Hawke's Bay> Hunting News May 08

Opening Weekend and Season Tips
By Thomas Winlove

The Hawkes Bay turned up its usual calm, still morning on the 3rd of May.  The night before had some real promise with plenty of rain and a good strong southerly wind.  As the day progressed the wind returned and began moving birds off the bigger bodies of water.  The weekends hunting turned out pretty much what we expected with lower numbers of birds in the region this year.  Saying that every hunting group we encountered over the weekend were thoroughly enjoying themselves and there was enough action throughout the day to keep people busy.

The first hour or two like on most Saturday opening mornings was full of action for most hunters, with birds moving around, new callers being used and decoys set to life. However, in many coastal areas it seemed that for many hunters the ducks just weren’t turning up to play. Many hunters visited in these areas over the Saturday all reported that harvests were down on the previous year.

Although some spirits were low, in other parts of the region where people had put in the pre-season effort, spirits were high. In one known area where big efforts were put in pre-season, with feeding, continuous pest control and decoy maintenance all while keeping duck disturbance at the wetland at a minimum, It was said that those first hours of the Saturday morning were just like the old days with birds flying left, right and centre. Although their shooting could have been better it was the first time in 4 years that they managed over 100 birds for the weekend. The bulk of this success was due to the pest control that was taken out around the wetland, which goes to show how important it is and should not be overlooked.

Although opening weekend for some was not the best they’ve had, the season is not over. With that said, for those approximately 70% of gamebird hunters who cleaned and stored their guns away on Sunday never to be taken out until next year, seriously reconsider your actions. With a good part of May and all of June to still hunt ducks there is plenty of time to get out there and enjoy some good hunting.

Some of you may only have private access for opening weekend but don’t let this stop you enjoying the rest of the season. Some of the most rewarding shooting can often be on the public rivers. The key to this is doing a little research. Drive the roads to all the river access points you know of and find out some more, once on the river look for backwaters that look inviting for ducks, if you see some duck feather in and around the waters edge, ducks have been using it and it may be worth a visit for a night shoot. Don’t be afraid of walking long distances to find a spot, as these areas will often be undisturbed from other hunters and may produce some good hunting. The other bit of advice is to get up early, leave your gun behind but take your binoculars, drive or walk the rivers again or even better, find a vantage point high above the river and glass for ducks sitting in backwaters or ‘duckcamps.’ If you spot a group of ducks resting up they generally would have flown their the night before.  Go back there again in the afternoon for a night shoot and those same birds should turn up just before lights out.  Oh, and just another quick tip, some quality, well looked after decoys and some good calling will really help pull those birds into range.

So, with all that said, we hope you all had an enjoyable opening weekend, and we wish you the best for the rest of the season.
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