It's not imminent, it's a done deal.

Anyways, I've always said that each man goes into the woods looking for something that only he knows.

That being said, I can't see the fun in sitting over a pile of carrots and hoping for the best. To me, that not hunting, it's sitting and shooting.

But, to each his own.

 

i have hunted over bait and see no problem with it at all, it has helped me fill the freezer many times. I also have my funnel areas and travel routes that i dont bait...they have also filled my freezer

 

Though I do not bait now because it is illegal in the area I hunt, I have hunted over it before (when it was legal). I saw it as nothing but a benefit, it allowed me to easily take out some Does. I am unsure why people are so against it, it is not like you are taking trophy bucks over it. I have never seen a big mature buck come into bait during shooting hours (maybe I was using the wrong bait back then). It just gives some people a issue to fight against so they can get out there soap box to try and make a point. And from some of the names I have seen that are against it, these are the same people that hunt over food plots.

 

At this point it does'nt matter anymore what we think. I am not a fan of baiting and never have been. I am not a fan of sitting in a box and waiting for a deer either. I don't pass judgement on anyone who does but it is rather ironic to see guys put down baiting and then hunt out of a box, while using the skill level as thier reason. To each his own, as long as its legal. I have bigger things to worry about.

 

I used to bait but have gotten away from it. I noticed after I stopped how the deer would stay around the places that did bait near me. The first few years I didn't see many deer. The ones I did see were on my runways and were walking to the section next to me to get at my neighbors bait. I quit because I felt it wasn't "fair" hunting. I don't miss it and now use my noggin' when hunting more. I always saw it as a lazy way to hunt and it made most hunters more territorial and defensive of their hunting stand. I have for the most part stopped baiting for bear also. I just set up in areas I know they are feeding and go that route. Maybe go to some Wisconsin hunting sites and raise the question there how they have done without baiting. Might pick up some great ideas that might work?

 

And from some of the names I have seen that are against it, these are the same people that hunt over food plots.

I have been saying that all along and getting slammed every time I say it. This year I know a couple pieces of private land that have food plot that border the state land I hunt on. Can you guess where I'll be setting up?

But if it ever does goes to a vote to make none harvestable food plots (plots planted just for the purpose of feeding deer) you can bet that I'll be voting for it to be banned also. Since food plots are out for a longer period of time and bring in more animals then a small bait pile that are usally only there until an animal is taken are a bigger problem in the spreading of any diseases.


Just my opinion

 

I agree with the statement on food plots as well...When they are
no longer legal, then my apple tree will stop producing apples in
December....:evil:

 

I agree with the statement on food plots as well...When they are
no longer legal, then my apple tree will stop producing apples in
December....:evil:

I have one of those apple trees as well.

 

I am not sure why some people are so against it. There seem's to be a misconception that bait hunter's are "un-skilled" and simply walk out into the wood's throw some bait out and just wait for the deer to come running in. I personnally used bait in some location's and not used it in other's. It all depend's on the condition's. I have killed over 40 deer in my 27 year's of hunting, many of them over bait. Does this make me an un-skilled hunter? Many of the anti-baiting hunter's are the same guy's using food plot's or mineral lick's that are doing exactly the same thing as bait. What crack's me up, is the guy's that create bedding area's, create food plot's and then trail's going from the beeding areas to the food plot's and then set up stand's along these trail's for any possible wind direction. They control where the deer bed, where they feed and how they get from the feeding area's to the bedding area's and then set up stand's along the travel route's that they created. How much skill is involved there? And then they complain about the lack of skill that bait hunter's have.

 

I don't bait deer, I don't fish with live bait. I just enjoy the hunt more when it's a hunt, not a shoot. The day I can't outwit a deer or fish is the day I hang it all up.
The key to success is to be smarter than your quarry. That shouldn't be too hard when dealing with animals with an IQ slightly higher than that of a cantaloupe.

