No duck shooting under Level 3 nothing specific in the advisory released today but you read it here. F & G will sit on their hands hoping that the licence revenue won't be disappearing but hello face reality the season is gone
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No duck shooting under Level 3 nothing specific in the advisory released today but you read it here. F & G will sit on their hands hoping that the licence revenue won't be disappearing but hello face reality the season is gone
@Bonecrusher in the current format pretty much-unless they put opening morning out a bit. That cant happen until they know whats going on though.
Fingers crossed level 3 only lasts a few weeks and opening is delayed until late May.
Level 3 is a kick in the guts for hunters and seems to favor the health minister preferred sport of mountain biking instead.
It dosnt look good for opening weekend. O well at lest I can surf-cast of the beach.
Why Wouldn't they just delay opening by a month... no real effect apart from a few degrees colder? Also gives the retails opportunity to sell us some more new seasons kit - good for the economy..
In the north would allow some water back in the Ponds and time to get the brushing and camo finished on the maimai's?
Queen’s birthday opening would be sweet,3day opening weekend,
My ducks wont get of the water if we delay it by another month, they are loving there maize. Went past it yesterday and hundred odd ducks flew of it. Even through we a dry my pond is looking good, A few mud banks out of the water and thats where all the ducks are resting. Neighbor has similar numbers. If he up working near his pond my numbers increase.
Just hoping the farmers boys who owns the land around the paper road I use for access to hunt the public lake I shoot on don’t go ahead and blast away as it’s their land that borders the lake ..rather the season is just cancelled to be fair to all.
at 19;00 each night we should all blow our callers loud and longinly outside so all the world can hear our pain.....
And from what I understand for your stand claim from last year to be carried over to next year since no tag up for 2020 ,you still have to buy a 2020 game bird license even though there might not even be a season..
ducks on ice is fun....plurry hard on the dogs.
Wainono can be plurry cold...we had banana in tucker bag frozen by morning smoko time...had all our decoys get frosted over out on water and had to go out and redunk them to try to thaw them out....dogs shivering like mad things...neopreme vest are a MUST HAVE down there.
Centrals worse md had a q bday shoot last year arrived at pond frozen mate put a full mag of 3" over it it bounced
Legislation will hinder any changes to published conditions I imagine the Gazette https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2020-gs608 has to be resubmitted to the Minister for approval quite a process then a whole new conditions booklet published for the season it is what it is.
I've got a gundog in his prime probably the most intuitive dog I've had by some distance we miss the opportunity to work togeather
Refund? Surely if that happens I would expect license fees to be increased next year.
Pegs from the 2019 season will carry over to the 2020 season provided you have a valid 2020 game bird licence.
You do not need to have purchased your 2020 licence by April 5th (pegging day) for your peg to stand, provided you have a valid 2020 licence by Opening Weekend.
From the fish and game website..
In other words we will take your money this year "so you will be allowed to save your spot so you can pay us again next year to actually hunt it" sounds like F&G.
Personally I view the licence fee as a TAX so that if I have the misfortune to bump into one of their enforcers while out hunting I get to keep my propety
No if there is no duck shooting this year your liscence money is refunded. F/G a tax, come on I give you more credit than that. F/G isintirely funded by the participants be it gamebird hunting or sport fishing. If you have the misfortune (not a good description) to met an enforcer again dumb. If you have the good luck to meet a representative of F/G in the field, be confident in the knowledge that those other sport men around you are also playing by the same rules as you. Also take the time to ask them questions as every Ranger I know is a keen if not competent sportsman like yourself. A lot of F/G finances go into protecting our sporting resources, the plain fact with out them you won’t have a sport. I have always enjoyed your blogs, but this one is way off the mark. Now a safe distance man hug and hopefully a season.
Odt saying its off down here
They are jumping the gun I reason,announcement being made tomorrow..heres hoping..
so if we get refund on licence,do we have to give back the goodies that came with purchase???which are by now ver 2nd hand having been tested and tried out numerous times to assertian there usefullness....and if not who will be paying the retailer who provided them????
if there is a refund for the gamebird season we could/should argueably also get a partial refund for the portion of the fishing licence too...some of us dont fish buggerall during the first months of the season yet hound lakes at this time of year......feeding out grain to ducks at same time.....last year we were fishing every weekend,sometimes twice a weekend,boated trout went in freezer to get us through the off season.......
yes I may well be able to fish all year open lakes if and when we let out of lockdown BUT a good portion of season has been removed from us.
For years people have been saying opening should be changed each year to fuck the ducks up...this year there is a chance of it...one never knows, it might become a permanent fixture.
its at least a month too late to be most efficent.....but lets hope like stink we get one this year.
