Bag a Barra — 23 October 2026

And if you haven't checked out our podcast, Campbell's and Co, there is so much for you to catch up on. We cover really interesting topics like what goes through your mind before an Olympic final or a grand final. Give you a rap on all the biggest happenings in sport. If you have questions, I guarantee we are looking at them too.

And you get a little inside scoop on my wedding. What did and didn't go down? Plus, you can check out our incredibly raw interview with Scott Miller, how he went from silver medal at the Olympics to prison and everything that has come after. We really do cover everything with more episodes dropping weekly.

Just search Campbell's and Co. 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. Oh, I love it when we do this, when we actually literally go fishing with Wadi. In fact, he is on the boat on the water and bagging barras.

That's what it's all about, and I love it when we get him on there and we've got to, you know, and I love it when we ring him and interrupt him when he's actually when they're on. So he sort of put his rod down. Wadi, g'day. Yeah, oh, yeah, I wish I was fishing duck.

I just unhooked another caddy for Joe. She's on -2 at the moment, unfortunately. But, um, yeah, we're out here in Bynoe. It's nice steamy day again.

Barrow being a bit tricky this morning, but we've got a few nice mangrove jacks. so far is probably the star of the show. So maybe Barrow later on. So for people listening, you don't know what Bynoe is.

That's the harbour. Yeah, big harbour, just to the west of Darwin, in between Darwin and Dundee Beach. Huge big extensive estuary system and today we're up inside one of the rivers that you actually, if you're driving to Dundee, you cross a bridge where the river goes up under. So, yeah, this is a really good spot to be at this time of year because those barrows are starting to group up and smell that fresh water that's coming down with a bit of rain and that really triggers their pre-sporn feeding activity and that sort of thing.

So, that's, um, that's the, we just got to, um, try and get some hooks in these fish and we'll be right. Yeah, absolutely. How good is it? So it is good.

I mean, we love what we get you, actually, on the boat, um, and actually fishing, actually just talking about it, which is good. And mate, you talk about the bit of rain. How is the rain? Has there been much?

there's been a stack of rain through Queensland. I mean, quite incredible as it's made its way through, basically, all that channel country, and I think it started around the long road, you have an amount of eyes or all the way to the coast. What's the rain been like up in the Top End? Yeah, it's been really patchy.

actually. We've right at Crab Claw, we're on, camped. We haven't had any this week. But Dundee's been getting a bit in the evening, so it is around and it's building up pretty stormy looking today, so maybe we'll get a little rinse off this afternoon.

We had a decent rain event um at my joint at Bees Creek there last week, which has got everything nice and green and washed the dust off the tree. So, it's just a bit later start than it was last year, but um, yeah, I guess we're on track at this stage. It was funny, you know, when I was up in Darwin, only a couple of months ago now, and we were at the free spirit, the Darwin free spirit, and the place looked amazing, and sprinklers going all day and keeping it green and all that. But I could only imagine.

I was looking at it thinking, how nice would this place look after, you know, during the wet, with all the rain and the water, the whole place just must change in appearance. I've never been there in the wet. So, I'm tipping it, Dar, when it's awkward, when you're driving along the Stuart Highway and, you know, down towards Berry Springs and all that. It's all pretty brown looking around Nuneham and that, but I miss it, most completely, appearance must completely change, does it?

Yeah, that's right. And it doesn't take much. You know, we had that 17 meals at home and it got the whole place greened up again and looking pretty nice, and yeah, once it really starts happening, you know, some of that, um, particularly some of those spear grasses and that sort of thing, you know, they grow a couple of centimetres a day, so you can, you can almost sit there and watch the grass grow if that was what you wanted to do. But, um, yeah, it, it's, um, like you, I keep saying it's my favourite time of year and um, yeah, we're really looking forward to hopefully another big wet season coming up.

Absolutely. Yeah, you're out there at Buino Harvest, so you've got, are there many other boats out there? I'm tripping that it's all be locals and guides now, wouldn't they? Yeah, no, there's it's pretty quiet at the moment.

