Wellington/Taranaki - Weekly Hunting Bulletin 1 May 2025

Wild Weather Should Make for Cracker Opening! 

Game bird hunting conditions across the lower North Island in recent years have typically been fine with blue skies for the start of the last few seasons. Finally, that looks set to change! 

Many hunters will be watching this southerly weather system blasting the Wellington and Taranaki Fish & Game regions and they’ll be getting pretty excited about the prospects for Opening Weekend (May 3 and 4).

The first duck for the season is always an exciting one (Credit: Hamish Carnachan)

We’ll have compliance teams of rangers out and about over Opening so please adhere to the rules – we want hunters to have a successful and safe time, not have their weekend cut short for falling foul of the law.

Your top priority is making sure you get your licence, then follow the handy checklist below to ensure you're all set to go. 

Also, please ensure you are familiar with the game bird hunting regulations for Wellington and Taranaki.

If you require the regulations for other regions, please scan the QR code below, which is also on the front of your regulations book you will have received with your licence.

           

Wind And Rain Will Get Ducks Moving

The brighter the colour, the more intense the wind (Windy.com)

The wild weather leading into Opening Day (Saturday, May 3) may not last into the weekend but there's enough in it to certainly move ducks around. 

Heavy rain in parts of the lower North Island, along with the gale southerlies, will have dispersed the large congregations of mallards we've seen loafing on rivers and the big water bodies into more sheltered ponds and farm dams. 

At this stage the forecast is for the worst of the weather to pass later on Friday evening, but there are still lingering showers and south-westerlies for Opening Weekend.   

Season Prospects Looking Good  

Happy hunters at lake Wairarapa last season.

Wellington Round-Up

A period of settled conditions across the lower North Island has come to an abrupt end, just in time for the start of the season with rain and a strong southerly moving through. While Opening Weekend weather looks a little calmer - cloudy with showers and south-westerlies - the forecast big southerly system has certainly stirred birds up and got them moving ahead of Opening, which is excellent news for hunters in the lower North Island. 

Our recent aerial trend counts for mallards in the Wellington Fish & Game region reveal a strong population, with higher numbers recorded in both the Wairarapa plains and Manawatu areas than this time last year. Large congregations of birds have been observed on small ponds and dams near recently harvested maize crops. The later-than-normal harvest means there is plenty of crop still to come in, and this will likely have kept ducks localised.

Good numbers of mallards have also been holding on the big water, such as Lake Wairarapa, and loafing on the larger rivers in the region, like the Manawatu. The weather system currently battering the lower North Island will disperse these to more sheltered ponds and dams.   

A successful party of Taranaki hunters last Opening

Taranaki Round-Up

Summer drought periods have finally broken with recent rainfall, which has been happily received throughout the region. As water returns to ponds and wetlands that have been dry or at a low ebb over summer, birds will be congregating in these areas to feed on concentrations of worms and bugs.

Recent trend counts have shown game bird numbers are strong throughout Taranaki, Wanganui and Waimarino. As we head into the wetter months and water starts to accumulate in paddocks of maize stubble and newly sown grass, productive hunts can be had, particularly for paradise shelduck, which, according to January moult counts, are currently in record-high numbers throughout the Taranaki ring plain.

As a result of these higher numbers, the bag limit has been increased from 10 to 15 shelduck for opening weekend in Area C, with the rest of the season returning to the usual 10 birds. Recent monitoring has shown that mallard, black swan, and pūkeko populations remain stable in good numbers, providing plenty of hunting opportunities. The weather forecast is a mixed bag for the weekend, with sun and clear skies forecast from Saturday onwards, with strong southerly winds that ease on Sunday.   

Check out our 'Hunting News' newsletter below for more in depth analysis of the season prospects.          

Pre-Season Checklist  

MUST HAVES – Get them sorted now:

• 2025 Game Bird Hunting Licence and regs guide.
• Check up and confirm plans with your hunting mates.

PERMISSION

• Confirm access with landowners - you must have permission before crossing private land.
• Grab a permit/access book if you need one for public areas.

CHECK YOUR GEAR

• Shotgun – cleaned, patterned (if necessary), have a few practice shots.
• Decoys – painted, rigged, and/or replaced.
• Ammo – do a stock take; don’t leave topping up to the last minute as you'll end up with what other hunters don't want.
• Dog – sharpened up on fitness and retrieving.
• Check your wet weather gear - waders and jackets. 

