Wellington Game Bird Hunting Bulletin - 16th June 2022
Sunday the Day to Stir Up Ducks
June 16, 2022
A small Manawatu farm pond absolutely packed with mallards (Photo: Matt Kavermann)
Just a short report this week as staff are currently absent on sick leave and out in the field.
After incessant nor-west winds we're going to get a big shift to the south/south-east coming in late on Saturday night.
For many parts of the region this will be the first southerly in some weeks so this welcome change could push the ducks around.
It has been lean shooting on Lake Wairarapa and the surrounding ponds - the ducks seemingly having moved out in search of food.
If the pictures and reports from Manawatu are anything to go by, perhaps a good portion of the mallard population has moved north.
There are now only three weekends of the waterfowl season left. That's ample time to scout out where the ducks are holding.
Make the most of the opportunities, however, as closing weekend will roll around quickly.
Here's the outlook for the weekend...
Weather Outlook
'Hotter' colours mean stronger wind (Credit: Windy.com)
Calm conditions for much of the country on Friday and Saturday with light nor-west winds prevailing.
Sunday could be the day though as a significant wind shift comes in from the south.
This builds throughout the day and becomes strong south-east early next week.
Sunday morning is going to be the best bet to catch ducks moved off sheltered possies by the wind change.
Patchy rain across the region on Friday and Saturday; the southerly change Sunday brings widespread rain.
Click here for the Metservice update, or visit the Windy website here to track the latest duck hunting conditions.
Duck Boats
An inflatable kayak ready for a hunting mission (Credit: Hamish Carnachan)
Anyone who caught the last duck hunting episode of NZ Hunter Adventures would have noticed the guys using some serious lay-out boats.
While many of us don't have the time, skill or money to invest in building one of these, there are some inexpensive alternatives that can open up new hunting horizons - kayaks!
These versatile personal watercraft are light and easy to handle, and more importantly they can get you into places on big water, large lagoon/wetland systems and even rivers you can't reach by foot.
I also regularly use my small inflatable kayak to drag my gear - guns and decoys - across wet grass to my preferred hunting spots.
And it has been invaluable for reaching those spots that ducks prefer to drop into just out of range of your decoys.
For hunters who don't have a dog to retrieve their game, a kayak again comes into its own for birds that fall into water too deep to wade.
Ducks Unlimited has written an excellent short article on this topic with some great tips for those interested in a kayak for hunting. Check it out here.
Set up in an inaccessible site using the kayak, ready for some ducks to drop in (Credit: Hamish Carnachan)
Decoy Setting Tips
Click the screen shot above to watch an excellent short video from the team at Otago Fish & Game with some insightful tips on decoy sets.
Fish & Game field officer Ben Sowry shares some secrets to help you harvest more birds. The video covers:
- Setting decoy species that are present in your area.
- Matching decoys to natural numbers.
- Grouping different species.
- Setting largest species upwind.
- How shoveler decoys are handy but not essential.
- Tricks for parrie decoys.
- “Rangefinder” decoys.
- Wind direction.
- 'J' and 'U' shape spreads.
- Keeping decoys apart.
- Avoiding frost or dew on decoys.
- Shoreline sets.
From the Team at Wellington Fish & Game, happy hunting and please stay safe this season.
Categories
Archive
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- December 2013
- March 2013
- September 2012
- July 2012