The build-up

I reckon, mate, I'm telling you now, my ultimate plan would be just to come up there for 4 to 6 months, and then when it gets to, when that buildup comes, go, well, the buildup comes, the duck goes, and then I head down here and cop that, and the neck, or would it be just living in the warmth all year round? I love it.

Bag a Barra — 26 June 2026 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

We've had 10 days or so under 20 degrees here, so overnight, so that's probably enough, and if we consider about 2021 overnight, perfect camping weather, and keep that humidity low for a couple of months until we get into late August and September, and then off we go for another big buildup.

Bag a Barra — 12 June 2026 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

So, um, yeah, it, it perhaps um, a bit easier to handle as they build up starts later on in the year.

Bag a Barra — 22 May 2026 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

I mean, of course, we had a fairly record wet season up here, and then that gives everything a chance to build up the bait, and the environment sort of just gets really primed for when the water starts or stops raining, which we probably had our last reign for the until probably September the other day, I reckon.

Bag a Barra — 1 May 2026 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

I think, I mean, Darwin Harbour, because it gets flushed out so aggressively by the tides every fortnight, you probably don't have that buildup of polluted water or whatever might more commonly happen further south.

NextGen North #63 — Glenn Watt NextGen North

So, that's generally when it's a real change of seasons, um, rather than just these storms that build up, um, over land.

Bag a Barra — 31 October 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

What so, what's biting at the moment and how is the weather? I mean, obviously the buildup's on.

Bag a Barra — 24 October 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

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.

Bag a Barra — 17 October 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

So, it's, it's, um, it's only going to get better and better with the weather, sort of dropping out into those real um, glass air conditions that we get during the late buildup and uh, um, some really nice afternoon storms which we've already had a few of.

Bag a Barra — 10 October 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

I see some some social photos and also some videos, the build-up people getting excited, the locals.

Bag a Barra — 3 October 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

Mate, what else is happening up there? Obviously getting closer and closer now with a big buildup and getting to that time of year.

Bag a Barra — 26 September 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

We'll let you get back into it because, you know, these people have paid to you to take them fishing, not to watch you on the phone, and I bet they're looking forward to getting back having a couple of beers this afternoon, sitting around listening to the build-up bandits.

Bag a Barra — 19 September 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

So, you know, by this time, what are we, sort of, mid-September, where, um, yeah, we're starting to get into that true buildup, and the mangos have really, um, jumped out on the trees, which is a really good sign that things are starting to warm up, and it's that time of year, again.

Bag a Barra — 12 September 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

Just quickly, a bit of a buildup now because it'll be, you know, we're in spring now. What does that mean for the weather up there and what does it mean for the fishing? Yeah, that's right.

Bag a Barra — 5 September 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

It's the start of the buildup and uh, and like you say, uh, we've got to get those Christmas parties in the book for fuller October starts when they all happen.

Bag a Barra — 29 August 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

They have a lot of nights under 15 degrees and right down to 10 or 8 degrees in Catherine this time in year and and then in that buildup time they get much hotter weather as well where they might even crack a 40 degree day, but certainly a lot of 38s and stuff like that through the buildup.

Bag a Barra — 4 July 2025 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

What's the what's the go? We're sort of in this nice true build-up pattern now, mate? You're getting a bit of to be getting rain once a week, at least.

Bag a Barra — 25 October 2024 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

The weather's really turned into this nice flat, seamy, um, build-up conditions that we really look forward to for getting these barabyte and get out on that blue water with um, nice flat Cs.

Bag a Barra — 11 October 2024 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

It's the beginning of September, and we're fishing the build up to the wet season, the monsoon that happens over the summer months up here.

Fly fishing Bynoe Harbour Peachy Fly Fishing

We'll get gold, Trevellis come into Darwin Harbour and starts to really change things around into this sort of build up pattern, which is pretty exciting for us here in the Top End.