MAIMAI & POND PREP

• Maimai should be marked up and camoed by now.
• Try not to disturb the birds on your pond too close to Opening.
• If you don't have water at your hunting spot after the dry summer, have a fall-back plan.

CHECK OTHER IMPORTANT ITEMS

• Make sure you're aware of the firearms transportation requirements.  

Get everything sorted now, and it’ll make it easier and more enjoyable come May 3, Opening Day!

Hunting News  

You may already have received a copy of our 2025 'Hunting News' in the mail. 

Click on the cover image above to download a digital version and catch up on the season prospects, new hunting opportunities, recipes, news on what we've been up to and a heap of handy tips to make your season more successful.  

Lake Wairarapa Condition Alert 

The following weather update has been issued by Greater Wellington Regional Council. 

Metservice have advised:

• Strong Wind Warning from 9am today through to midnight for the coastal areas of Wairarapa - severe gale south-westerlies gusting 130km/h in exposed places
• Heavy rain is expected on Thursday and Friday, with the forecasts predicting the greatest amounts of rain to fall in the southern Wairarapa catchments.

The forecasts are showing that the spillways will not activate, with Ruamāhanga River level peaking at Waihenga bridge at approximately 3m around 6am Thursday (today) and a second peak Friday afternoon.

Huangaroa River at Hautotara was forecast to peak approximately 2.5m around 11pm last night, with a second peak on Friday morning.

The sea swell forecast is southerly rising up to 8m Thursday afternoon, with the swell not reducing to below 2m until Monday.

Lake Ōnoke outlet to the sea is blocked. The water level in the lake has not been high enough to cut an opening, and the high sea swell forecasts means that we won’t be able to cut an opening before the increased river flows reach Lake Ōnoke.

Our plans are to:

• Monitor the forecasts and actual river flows to update our responses as the situation evolves.
• Our contractor is on standby to open Lake Ōnoke, but at the moment the forecasts suggest that conditions won’t be suitable until Monday/Tuesday.
• With Lake Ōnoke blocked we will backflow through the barrage gates into Lake Wairarapa.
• As the river flows start to recede the barrage gates will be closed to raise the level in Lake Ōnoke, to allow an opening to be cut once the sea swell has dropped and other conditions are suitable.
• Once the opening has developed the barrage gates will be opened to release the water stored in Lake Wairarapa.

Photo Comp - Win A $300 Hunting & Fishing Voucher

Ollie Mitchell with some fat mallards harvested last season (Derek Mitchell).

Send in your favourite photos from this game bird hunting season and you could be in to win a $300 voucher to spend in store at Wairarapa Hunting & Fishing.

We won't blow your secret spot, just include the name of the hunter(s), photographer's details, and general location in the Wellington or Taranaki Fish & Game region.

Click here to submit your entry.    

You can send us as many hunting photos as you like.

By submitting images to enter the competition you acknowledge that Wellington and Taranaki Fish & Game, and Wairarapa Hunting and Fishing, can publish and use the photos for publicity material.

Entries must be in by 8:30pm, August 31, 2025. The winner will be notified via email.

 

Video of The Week - Whet Your Appetite!  

Here's some great waterfowl hunting action, with plenty of decoying ducks, to get you salivating for the season ahead!    

Click the screenshot above to watch. 

Dose You Duck Hunting Dogs 

It only takes one infected dog to cause a catastrophic sheep measles outbreak.

The tapeworm Taenia ovis cause sheep measles. Its immense ability to reproduce is the largest challenge facing prevention. The tapeworm requires the dog and sheep/goat to complete its lifecycle. There is no way of knowing if your flock is infected until slaughter, and dogs usually show no symptoms of infestation either.

Therefore, the easiest way to prevent the disease is to routinely dose dogs that reside near sheep every month with the single active ingredient Praziquantel. Dogs that are visiting sheep farms should be dosed at least 48 hours to ensure any potential tapeworms are flushed out.   

A sheep measles outbreak on a farming property can cost the farmer and processor thousands of dollars. On a larger scale, meat inspectors can only detect 20% of infections due to the site which cysts embed. If contaminated sheep meat reaches the market, the entire industry is at risk.

All dog owners have a part to play in ensuring that sheep meat produced by New Zealand farmers is free of sheep measles. It is important to take preventative measures seriously.

Noticeboard

If you have a game bird hunting related message or information you'd like us to publish on this noticeboard, please contact the Wellington Fish & Game office on (06)359-0409 or flick us an email.