b'HUNTINGUp well before daylight, coffees were brewed, and a quick breakfast was had. We would all pile into the ute and park up out of sight from the pond. Sneaking into the scrub laden maimai the anticipation would run high, as the mallard drakes on the pond would be going hard with the morning chorus.Obviously, the shooting is the main reason we were all there however, this is only a small portion of what makes it so exciting for me. Other aspects of these trips I would enjoy was when Poppa would fire up the gas cooker around mid-morning. The smell of bacon would fill the hut and we would have the biggest cooked brunch imaginable. This was usually the time that the old trusty lab was sent out to go in search of birds to retrieve our prized quarry. Watching a hunting dog work was also addictive to me during those early years.As I got older, I spent a lot of time practicing with both the shotgun and .22 and any chance I got l would be out there tracking down whatever small game I was allowed to hunt on the farm.Duck shooting in our local area is generally six to eight weeks a year starting on the first weekend of May. I was therefore needing more than this to keep the urges satisfied.Capturing a roaring stag on camera instead of shooting it brings just as much joy to Matt now.ABOVE: Hamish Strachan with an animal for the freezer, Hamish and Matt spent many hours learning how to hunt in the Hawkes Bay.92FISHING IN GODZONE MAY/JUNE 2022'