A few hire boats out from Crabcore each day. There's only a couple of other vans in the park other than me, but I was chatting with the manager yesterday and yeah, the weekends from today onwards, it should be fully booked with locals coming out for their sort of weekend trips and their buildup fishing like what we're here for as well. All right. And we say under the mangrave jacks.

What are they like? The good eating and all that? Yeah, it's one of their biggest curses of Mangrave Jacks. They're excellent to eat.

But they're also really slow growing and late maturing. So, they um, a couple of years ago, the territory government introduced a minimum size on them of 35 centimetres, which has seemed to help. We used to um struggle to catch a few jacks around the place. But, yeah, we um, we often will catch a few of them a day or or multiples in a trip and, like I say, we've caught 4 this morning just off one little patch.

So, it's obviously helping and it's, it's the only fish that I've got a hard no on for killing um when we're in around Darwin area just because everyone wants to catch one and they really, they fight hard and they're cool looking fish as well, but yeah, they do really suffer from pressure. So, we let them all go, mate, and then there's, um, then there's some left for it, for the next groups to catch as we go. But once you get further out remote. Um, you know, up to Arnemland, Libra, over in the islands at Tiwi's.

There's heaps and heaps of them, so you don't need to feel guilty about killing one there, but yeah, they do suffer from pressure anywhere near population. I've got to hand it to you, mate. You certainly are the true fisherman, and you're putting back in all the time, and not only with stuff like throwing fish back, but everything else that you do. Made any word on what, you know, other popular spots?

I mean, obviously it all changes now with the wet on the way and everything up there, it all runs off and off a weather system, really, the whole place. Any other news about, you know, some of the other places that you've edited to around Kakadu and Daly River and all of that and how they're biting? Yeah, well, both of those actually, mate, and particularly the Kakadu billabongs. This is the time of year when they do start to fish really well again.

Perhaps from the end of September onwards, um, until it gets too hot, but yeah, those billabongs would be, um, would be fishing really well this weekend and and have been up until now. The problem, the thing that'll slow them down is once you get a few big rainstorms, it'll wash a bit of leaf litter and stuff in and deoxygenate the water and slows them right down. You can actually get some fish skills at this time of year, but right up until it gets too hot is absolutely prime out there. And same with the Daly. You get out there on those nice neat tides right now when the water's clean and green and those barrel be grouping up on the rock bars and in the snags down towards the mouth.

So, yeah, it's um, it's a, like, it's our, it's the territory local's favourite time of year because there's less crowds and, and the fishing gets really good again. So, um yeah, we love it. Look, we are in October. In fact, we're almost, you know, we're at the end of October almost.

Mate, have you been to, how many Christmas parties have you been to so far? Because I know they love them up there. I mean, you start them in like, you know, May, don't you? Yeah, well, usually once the financial year's done, mate, it's when we start doing them, but no, I'm actually running behind on the Christmas party this year.

We have been talking about it, but we haven't actually got there yet. Oh, we did have a couple of um, nice uh, schooners of icy cold VB, the free spirit the other day, which you mentioned earlier. Oh, how good is the free spirit? For a Christmas party? yeah. I love the free spirit.

It's a great place. I love it. Yeah, yeah. It's funny. I met a bloke there who'd been there, I think, since May, and he was leaving.

I think he would have left about a week ago now, if he was still there, but mate, it's a great place. And it is, that would be a great place for a Christmas party. In fact, I've got that little setup there. they have a few weddings there as well, don't they?

Yeah, it's a great place for an event. Louise had her 40th there, and you can, yeah, you can chuck a bit of money on the bar and get a wristband and that sort of thing, and the swim pool right at the bar is great as well for the kids, you know, so it's a, it's a really good place to stay. Huge caravan park too. Oh, there's 3 pools there.

