The wetlands are owned by Northland Fish and Game and when a spot comes up it is advertised, with the new owner picked out of a ballot.
"It's not very often that they do come up but when they do they are highly sought after," he said. "I'm not going to get all teary-eyed but I would say a lot of guys feel a spiritual bond to it."
The man-made wetlands, developed in the 1980s, sit on 52ha of prime swamp land.
Two adult shooters and one junior can occupy a stand at once. However, it will be open to the public after two weeks.
For most of the stand holders, today was a long time coming, he said.
"It almost starts the day after the season ends and you build up again," Mr Nicholson said. "The indications leading up to this weekend is that it has been a very good breeding season but I'm afraid the weather will play a part."
Northland Fish and Game field officer Nathan Burkepile agreed a good breeding season and rainfall at the right time should mean a better season than last.
The main thing people needed to remember was to not drink alcohol while operating a firearm, he said.
The other big safety warnings were to identify your target before shooting and to wear a lifejacket if using a boat.
There were some changes to bag limits this season - mallards and grey ducks to 12 per hunter per day, down from 15. However, the bag limit to paradise shelducks was lifted to 25.
About 3000 licences had been bought, similar to other years.