know, pretty easily. And, you know, I, I was sort of saying, you know, this is the difference.

It's not. It's not anything that we're doing, like the weather plays a big, big role in it. So, yeah, it's something, um, that, like I keep saying it as, as it gets hotter and steamier and more uncomfortable for us. They're actually better for, for fishing prospects when it's like that.

So, you know, I, I just, um, I look forward to it being hot and sticky because I know it's gonna, gonna be easier. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I'll tell you what I did see the other night and I know we've mentioned here before. Um, I follow uh, the Dundee Tavern.

I love that pub. And I saw one of the staff. There was a photo of one of the staff members who put it on the, on the Facebook page and saying, what a view. And the sky, it was that orange sunset.

That would be the best sunset I think I've seen there. That is just a cracker. It's got the, did you see that? Incredible.

I was there for, I was there that night and yeah, there was a bit of smoke in the air as well and um, yeah, like, I mean, you, they just vary on, on a scale of awesome 2 best air sort of thing out there, especially when you, when you get those ocean storms. So you might get a bit of lightning over the top of the um sunset as well and that heavy rain clouds and stuff. So, yeah, I, I, I actually thought you might be going to mention that, um, last weekend, I rocked up to the pub after going out fishing that day and um, and it was fairly jumping and live music was happening and everything and I, I was like, what's going on here? and they'd had a ladies day cocktail afternoon, it started at, it was a 3 hour cocktail afternoon, all you can drink cocktails for 90 bucks or something, and yeah, it was, it was fairly happening at the pub that night, that's for sure.

So you bought a ticket for 90 bucks and into it. So was it, what do you say, 90 bucks? So you, well, you spent, so $90 entry and all the cocktails you could drink. Yeah, for a couple of hours or something and a few of the old ladies, local girls were giving me the maps that they needed to get into to get their value for money.

I was just trying to have a quiet beer and a feed and get out of there about it. Yeah, got a bit loose in the end. Ah, it'll working it out to make sure they're in front. That's gold.

I mean, thank goodness, a territory. Oh, yeah, you can pay your 90 bucks and just get a stool and sit at the bar. Oh, yeah, by the time I got there, which wasn't late either. It was 4 o'clock or 5 o'clock or something when I rolled in, just I just wanted to get a takeaway pizza and go and hide in the caravan in the aircon and I couldn't get away.

It was so much going on. It was great fun. Was it Messi? I think it got a bit messy later on, mate.

Yeah, but... they finished early. Well, that's the secret. Well, that's the day that there was a few sore heads around. Well, that's the secret.

That's the secret, mate. Start early finish early. I'm a foul, not an owl, mate, these days. Exactly. It's just, you're better off.

I mean, just, yeah, if you start early, finish early, you don't, you're sort of not dragging yourself around the following day. I mean, I'm getting too old for that now. Not the only one. Yeah, I know.

All right, mate. All right. Well, the fish are boarding, the weather's happening, the buildup's on, and it's all doing. It's a great part of the world, and as I said, we were talking about it yesterday, and, and obviously, there's some great,

I mean, I'm a big fan of North Queensland, the channel country. I don't mind it down here either. South Australia, geez, there's some hidden gems here, the Flinders Ranges and different places, but, you know, and obviously we had a good time in the Kimberley, and it's all good. But for me, I love going north. I love that channel country.

I love North Queensland and then there's the Northern Territory Top End. I just absolutely love it up there. The lifestyle of what gets me. It's just that laid back.

No wonder you're there, mate. That's all I'm here, mate. Yep, I've been in nicely to that exactly what you've just said. You'll be the chief minister one day.

You should be the chief of tourism. You should be the chief finish of tourism, at least. Yeah, I'd bloody make a few changes and roll a few heads if I was in there, mate. You know, that's probably why... Roll a few edge.

I don't say no about us. We talk about them all the time. They should be paying us the tourism people up there. We encourage people to get there.

We get some, we encourage, we even a pat on the back, it'd be good. We encourage plenty of people to go there. God. Anyway, all right.

You enjoy and mate, and just keep an eye on those sunsets out at Dundee, will you? absolutely amazing. That's, I've seen some sunsets, as you know, and I, I check them out. I love them.

There was even a good one here in Adelaide last night, but nothing. Nothing tops what I saw when I had a feed and a beer at the Dundee Tavern and when we finished filming up there last year. Was like somebody got some orange paint and painted the sky. Jeez, it was good.

Love it there. You remember, man, mate? All right, I'll talk to you next week, eh? I am having a feed of fresh fish that you've caught that day.

It just adds to it too, doesn't it? So that's part of the beauty of it. All I wouldn't know about that. Okay?

I catch anything. All right, see you. All right, mate. Good on you.

There he is, Watty, Barefoot Fishing Safaris. That's where you go if you want to go and fish up in the Top End and go on some of those great fishing excursions at what he does. That's what you need to do. Barefoot Fishing Safaris or of course, jump onto the website as well.

Barefoot Fishing Safaris and you can take your fishing trip to the next level with angling adventures. Just check it all out there online or on social media, and you'll hook up with Watty, and you will be having those big feet of fish and a couple of cold ones at the end of the day.