As more irrigation dams emerge and climate change leads to different rainfalls in different areas, it is having an effect on duck habitats.
Most hunters still head to the mai mai and stay there to shoot for birds but increasingly other methods have come forward.
Otago Fish & Game officer Bruce Quirey said the changing face of the landscape and climate was affecting where hunters are stationed for their shoot.
An innovation growing in popularity has been layout blinds which allow hunters to conceal themselves wherever waterfowl may be, such as on paddocks, in riverbeds and at lake edges.
"Most hunters traditionally hunt from mai mais. But clever hunters are adapting their methods, because an increasing number of irrigation dams and changing farming practices over the years has provided waterfowl with more options for dabbling and loafing," Mr Quirey said.
He said it was a chance to get into flooded areas where paddocks may be under water and hunters could come into the paddock and lay closer to the birds.
He said mai mais would still be the traditional form of hunting but some ponds had dried up. This year had been dry in parts of the south and some ponds did not have a huge amount of water in them.
The reality was the weather was changing and there were a lot more dams around, spreading water around, forcing hunters to look at their options.
"You cannot keep going to the same place, at the same time every year," he said.
Meanwhile Environment Southland has warned shooters to be on the lookout for toxic algae this weekend.
Monitoring carried out by ES found elevated levels of toxic algae at three sites across the Waiau River Catchment this week.
