Bag a Barra — 27 March 2026

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. Well, he's almost like our weatherman up there now, not fishing guru, because as any cops, Army, he had a visitor through the week from Queensland named Narell, who I think she's making her way now down through Western Australia. It's certainly been one elephant cyclone. Watty, are you dry, son?

How are you? Well, yeah, yeah, I'm going well, mate, but I wouldn't say we're dry. I mean, it's either rain and all we're sweating, so you never really dry. Oh, yeah, but no, yeah, Narelle, she's she's caused a bit of heavy, hasn't she?

So, yeah, obviously everyone would have seen through the week, all the rivers popped up again, Adelaide River, flooded, Adelaide River Township there, all the roads out to Kakadu and Shady Camper, all flooded. Catherine went up again and Daly River just hasn't dropped at all. So, um, yeah, it's a fairly hectic little weather system. We're going through a period now of a few days of dry sunny weather with some sort of dry air pushing up from south, I think.

So hopefully that'll give everything an opportunity to settle down a bit, mate, and we'll be able to sort of get back into it as normal. Mate, what? I mean, I know this is an extended wet, plus you've had the cyclone and all this stuff. Mate, what effect will this have on? I mean, you've got enough problems up there.

everybody has with fuel and prices and people travelling and we were just talking to all mate. An old mate, Andrew, who runs a caravan park in Longreach, who's had over 60 cancellations already for midyear bookings. I mean, what's all this? What is all this going to do for the fishing this year?

I mean, the fish will still be there, I guess. Well, firstly, what effect does all this water have on the fishing? What happens there? There'll still be abundance of fish, obviously.

Oh, yeah, the more the better for the fish, really. And the longer it's up, the better. You know, you get this huge expanse of really nice warm water out over the floodplains where all those smaller bait fish species and frogs and yabbies and all that sort of stuff can breed up and that, that's all that tucker that all those baby barrers and, and everything else wants to munch on. So it's all good for the fish.

They're happy days, and of course, right now it makes them a bit harder to catch for us too, because they're still spread out. So that's on their side as well. But, um, I mean, for, for tourism in general, the big issue is, um, for a lot of these mobs, especially if you have a look around some of the Facebook pages down the Daly is just the absolute sort of destruction that the, you know, sustained high river levels is done down there, that there's, um, there's a few videos getting around now where there's sort of entire sandbars and just new mud banks and stuff right in the middle of caravan park, right in the middle of dining areas. Yeah, so fuel, fuel problem.

Sorry, Watty. Sorry to interrupt you, mate. Fuel, fuel problems aside. This could have a bit of an effect on tourism or this water, yeah?

Well, these guys just aren't going to be able to open, mate. You know, like, they should be open right now and and, um, you know, hosting fishing trips, but and the way it's looking. I mean, that river's still up high down there, it's going to be another month before they even look like getting open and and even then once you start digging away all that mud and sand and stuff, there's probably going to be a lot of buildings that are just knackered and and will need to be rebuilt. So it's going to be a pretty long-term thing for Daly River mob.

especially the guys that have all been evacuated out of their houses there. I mean, those houses have been up to the ceiling level for a couple of weeks now, so there's no coming back from that. So, yeah, but I mean, yeah, I mean, all fuel is, I mean, we're paying a bit for it up here, but we've got no dramas getting hold of it. So, you know, the show goes on as far as my stuff, as long as we can get to and from the river, which, you know, this week with the rivers up out to Shady Camp in Kakadu, people have been helicopter and in and out as they've been stranded and all sorts of things.

So, yeah, you've, I mean, we live in a sort of in extreme country, but this is a, this is one of those sort of out of the box events, but, you know, you've got to be just sort of resilient and dig in and look after each other. Catherine's, um, led by example, there, everyone looking after each other really well down there and once that water drains away from the Daly. I think there'll be plenty of people getting down there to lend a hand as well. So, that's the way we go up here, mate, and all across Australia too, of course, but yeah, this is a pretty big event for us.

Yeah, absolutely. And that's the thing. I mean, and look, I will say, I mean, okay, right across Australia, we do do that and we've had we're known for helping each other out, but I got to say, when you're a territorian, you're a territorian, mate, you got each other's back, that part of the world, that is for sure. You're the benchmark.

