Thread: The first weekend in May.............

drove through Fairlie at dawn...gobsmackingly beautiful it was...the autumn colours were absolutely stunning in the first light....felt weird not sitting in maimai....perfect day too.wind ALL day....we havent seen that in 20 years of openings.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

drove through Fairlie at dawn...gobsmackingly beautiful it was...the autumn colours were absolutely stunning in the first light....felt weird not sitting in maimai....perfect day too.wind ALL day....we havent seen that in 20 years of openings.

must be bloody marvellous place micky d for their pies to be $8.90 each.
I thought the bloody garage lady was jokin.
cant wait till my licence is renewed and can get out
june be better give the vettor a chance to get round and them to get my licence to me.

Watched a big mob of Canada's fly over this morning, quickly joined by another smaller mob. So by the time they were overhead and in shooting range there would have been 40 birds. My first thought was .... who put them up?

There hadn't been any shots,,,, just my whistful immagination.

Oh mate cray on the other side that would be different, Imcant dive anymore so now Im resprting to pottting after this lockdown. I can reciprocate that with Coromandell cray. Thats my next mission after the ducks.

when i resumed duckshooting -I met GSPF over the other side .having read his gooseshooting tales ,I thinks to meself 'this is the go "and I replied .he kindly offered me an apprenticeship which has blossomed into a mighty bunch of guys with very little change.
do i enjoy it Hell Yeah,scenery bar none ,fun bar none ,birds galore ,lots of pisstaking ,but if one goes down the rest stand to!
one cannot ask for better than that!
well boys saturdays loomin -forget covid 19 ,super18,jacinda adern(whose she-a bloody ranger) its just us and them wiley fat(hopefully) birdand at the end duckfat dribbling down ya chinas ya sit back and think sometimes life aint too bad.
hot barrells ,good mates ,good dogs -dont get hurt and sat night raise ya glass to the mighty wildfowl.

4 more sleeps

Repaired some leaky dekes today using foam aerosol. Will touch up paint tomorrow and try to feed the swamp. No sign of rain around Reporoa so paddocks are pretty dry.

Originally Posted by Woody

4 more sleeps

Repaired some leaky dekes today using foam aerosol. Will touch up paint tomorrow and try to feed the swamp. No sign of rain around Reporoa so paddocks are pretty dry.

@Woody. Go to a plumbing supply shop or place that sells PVC pipe for irrigation ( Like Water Dynamics). Buy yourself some 4mm 'Goof Plugs'. If you end up with shot holes in a deke, just press the goof plug into the hole and it will do as a temporary repair. At the end of the season, pull the goof plug out, put a dab of silicon on the hole and press the goof plug back in and it will seal watertight........They come in black plastic and are almost invisible to ducks.....Will post a pic if you want.

at last look the dam is slowly rising up......the further is rises the easier it is to hide within range.....getting really keen now.

Interesting. Please do.
Ive used hot melt glue gun in the past too but foam is foolproof; doesnt matter how much the pond piachers shoot my decoys; they wont sink !

Originally Posted by Woody

Interesting. Please do.
Ive used hot melt glue gun in the past too but foam is foolproof; doesnt matter how much the pond piachers shoot my decoys; they wont sink !

@Woody. Here is a pic of the 'Goof' plugs'. They come on a plastic frame of 10...Only cost a few cents/dollar from memory. Place it over the hole, push down hard'

The decoy plastic expands to accept the plug then closes over the shaft sealing the hole.



20c piece for scale..........

I should make my bro in law buy some...I swear its him who holes my dekes...funny thing is he gets the blame even when he not shooting with us...the bastard!!!!

Cripes. Theyre big plugs. Are they for buckshot, BB's or #3 steel ?!
The poacher holes in my dekes are about lead #6 size -- So far !

Originally Posted by Woody

Cripes. Theyre big plugs. Are they for buckshot, BB's or #3 steel ?!
The poacher holes in my dekes are about lead #6 size -- So far !

Where I shoot on the Kaipara, I use Steel #3's. Wounded birds get a finisher as soon as they hit the water because as soon as they hit the mangroves they are impossible to find. Cant use a dog as its feet get torn up on the oyster beds and oysters on the mangrove roots so sometimes a stray pellet will hit a deke or 2. The plugs are a tight fit to get in, but the tighter the fit the better the seal. Decoy plastic will stretch around the plugs then close tight.
I hang a plastic 'card' of 10 plugs on my duck call Lanyard. Its a simple task to twist one off and fix the deke when needed.

It beats having to remove decoys and stuff up a good decoy pattern if one or 2 start sinking due to collateral damage.......Just lift the deke out of the water, hold it so the hole is at the lowest point, Squeeze the deke to push the water out and plug the hole.

Where do you get these magical plugs from?look handy.

Originally Posted by The bomb

Where do you get these magical plugs from?look handy.

Horticentre, any place that sells irrigation supplies and fittings, Not sure if Mitre 10 mega has them .............