00:02G'day guys, Merv Hughes. I'm here at the Banyan Farm for the Darwin Game Fishing Club Barra Classic.
00:15The daily routine here for the Classic is we launch either the public ramp which is around past Woolliana
00:21or here on Banyan Farm and then navigate our way down the river.
00:31With the recent flooding there's been a lot of change to the river.
00:35There's a lot of hazards out there as in floating logs and logs that have moved and also rock bars.
00:41So if you don't know the river it can be quite treacherous.
00:45So better to take your time and get down there safely and that's the key to it.
00:49Billy don't be a hero, don't be a fool with your love.
00:55How good is it getting delivered jam donuts by the treasurer of the Northern Territory.
01:02Mate it's fantastic isn't it?
01:03Billy cook us some donuts you flog.
01:07So Billy Yan, he's one of the marshals here. He does a fantastic job.
01:11So he gets here about 9 o'clock, 9.30. So just when you're looking for a little bit of
01:16a tea break.
01:17Mmm, I've got to tell you they are smith.
01:26Like coming up from Melbourne like you talk to all the Territorians and it's not hot, it's not hot, it's
01:30a little bit cool.
01:31Mate it would have been 30 degrees out there and when you're coming up from 8, 12 degrees,
01:36everyone's telling you it's not hot. Well come down to Melbourne and I'll tell you it's not cold.
01:40Yeah it's a long day on the river I've got to say and if you're out there, you're flat,
01:45and you're not really paying much attention, when a fish hits, you're going to miss it.
01:49So you've just got to stay up and about.
01:51Oh, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold.
01:55There's plenty of banter on our boat.
01:57Going into the breeze.
01:58How come you've got your mic coming out of your mouth?
02:01There's nothing off limits.
02:02It's going to be trouble tonight I'll tell you.
02:04And if you can have a dig at someone, you just have a dig.
02:08I'll just f***ing troll up your dog.
02:18So Marty's got the tunes.
02:20He loves the country and westerns.
02:21And then we convinced him to play 70s, 80s stuff.
02:24So, you know, if we can get a bit of dragging on with a cold chisel, a bit of metal
02:28as anything,
02:29we go berserk with that.
02:31When the music is cranked up, that's when we tend to catch the fish.
02:34Yay, that's point.
02:35All right.
02:37Yeah, buddy.
02:39Good smile, boys.
02:41Get it, get it, get it.
02:42Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.
02:44Let's smile.
02:45The reason I keep coming back to this Barra Classic,
02:48the Darwin Game Fishing Club do a fantastic job.
02:51Hats off to Dev and Lee, then Kerry and Wally here at Benyon Farms.
02:55What they've been through in the last six months has been horrific for them just with the floods.
03:01But to get it back to what it is today for the comp, fantastic work.
03:07And just to be an NT and probably for me, the Barra Classic is a premier fishing competition in Australia.
03:14When I got asked to do it, I just jumped at the opportunity and that's near on 20 years ago.
03:19And hopefully, I'll be coming up for another 10 years.
03:22Please, go down to San Mambi Bonamita.
03:24Yeah.
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