b'HUNTING I m a keen pheasant hunter from way back. It all started with my late grandfather Alby Pattinson who used to tell me about how back in his day roosters were everywhere, and they would get up by the dozen as you walked in the dunes out on the west coast.He would tell of tall tales about how the biggest birds were so fat and heavy, they struggled to lift off the ground as their tails and long spurs caught the scrub as they flew away from danger for cover.As a young teenager he would also take me hunting on his farm and other places around the Kaipara district on farms or blocks where he had permission to hunt from the owners.These places usually had large gullies with thick gorse, manuka or scrub near good pasture.He drummed into me the importance of finding habitat with cover close by their food sources Gundogs will produce better results,(clover, grass, inkberry, and cowpats), finding downed or winged birds is almostwhere pheasants would always retreat to impossible without a good dog. when threatened.Of course, as an immature teen of 14 years old, I wasnt yet a great shot or experienced as he was in putting myself in the right spot at the right time for a good shot at a flying bird.Plus, the pheasant is so damn fast on the wing! Hitting nearly 70km/hr from just several feet of getting up off the ground with a blur of wing speed.I remember many times getting the fright of my life when hunting with him and our cocker spaniel, as a pheasant jumped up behind me and let out a crow as it flew off unharmed that made you check your undies!It took a few seasons of learning to: A/ find the pheasants, B/ get in the best position close enough for a shot, and C/ be quick enough and accurate to shoot one.This challenge is what makes pheasant hunting so rewarding.BIGGEST ROOSTERAfter 4-5 seasons of gaining experience, I was now in my late teens when I went with him to his run-off which was about 200 acres of rough, hilly, and swampy country that had the Kaihu River running through it on the flats.He kept only cattle on it and spent a few years slowly clearing the land, there were no houses on it or any close by, so it really was an ideal pheasant sanctuary.I had taken several birds hunting here over the years and after the summer just gone, James Dymock with his two English Labs,my uncle Murray had used the digger to they are well trained and ready beforeclear the swamp and stack huge piles of the hunting season starts.trees and stumps on the flats.90FISHING IN GODZONE MAY/JUN 2021'