Bag a Barra — 10 July 2026

It's time 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 radio communications. Explore the extract series at uniden.com.au. Well, I love it when we catch up with this man because he's you, my favourite part of the world.

In fact, I'm actually with a mate of mine in Brisbane at the moment, who lives up in the territory. I'll tell you what, you think Watty's got some stories, hasn't it? My mate, Jack Brady, got some stories. Um, he's, uh, certainly, um, here, but he's, I've actually mates with his dad and, and he's here at the moment, and let me tell you, um, the unbelievable.

I'll tell Watty about him in the moment. But Barefoot Fishing Safaris. That's where you, that's where you go, if you want to go fishing with Watty. I'm led to believe we are literally going fishing with him right now because he's either on the water or standing on the banky somewhere up there in the Top End.

Watty, g'day. Good morning. Yeah, you're dead right, duck. I'm down the Daly River.

Um, 1st trip down here after that massive flood, mate, this year, and I tell you, there's a lot of things that have changed down here, and not all for the bad. There's a whole new creek that's flowing out right here at our main camp. I've got a cousin that's got a bit of dirt down here and upstream of the crossing there a bit and there's a there's a creek that's still flowing into the main river and it's absolutely loaded with barrow. We went down this morning and I think between us probably got about 10 of them and about the same.

Yes, they are, though, when we rocked up. So it's, um, yeah, it's God's country down here for sure. Big high, sandy riverbanks, nice shady trees everywhere and that river's all nice and green. There's a big old crocodile that hangs just down from where we fish off the bank, so we keep a bit of an eye on him, but it's a pretty nice place to spend the last few days of school holidays with the kids.

You got to be happy with that. I mean, how good is it? I mean, down there doing your own thing too, recreational fishing. That's good for you, Watty.

What about this story, right? So I've got a mate who lives up in the territory, right? And he drives road trains and other things and, you know, does a few different jobs and there's an old grave in the middle of nowhere. Okay?

And it's around that, Elliot, around that Elliot region. There's an old grave there. It's on a station and you drive this dirt track that no one drives to the stock route, right? Anyway, he heard about this grave and, you know, and and yeah, he never really went looking for it, but he's driving along one day and then he's had to pull up and and have a bit of a toilet break, as they say.

And he spots this, he spots this railing set up off into the distance a bit. And he goes, oh, that must be that grave. I'll just wander over and have a look. So he wanders over and has a look at it. It's a 100 years old this year.

And it had his name on the headstone. I did not. Yeah, did. The bloke was the same name.

Exact same name. Spooky. Oh, mate, did you run? He goes, well, I was a bit spun out by it, but you know what he did? He went back another time and cleaned it all up and sort of, you know, was a bit overgrown in spots and stuff.

But yeah, yeah. I mean, in the middle of nowhere, you're talking Wolf Creek. and you're talking Wolf Creek and he's pulled up and he's wandered over just to have a look by chance. And it's the same, his name on the headstone.

I wonder if the name on the headstone changes according to who's looking at it. Is it that type of story? Oh, I don't know, I don't believe in those types of stories, but then again, if it was me, I would be, I would be running, mate. I would be absolutely running.

someone else to check her name for you. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's for sure, but anyway, but he did say he was taken a back bite, which it would be, wouldn't you? You just think, mate, you're kicking, aren't you?

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. One of the chances of that, one in a one in a billion.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely mate. So mate, so you say they're biting there. That's good because when you, it's funny you mentioned that there's a bit of a change after the flood. and you now have a creek. I know with the, obviously we live on the Hawkesbury River and when that floods, uh, mate, all of a sudden you've got new beaches and, you know, where was my bit of scrub and on, you know, on a bend in the river, there would have been a bit of scrub there and grass and, and now there's a big sandy beach on the point and, and the floods certainly do change a few things, but I'll tell you what, having a new creeks a bit different.

Yeah, that's right, mate. So the creek that's flowing out, right beside the camp here now, uh, for the, well, um, since our time has flowed out into the river about 10 kilometres upstream. But yeah, the huge sweat season that we just had is sort of rerouted it back through new cousin's property here and back out rider camp, which is unreal because it's about, I think it's the only creek still flowing a bit of fresh water into the main river at the moment and there's a lot of nice barrier group up here and you know, you can sit at me. My uncle's got his Winnebaga on the top of the bank there.

He can sit down and watch everyone fishing while he's having his breakfast, which in the past hasn't been the best spot. So, yeah, it's pretty amazing to see what nature can do and it obviously wouldn't be the 1st time it's happened in the last couple of 1000000 years or whatever, but it's the 1st time in our living memory. So it's cool to be part of, and probably right where I'm sitting now, that, which would be 15 metres higher than the river level. The water line on the top of the trees.

Well, it pushed that rainwater tank over there. So it's probably about 3 metres above or 2 metres above my head if I stand on top of the bank. So the flooded river would have been spread out over 20 k's either side of the river when it was this high, you know? So amazing amount of changes happened.

And that's why all that devastation down the Daly downstream, um, we called into the pub the other, uh, the other day on the way down to check it out and there's a, um, the local shop there is up on big stilts that you could park the highest vehicle ever underneath and it was halfway up the door up on that. So, yeah, the pub was totally underwater and they're still trying to get everything sorted out in a lot of these places down here. Well, the Daly Waters, what a bit of water can do. That river pub, yeah.

A Daly River pub. Sorry, yeah, okay. Yeah, unbelievable. And obviously you said you've been getting into the fish.