Hopefully not so many young pinfeather covered birds!
looks like it will either be weekend before or weekend after gypsy day.......
so I dont know about you other fellow waterfowlers but my biological clock is telling me its nearly D-Day......Im starting to have those yearly midnight brain explosions and waking up after nightmares of biblical proportion ballsups . lastnights brain explosion saw me get up and check the fridge for ingrediants...this morning my spoonie decoys slategrey heads got some BLING....mettalic blue nail polish,just a light smear to give wee bluey sheen.... that involved getting the decoys out of drums AGAIN.....they are getting dizzy as thats about the fourth time they have been out. all had touch up paint....have been restrung where needed and have tried sinkers inplace again...put in bread bag so dont get tangled.
boats been painted...kayaks painted twice....
ammo has been out and counted,sorted into boxes
callers blown,oiled the wooden ones with canola.
lanyard made for two.
mate lent caller to learn on...he presently doing the weight/string thing.
OH the sweet misery of the waiting......roll on 06;45 opening morning
Did my decoys lines today anyone tried the Texas rig way of doing decoy strings?looks effective if you hunt shallow water..I use the old tyre tube rubber and on most of mine,some have the j shape weight with a piece of elastic to keep tension on it,I need variable length of cord as the lake I hunt varies a lot in depth.
we use 15-50lb nylon...normally we have short length pernanently on decoy and make up 10'ish lengths with loop in both ends...slip loop through decoy loop/swivel or clip on snap swivel....other end,poke loop through weight then drop weight back through loop....put half dozen in dingy and row out n set them while mates make up another half dozen...this year Ive put lines on them all and weights and slipped them into bread bags to try to avoid tangling...will see how it pans out...I keep looking at the reusable grocery bags,2-3 decoys would fit in one easy.....
true that BUT....as a heck of a lot of folks ONLY shoot the first one or maybe two days of season...and those who do continue to shoot are more likely to be drake selective...it shouldnt be so bad... heck we see the drake rape flocks here every year...poor hens dont get a chance to look after ducklings when they are continually being pounced on and bonked.
funny wee aside...there was a hen bowled by a car outside our work...she was rightside up....the drakes kept flocking in to her and the ground around her was stomped to mud....mallardnechrophillia at its finest.
Ive seen mobs of drakes harrassing hens andthe ducklings getting harrassed by hawks as Mum couldnt get over to protect them.....a drake only season in july would be feasible.
Season used to always go into Late June and early July. Can’t see it having a negative impact on the breeding season at all.
Well I brought my licence yesterday....................for the few quail and the odd pheasant I shoot. (@ Gapped Axe; ) For me its about seeing the dogs work so I could really do that without a licence but its always nice to get one pheasant for the season for the pot.
Would be really nice to see a NZ Hunter game-bird episode on walked up or rough shooting just for something different (especially using pointing dogs)
;D
If the season starts late ( which it will ) those that are concerned it will impact the breeding season by continuing later, could always just not shoot as the season progresses. Just because you can doesnt mean you have to.
@Micky Duck I am hearing you there. I went out opening weekend and fired 2 shots-and shouldn't have. Only did that because I didn't want to go the day without firing at something even if it was too far away. Then never managed going out for the rest of the season-no-one to blame but myself there though.
From that result I am considering not buying a license this year. Have to get out a lot more to justify it. Me and the lad x2 is a lot of coin if you don't go out
Also don't even know at the moment if opening lines up with my roster. Might be a very easy decision
this llmake you laugh .working in greymouth -grey hospital .now anyone whose been there a few times knows thewres a couple of ponds between the front of the hospital and the airdrome /stjohns/rescue chopper base.opening day -iwas on day shift aso no go ,but anyhow in my lucnhbreak i tooles off down the road in the car -yup pond is packed .watching a mob of hens -about five ratling round ....out of the blue like a bloody f18 comes a 3/4grown horny drake into on gettin his end away.he landed atop the smallest hen and bugger me the sisters struck back -in they went like a crusaders forward pack into the ruck and under he went .that water fair boiled as heads surfaced for a gulp of air .about 20secs late he exited the foamand climbed skywards like an atomic missile gruntin his guts out . he was still shakin when he left my filed of vision.
the ladies -shake of the feathers .quick check and domestic bliss ensues-left me with a smile on me dial for the rest of the day.
incidentally the first duck I ever shot was a mallard drake flying chocka up an old parries hen and obviously intent on getting it .what he got was a sizeable lead blowjob which saw him hit the paddock and roll 3 times .on getting to him he'd hit the deck so hard hed broken his neck!
that was at kokatahi outta hoki .great place to shot -you could trace the flight of the birds by the echoes of the shotties comin down the valley toward you!!
I know post earthquake duck populations and behaviour have been radically altered ,in fact my best opening tally was 2 yrs ago on the coast on a farm -3birds in 30mins.
Ive never been able to shoot a great tally anyhow ,but what i do shoot i love eating .Ive also occasionally had the pleasure of introducing firends to the ownders of wild fowl on the plate.
I could give a fuck if we lose a month here .
Christ we have 3 for ducks anyway and the rest of august for upland.
but yes I,l buy the licence when I know whats going on and I get renewed.
Waikato season has only been a month long for about the last decade..