I mean, it's incredible. If you want to get away from the crowd, I think the pool in the middle is the one behind the survey and it's not bad. You sort of just bob around in there and relax. I mean, it's a great.

place. I love. I absolutely love that. The free spirit.

mate. I reckon the locals, I mean, I know as much as the, you know, the up there in the Top End, they love the travellers and the caravans and all that, because you need that extra boost to your economy, but they must get that little, Oh, mate, thank God. And now they've got the place to ourselves, is it that bit of a feel?

Yeah, a bit like that, I guess. I mean, yeah, like you say, a massive part of the territory's economy relies on tourism, but as far as fishing goes, yeah, it doesn't hurt to have the place to yourself, which, you know, for me, weekdays in Bynoe Harbour, I'm literally the only one out. So, it's good, but it's never really a problem either, because, you know, we do have a lot of wide open space and a lot of water, and uh, and relatively speaking, even when it is peak season, there's still not a hell of a lot of people compared to perhaps that most of the rest of Australia. So, we don't have too much trouble with, um, you know, racing over your spot and someone else is already there.

So it's such a big wide area. And even when it's busy, I've got to say that the territorians are pretty hospitable people, and they certainly do embrace everyone getting there, which is why so many people go there, the weather during wintertime is just amazing. It's a great place and the way of life, we've spoken about it, here it is good. So, all right, so I'm tipping you'll be going through the newspaper articles and, you know, the little lot of other notices just a spot where those Christmas parties are on because I'm surprised.

At this stage, you haven't even been to one as yet. That's blown me away. I mean, I remember the time you covered the dog wedding when the 2 dogs got married. I mean... That was at the ski club, another great joint.

Oh, another great spot. The dogware club. Yeah, the dog wedding, 2 dogs got married. I'll tell you what, it would have been a pretty quiet honeymoon. If old mate was disexed.

Are they still together? They still together, the dogs? Sorry, are they still together? Do you know the dogs?

I think Peggy Weggy Woo was fairly old at the time, mate. Oh, no. Oh, no, so was he a widower? Oh, mate, cheers. Holly, Holly, Wally, Woo, that was... The bridegroom.

Yeah, the bridegroom. Okay, I thought it was just the groom, but anyway, that might be just what you call them up there. But no, that's so we don't know if the dogs are still together or not. We wish them well if they...

this week, mate. I'll find out and they'll report back. That was very, very funny. I've got to say.

Only in the territory, mate. Two dogs got married. Anything for a drink. It's just incredible, really. All right, mate, we won't hold you up.

You're out there, you're into them. The fish must be nervous knowing that they spot your boat coming across the water. Oh, here he comes. And hopefully you get into them today, mate, and you can give us a bit of a report on that next week.

Ooh, okay, what have we got? We got it in. it in. Oh, no.

Heather just dropped another one. Oh, that's the 2nd one. Tell her, I feel that, mate, I feel the pain, mate. Look, how many times it happened to me when I was with you?

Yeah, that's right. We did have a bit of bad luck that last time you went out, mate. But that's the way it goes. Don't away, madam.

It's just good being on the water up there, mate anyway. All right, mate. Well, you enjoy. And I'm sure you'll watch the day down somewhere this afternoon, mate, but thanks for coming on. We have a yan to you next week, eh?

No worries at all, mate. We'll talk to you then. There he is. That's the mayor of the Top End, who is our mayor anyway.

I mean, he should be the chief minister. We've set it here before. We're calling for him. Get up there and have a crack, Watty.

Jeez, I tell you what, he certainly does his best for the fishing environment up there in the fishing scene. He really does take it serious and does put in, but he does a lot more as well for just the, you know, talking up the area and for northern territory tourism. I mean, he's a real ambassador for the place up there and we're lucky to have him on our show. Barefoot Fishing Safaris.

You can check him out there on Facebook as well as Instagram and, of course, the website. Barefoot Fishing Safaris. If you want to go fishing in the Top End, go with the best in the business. That's our man, Watty, Barefoot Fishing Safaris.