Bag a Barra — 6 September 2024 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

I mean, when is the buildups to begin for the wet season and I mean, you talk about the weather, the weather's just in the northern part of the country's good all the time, but when does that sort of begin and what does that do to the fishing? Yeah, well, I suppose officially, um, we'd probably say buildup starts in September.

Bag a Barra — 23 August 2024 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

Yeah, that's the, this time of year, this March, April, and May is when you want to be headed for Shady Camp and then again, on certain times later on in the year in the buildup.

Bag a Barra — 23 February 2024 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

By the time we get to that sort of 2nd or that 3rd week in February, especially, the bait will have had um sort of one lunar cycle to breed up and build up and then that's when it really starts to happen, especially if we keep getting this little bit of intermittent rain.

Bag a Barra — 9 February 2024 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

It will get a bit hotter than that by the end of the day, but just beautiful buildup sort of weather.

Bag a Barra — 20 October 2023 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

They've been biting really well, the last, or definitely the last couple of weeks, since it has really kicked into that proper build-up scenario where the water temps are high and the weather's been a bit better as well.

Bag a Barra — 6 October 2023 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

I took a video of some crocodiles, uh, doing some fishing on the East Alligator River with their little fingers up, and that's a real sign, uh, the marlet runs happening, which is a, a build-up thing as well, and um, our winds are changing and stuff.

Bag a Barra — 8 September 2023 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

It's one of the sort of showpieces of what we do during the dry season, I suppose, and right through the buildup.

Bag a Barra — 23 June 2023 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

Uh, yeah, but, um, yeah, the, the good fishing and and the proper buildup, whether they were having just keeps those fish busy and active and keen to buy it.

Bag a Barra — 18 November 2022 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

And considering we're right at the end of the dry season now, well, we're actually into the buildup, um, and it's still flowing really well there, it's all, you know, the water's beautiful, fresh and crystal clear.

Bag a Barra — 15 October 2021 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

It certainly has started to warm up inland and um we'll go into that buildup pattern pretty soon, I'd say, it has been probably a windy-ish July, August, um we're sort of frustrated a few of us up here because we're not used to having to deal with too much wind and when we get more than 3 days in a row at a noise us.

Bag a Barra — 20 August 2021 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

Um, we just had a couple of uh, weeks of really nice, warm sort of flat weather, um, which we sort of would, um, almost tipping as the start of the buildup, which everyone was very happy about, well, Fisher's, particularly.

Bag a Barra — 13 August 2021 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

And it's generally in the buildup or wet season is going to be a bit of rain around for those jelly pawns to hatch.

The Intermediate Line — Ep 80 The Intermediate Line

We start to think about, you know, with the buildup now. So, uh, we start to on these neat tides.

Bag a Barra — 11 September 2020 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

We'll be like August is very busy for me and and buildup will be busy. It's a shame Victoria's going the way they're going if not that time.

Bag a Barra — 10 July 2020 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

I try to spend most days trying to build up that thirst meself. every time someone said, what are you doing? So, mate, I'm just trying to build up a thirst for later on.

Bag a Barra — 20 December 2019 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

Normally we get them most of our big fish in the in the buildup and the runoff. But yeah, this, this year has been, uh, been sprinkled right through and um, yeah, like even close to town.

Bag a Barra — 15 November 2019 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

Oh, actually, I guess we're getting out of the, the true x-ray fishing this time of year and going towards the um, the buildup stuff, so we'll be using the bait castles a lot more.

Hooked — Ep 5, Barefoot Fishing Safaris Hooked podcast

So we, we, we sort of start to expect a bit of build up sort of afternoon storms from the end of September onwards.

Bag a Barra — 13 September 2019 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

Yeah, we had a chance to get away for just one night recently, um, out to a couple of the billabongs in Kakadoo, and, and they're a really great spot to, to head to this time of year, um, as the water starts to build up again, the barrier start, thinking romantic thoughts, they, they start getting hungry, like we all do.

Bag a Barra — 31 August 2019 Bag a Barra, Oz Off Road Radio

The build-up

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