Oh, and I know I'm saying that we do do it everywhere else as well, but you're another level. You're the benchmark for keeping an eye on each other, that's for sure. Yeah, well, I mean, we main it's a bit like any rural community, I suppose. The territory is just another big country town and any, any rural communities, you know, just because you've got that closer connection, you um, you tend to perhaps look after each other a bit more, a bit less segmented city.

So, that's a good thing. It's on our side, and um, yeah, I mean, everyone will get around it, and um, and Michael was saying last week, you know, the best thing you can do is when you can get up, um, is just to support all those small local businesses and and anyone else who's sort of had a bit of a hard time. Yeah, absolutely, mate. And as I mentioned to you, and we were just talking to old mate Andrew from the Muddy Duck Caribbean or tourist park at Longreach, to have over 60 cancellations from bookings, and these were bookings that he's had in the system for a while, for that June, July period.

It's a worry. Oh, yeah, that's a... That's a worry. That's just one play. That's just one.

I mean, and there's a no, there's a massive Caribbean park in Longreach. That's just him out there on the 5K's out of town on the river. He's had over 60 cancellation. That's a worry.

That's a worry, mate. Yeah, that's right. There's, I mean, the, the, um, Caravan Park down the Daly, um, who hosts the 3 most major, uh, barrow fishing tournaments in the territory. They're the ones that have got a flat, you know, like a sandbar right in the middle of the dining hall at the moment and the gardens are just devastated.

So, I think they've already definitely cancelled 2 of those major tournaments, and then another one is probably going to be cancelled in the next few days, and, and, you know, that's a pretty big hit to those guys, uh, as far as income goes, plus all the costs of, of, of the cleanup and stuff too. So, yeah, it's um tough times, I suppose. You know, long run. It's probably, you know, a good thing to have plenty of rain, but it's these immediate impacts on, you know, people's livelihoods and businesses and stuff that's really gets us all sort of, yeah, gets you a bit worried, isn't it?

Oh, mate, absolutely. But you know what, Watty? won't be beaten. Oh no, no, that's right.

They're pretty rebellient, mob, like all these bush mob Daly River. Aussies. We're all Aussies. We ain't got to keep ice cream aiming up. That's what we can do.

Yeah, that's all. There's no problem there. It's just a, yeah, bit of a daunting task at the moment. So, yeah.

Yeah, we've got some hurdles, mate, and it's happening everywhere, not just in Australia, but I mean, we've got to try and worry about ourselves here. Maybe we should have been worrying about ourselves here long before we decide to pull down all refineries. anyway. Mate, seriously, we've had some imbeciles in charge.

Okay, well, listen, you stay dry if you can, mate. And we'll talk a bit more fishing next week and hopefully things will settle down a bit and then we get back to normal sooner than later, eh? Yeah, that's right. I've got one more trip before I'll talk to you next week.

So, yeah, we're hoping to get out there in the next couple of days, 3 or 4 days, um, out on the water, and yeah, I mean, when we have been fishing, there's been some really good fish around and plenty of numbers. So, once it all settles down. It's going to go right off as far as fishing goes. We just sort of, yeah, it's a bit unpredictable at the moment.

just roll with the punches. Yeah, well done, mate. All right. we'll chat, catch you next week.

Good luck. Stay dry. Talk to you then. Right on, mate.

Good on you. There he is. That's Barefoot Fishing Safaris. My man, Watty, and if you're going to the Top End and you want to go catch fish with the best of them, you've got to go with him.

Barefoot Fishing Safaris, or of course, angling adventures, if you want to go further, but he is our man in the Top End, and see, they're doing it tough up there at the moment with all that water, all through the northern territory, and in particular, from Catherine up north from there, and up around Darwin and Kakadu, and all those areas of what he's talking about. lots and lots and lots and lots of water. And top of that with the fuel. It's certainly challenging times.

But a great part of Australia. I love it up there. So if you can get up there, support those places. Please do say you certainly will enjoy the northern territory experience, that is for sure.

Barefoot Fishing Safaris, easy icing on the cake.