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Just noticed in latest fish and game regulations that drift shooting for ducks is now banned from Cambridge to taupiri,due to housing buildup and walking/cycle tracks in close proximity to the rivergoing to be quite a few displaced shooters come opening day,I called fish and game to see if hunting from moored gunboat is allowed and got the all clear..going to be a lot of undisturbed ducks on the river this year just hanging in the willows I reakon.
so you get mate to whizz around in jet ski.....for once a use for the plurry things.
we have no shooting from unmoored boat on opening weekend...must actually try the drifting thing at some point...the urban sprawl will see this more and more as the years go by.
I used to do a lot of drift shooting in the past but over the last few years it was obvious this was going to happen, so many houses and people walking close to the river.
Cambridge to Hamilton used to be fantastic shooting.
Shame for duck hunters, but I can see the argument on the other side, just doesn't work with increased population density. Only slightly off topic, my Mrs went for a bike ride in the far north one year (I was duck hunting!) and the river bank was lined with hunters. This was a stone's throw from a small town. Walkers and cyclists were going right past the maimais. I wouldn't enjoy that.
Might make it work for the moored gunboat though,scout the river one day with uncamoflaged boat then shoot from gunboat following days once ducky areas are found..in quiet part of the river with no houses to close by and safe firing zones.
We used to drift shoot in the Waikato every year(smaller rivers), take the Monday off and get there at the beginning of the drift in the dark to get the first crack of the season, also worth it mid season on the right day sunny and cold gets the birds up in the willows sitting in the sunny parts, we haven't done it for few years now as the power shooting got out of control, from big boats flying past you shooting out of the anchor locker down to gun boats with high sides and no oars out idling down stream quietly, rangers didn't give a shit, was a free for all
Sounds like what was a regular occurrence on the Waipa river,we would drift down quietly then hear a big outboard,here comes idiots in anchor hatch ruining the rest of the drift for us which was another 3 hrs till we got to ngaruawahia..we gave up the third time it happened,even on weekdays,Quote:
Originally Posted by nickbop
you wait till your trout fishing with kids and fcukwits in jet boats decide to do a zoomy right around outer edges of lake running over ducklings on edge of willows etc.... and dont even get me started on jetskis.......if the yare within shotgun range of shore and leaving a wake..they should be on gamebird licence,man have I seen some absolute fuckwitery involving them around busy shorelines.
now on opeing weekend out on big lake..I spend a lot of time zipping around in dingy to keep birds off open water and pick up any woundies,I cant shoot from unmoored camoed rowboat....Im in a painted dingy..if a bird dives 3 times rather than fly away I will water swat it and retrieve it.dont like seeing woundies suffer any longer than needed.
there is a photo of that...it often pops up on here..sheilah named Karen
The public lake I shoot on here in the waikato has a walking track around it, despite the warning signs walkers want to excercise their rights to walk around the lake during duck shooting, this includes people bringing kids to have picnics at the picnic tables.
I can see that shooting here will not continue much longer,
Should close the track for the 5 weeks of the season,rest of the year go for ya life..
I hunt the raglan harbour quite a bit now,no one to bother in most of the areas I can get to in the gunboat,very tide dependant though.
Ngaroto by chance ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunter595
No, I am talking about Lake Kainui, formerly known as Lake D,
I shot a Ngaroto opening, could see walkers on the track from our Mai Mai most of the day including one couple clearly visible on the track behind a stand while a bit of action was going on…..not sure why the track is not temporarily closed for the season, or warning signs erected
Bloody jet skis on the Waikato when water skiing were a pain in the bum as well. I had one trying to jump mine and others boat wake, really pissing us off. But we got last laugh when he came into the beach, he got it wrong and hit the beach at speed, flew through the air about 20 metres and straight into the side of his car. His mates scampered with their beers as he sat on the freshly land ski like a stunned mullet. He drew much clapping and cheering from an adoring crowd of boatiesQuote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
Heard it shot really well this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunter595
Unfortunately I was working all weekend, I will have a crack later this week, I have shot there off and on for 30 years and it seems to have progressively become worse, but there are some maimais there that do consistently shoot well.
It always seemed to me that after opening weekend there were very few shooters on the lake.
Yea been thinking about a midweek shoot there but need to wait till 7.30am then setup in an unoccupied maimai and not sure which ones tend to shoot well,only been there once years ago with a guy with his own blind.
what’s the deal with shooting at lake D, first in first serve each day with all the maimais there ?
To shoot on lake kainui you need a permit, usually there are permits available for the maimai people and a few roaming permits are given. I have shot there the last 5 years except last year due to surgery and had previously shot there 25 years ago. It’s also open to the public with a walking track around the lake so you will always see people walking, having picnics etc.but in saying that, after the first two weekends it’s rare to run into other hunters, so the Fish and game rules apply, if the maimai isn’t occupied than you can use it.
Cant occupy any stand that’s not your own till after 7.30am was my understanding .
The holder of said stand COULD in theory kick you out before 07:30.... But it should be tagged n have phone number,ring them when scouting and chances are high they will say won't be back till next may.
cheers for advice guys first season going out on my own so don’t know to much around the maimai rules :))
Hey waikatohunter01, if you don’t mind hanging out with a grumpy old man, happy to show you are lake Kainui ( lake D ) during the season, give me a shout, I live in Ngaruawahia and hunt often during the week
hey hunter595, i’m keen as mate, ill give you a bell hopefully opening week to see what days you’re heading out
Cheers