So once that happens, there's increased, it does increase your fishing. Is there a lot more there? What happens? Oh, yeah, I mean, the extended wet season gives all the small bait fish and cherubin and frogs and turtles and all the other tucker that in a barrel up to eat.

It gives them a longer season to breed up in greater numbers, of course. So, um, that means more food for the barr and and um, and a higher percentage of those um, smaller fish can survive through that period of spawning and, and those one and 2 year old fish will start to grow really quickly. And we got a lot of them this morning, half a dozen or 8 of those little sort of 30 centimetre guys, but they're almost round like a dinner plate, they're, they're feeding that much. So, um, you know, and of course, it all recharges all the, the springs and stuff that feed the Daly because, of course, the Daly flows year round, unlike a lot of our territory rivers, it, it starts way back up in Kakadu, comes all the way through Catherine as the Catherine River, meets the floor, a river out of Catherine, and becomes the Daly, and it flows all year. So with a huge catchment and all the spring's being recharged.

It'll keep it sort of fresh and healthy, um, perhaps more than it has in the last, um, you know, 10 years. So, yeah, it's only good for the river, that's for sure, in the long term. It's no good for people living by the river because their houses all got washed away, but, you know, nature recovers and nature needs this sort of stuff every now and then we just got to work around it, I suppose. And what about the big lizards with big teeth?

Are they around? Yeah, well, there's one big old fellow that, um, he used to just cruise up and down the middle of the river here, sort of patrol on his spot, um, and I guess that's because of everything, all the fish were a bit more spread out, but with this creek still pumping in all this fresh here, actually hanging around pretty close to camp. He's a 4.5 metre at least crocodile, big old one.

And he did get a bit friendly there a few weeks ago and I think he got a few rocks thrown at him in a whack in the head with a stick and stuff and he was sitting right on the beach where everyone was fishing. So, um, he was hanging out a couple 100 metres downstream today, and if he stays down there, that's fine. We can all get along because it'd be a real shame to have to, you know, get a crocodile like that removed. He's probably 60 or 70 years old and it's probably his patch more than it is ours.

But, um, yeah, hopefully he keeps to himself a bit and doesn't put any, um, people at risk and then he can continue living a nice happy old life. He's had a few rocks thrown at him and hit on the head with a stick. I mean, who was? I mean, who's the person that hit him on the head with the stick? I mean, yeah, kidding at you.

long stick. He's a pretty big lizard, this fella, but yeah. You know, there's ways you can determine. And, of course, one thing that we that we make sure we do right here. Is there any fish that you're going to keep you filling them up on the bank and then go bury the carcasses or feed them to the hawks up on the land rather than chucking it in the water and encouraging crocodiles and sharks right back where you're fishing.

Yeah, exactly. They can help the job out. And yeah, everyone around here is pretty mindful of that, of course. Yeah, you don't want to do that. They think, oh, he's a good food spot.

He's Maccas. It'll drive through. It'll swim through here. How good is it?

We'll just wait for Watty to come back and get him as he's throwing it in. Yeah, well, they can be cunning, I think, like that, can't they? That's when you become a news story, isn't it? They can be cunning like that, can't they?

They're pretty smart Yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, time's on his side.

He's been around for a while and they don't burn a hell of a lot of energy if they don't want to. He can sit there and watch you for a week, figuring out what you're doing, then just be there at the right moment and then he's got his tucker for the next month. Don't worry, Jimmy. I tell you what mate.

All right. All right, mate. So obviously it's all happening there. There's a bit of fishing happening around the place.

And obviously up in the Top End, mate, they're still catching them and it's tourist season. Seen plenty? Yeah, they really are. I, I, it'd be.

I'd be surprised if right now the numbers aren't sort of as usual. I mean, there was a pretty big gap early, but it seems to me like their roads are just full of caravans and stuff and that's really good, especially with school holidays, started downstairs as well now. So that's great to see. They've got the Masters Barra classic fishing comp on downstream daily here right now, so there'll be 30 odd boats of all the old collegians down there, having a bit of fun for the next few days.

It would be interesting to see how they go. It's really late in the season to be holding a competition around down here. So, it'll be a good measure of how healthy the river is and that'll get everyone fired up to come up and stay down a daily again and support all those businesses that virtually got filled up with sand and mud through the wet season, mate. So it's good that they're all back up and running and everyone can come up and support them again.

Yeah, great stuff, mate. All right. Well, we'll leave you to it to go in and, you know, fill up your catch and do what you're doing, a little bit of downtime with family and friends. It's all about you, Watty, you're killing it up there, son.

I wish I was with you. Yeah, we got stitched up a bit this morning because one of my uncles, old Philly, said, oh, there's a tide change scenario at 6 o'clock, they'll be on the bike then and I said, yep, righto, we'll see you there. I was a bit doey this morning, so I didn't get out of bed right on the alarm, and as Oscar and I, the young fellow walking down at about 6.30, Phil's walking up with an 80 centimetre barrel in his hand, headed next for Brexton, so he'd already gone down and caught the big ones. you reckon he'll let go another 3 or 4 so we got the little fellas that he'd left behind but it was still fun.

Good on you, mate. All right. Well, you enjoy, mate, and we'll have a arm with you next week, eh? Gone real, mate.

Good on you. There he is. That's our man, Glenn, Watty, Watt? Barefoot Fishing Safaris in the Top End up there, living the dream, isn't he?

Jeez, I've got to say to you, it doesn't get much better than up there. And it's amazing how many people ask me my favourite place. I've got two, the channel country I love, and I love the Top End. I love the northern territory.

How good is it? what a lifestyle. And he's up there living that lifestyle right now. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

you can check him out and you can go fishing with him.