Wellington/Taranaki weekly hunting report 19 June 2025

Bonus Hunting Day This Weekend!   

We’re heading into the final stretch of the waterfowl season, and with the long weekend approaching this is a great chance to get out and put a few more birds on the board - especially with weather conditions lining up nicely across the region.

Wilson Sparks and Ziggy with the first birds of a productive parrie shoot last Saturday and Sunday (Photo: Hamish Carnachan).

A band of rain is set to arrive in Taranaki on Thursday evening, lingering around coastal areas and building in Wairarapa and Manawatu on Saturday.

Strong westerlies for Friday and and then a big flick to the south on Saturday mark the start of a weekend weather pattern that could work well in hunters' favour. 

The incoming westerlies and strong southerly should certainly stir things up enough to get birds moving during hunting hours, with a decent swell offshore on Friday and Saturday which should help prevent birds from rafting up out at sea. 

With just two weekends left, and a good waterfowling forecast, it's a great time for hunters to get back out and shake things up - a bit of shooting pressure in the hinterland can help keep birds airborne and break up their routines.

There are only two weekends left in the season so get amongst it while you can!   

Take A Mate Out On Matariki  

It's a great opportunity to introduce someone new to the pursuit this long weekend!

With many forces building against duck hunting - including increasingly well resourced animal rights groups, changing rural-urban demographics and other recreations encroaching on traditional shooting areas - we need strength in numbers to protect the future of our pursuit. 

The more people who hunt, the stronger our voice!      

So, collar a mate or family member who has never been duck hunting and introduce them to this amazing pursuit. Grab them a licence and do your bit to safeguard duck hunting for present and future generations.  

Good Conditions Friday and Saturday    

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

From today we'll see a westerly start to build across much of the lower North Island and Taranaki, building to strong winds tomorrow.

The wind should average around 7-8m/s which is blustery enough to get birds moving off the still water. 

The exciting aspect of this weather system, however, is the big switch to south on Saturday morning. 

This means those ducks that have found shelter from the westerly will have to move again to get out of the southerly. 

The wind eases around midday on Saturday so the morning conditions are going to be the best for hunting, along with all day on Matariki (Friday).

Scattered rain along the Taranaki coast on Friday and then heavier falls for Manawatu and Wairarapa on Saturday throw another favourable element into the mix for hunters.    

Sunday looks pretty settled but we can't complain about the opportunities early on in the long weekend!   

Check out Windy.com for the very latest outlook. 

Notice - Drone's Over Matthew's and Boggy Pond 

All hunters using the Boggy Pond and Matthews Lagoon complex, please be aware that NIWA is conducting scientific research in the area using drones. 

The scientists are trying to differentiate whether methane in the atmosphere comes from farm animals or local wetlands. 

 

Tip of The Week - Tempting Decoy-Shy Ducks

Decoys tucked under partial cover started to yield results after a slow start (Credit: Hamish Carnachan). 

Last season we shared advice from 10 expert North American waterfowlers on how they hunt decoy-shy and late-season ducks. I put their theories to the test... 

Following a 12-hour period of heavy rain and moderate winds, I selected for my hunt a reasonable sized wetland close to home that hadn't had water all season.

Arriving in the early morning darkness, fresh water covered most of the pond towards its margins and a light but steady rain continued to fall. 

I set up a decoy spread of 12 mixed position mallards - alert, feeding and preening - placed a wing spinner out wide of the shooting position, and set two swans as so-called 'confidence decoys'. 

The ducks really started to fly in numbers around 0700. The mallards were mainly in pairs but there were around a dozen flights of 10 or more birds, and plenty of singles. 

Despite the rainy clagged-in conditions and moderate breeze keeping the decoys moving, the ducks refused to commit. It looked like they wanted to come in, with pairs and singles circling just out of range three or four times before flying off. 

It's possible they were heading out to other feeding areas, but I could see ducks cupped up and descending into nearby wetlands. Regardless, I still wanted to test the 'less is more' decoy theory from the experts...

So, after an hour I totally changed the spread. I pulled in all the decoys, leaving just a pair tight under a willow. The spinning wing decoy was positioned close but further back under the foliage so that circling ducks could just make out the flash of the wing. 

The difference was immediate - before I had even got back to the hide a fat mallard drake committed straight in and was dropped only a couple of metres before touching down. This continued for the next hour, at which time I called it quits with half a dozen ducks in the bag.

I suspect the birds would have kept coming, as I noticed mallards flying the whole way home and for most of the day, but I was happy with the outcome of this experiment.

As well as evidently being very wary of decoys, the ducks were barely making any noise - just single calls predominantly. Only a handful of far-off birds responded to 'hail' calls, the rest just kept moving. 

So the pro-tips about setting decoys and calling less certainly paid off. You can read the whole article from Ducks Unlimited here. 

- By Hamish Carnachan     

 

Win A $300 Hunting & Fishing Voucher

Jackson Bolton on the retrieve at Lake Wairarapa last weekend (Photo: Nic Bolton).   

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 - Greenhead-Only Hunt

In a bid to let hens go on and breed, a growing number of hunters are targeting drakes only when there's enough opportunity.  

Click the screen shot above to watch this epic Hawke's Bay hunt, with plenty of beautifully cupped-up mallards decoying into a spread set up in maize stubble.      

 

Need Some Advice On Your Duck Pond?

Looking to create a duck pond or improve your existing one? Wellington-Taranaki Fish & Game are happy to help with expert advice and may even be able to secure funding to assist with the project. 

Whether you want to hold ducks on your pond longer, or are aiming to create an entirely new wetland from that unproductive boggy paddock, we have the staff expertise and experience. 

Drop us an email and we'll call to discuss your plans and how we can help. 

Get Those Band Details In 

Every band matters so if you recover one this season, please let us know via our website and you will automatically be entered into a draw to win various prizes as part of our Banding Together initiative.

Also feel free to email through any photos of banded birds shot and the stories behind them – we’d love to feature more in upcoming bulletins!

 

Firearms Safety Authority - Registry Update

This is a reminder that after June 24, 2025, licence holders may have an activating circumstance when they purchase ammunition from firearms dealers and ammunition sellers if they have not had one already.

This means that licence holders who buy ammunition after June 24 may receive a notification from the Firearms Safety Authority – Te Tari Pūreke - that they are required to register all their arms items within 30 days after their purchase of ammunition, if they have not done so already. 

Licensed dealers and ammunition sellers will be required to record ammunition sales in the Registry as part of their legal obligations on and from June 24, 2025. 

This requirement is referred to in the Arms Regulations 1992 Section 42(3). 

Dose Your Duck Hunting Dogs