 

I could rally care less about baiting either way. Do I hunt food plots? You bet! Not only for deer but also for grouse, rabbits, and everything else that frequents them. And the best part is it's all on private land surrounded by inaccessible swamp. And to the almighty hunters that think they are some god like Fred bear super hunters I have to laugh at wanting to ban food plots as well and I personally would like to see archery season axed as well. After adding food plots and having an 8 pt or better rule on our property the deer hunting has been to say the least....fantastic!!

 

I have been saying that all along and getting slammed every time I say it. This year I know a couple pieces of private land that have food plot that border the state land I hunt on. Can you guess where I'll be setting up?

But if it ever does goes to a vote to make none harvestable food plots (plots planted just for the purpose of feeding deer) you can bet that I'll be voting for it to be banned also. Since food plots are out for a longer period of time and bring in more animals then a small bait pile that are usally only there until an animal is taken are a bigger problem in the spreading of any diseases.


Just my opinion

Same arguement every year.

btw,, I agree with you.

 

well thunderhead what is your opinion of hunting over a half acre food plot its the same damn thing. if your going to ban baiting then u should ban food plots. sitting over a food plot our sitting over a bait pile no difference. if u choose not to hunt over bait that is up to you. it does not make you anymore of a hunter if you don. i personally do use bait a some of my set ups and have killed 140 class deer from them. i also have killed some 140 class deer on some of my set ups that i dont use bait. i dont feel any less of a hunter either way

 

Check the dnr website - no more baiting effective today.

 

It's not imminent, it's a done deal.

Anyways, I've always said that each man goes into the woods looking for something that only he knows.

That being said, I can't see the fun in sitting over a pile of carrots and hoping for the best. To me, that not hunting, it's sitting and shooting.

But, to each his own.

After seeing your profile you you are a hunting guide ..It looks like you would benefit from banning all baiting..That explains your views on baiting..

 

The day food plots are banned is the day i move to pike county. Making baiting illegal is just stupid too many people are against baiting, which is fine but for others this is their tactic of hunting and we should all respect that. I mean isnt there already enough regulations on what we can and cant do in the woods. Eliminating baiting really isnt going to do a thing, the deer will just move on to the next apple orchard or freshly picked beet field and hope that the penned CWD deer from 100 miles away hasnt been there. Everyone in here talks like their way of hunting is thee right way to hunt, but is it really? If you ask me the "real" way to hunt would be sneaking through the woods with a recurve and cedar arrows with a sharpend rock attatched to the front of it, but how many of us are actually willing to do this; a very low percentage.The guy hunting a funnel with a bow that shoots 300fps sitting 20 foot up in an all aluminum stand is just as bad as a hunter waiting over a baitpile in his box blind,bottom line(i have done and support both of these however). There is really nothing we can do to bring back baiting at this point, its in the DNRs hand's and complaining will get us virtually no where.

 

a couple of thoughts on baiting read an article about sascakawan {sp} and it stated that all guides there have a pile of bait near all stands to bring in the big boys QDM lol also when you people become to old to stomp the woods or in my case a spinal cord injury little use of legs you might hunt diffenently i bait and most time i still dont shoot because i enjoy just filming deer havent shot abuck in 3 years just dont want to also watch the dnr might get alot of pressure to limit the raea that wont be baiting just some thought some very interesting comments so far about baiting thanks sorry so long

 

a couple of thoughts on baiting read an article about sascakawan {sp} and it stated that all guides there have a pile of bait near all stands to bring in the big boys QDM lol also when you people become to old to stomp the woods or in my case a spinal cord injury little use of legs you might hunt diffenently i bait and most time i still dont shoot because i enjoy just filming deer havent shot abuck in 3 years just dont want to also watch the dnr might get alot of pressure to limit the raea that wont be baiting just some thought some very interesting comments so far about baiting thanks sorry so long

That just was I going to write. What about the Handicap folks who are unable to move around to hunt deer because of there disability.

Thunderhead

"That being said, I can't see the fun in sitting over a pile of carrots and hoping for the best. To me, that not hunting, it's sitting and shooting".

We will probably see more DNR officers and employees losing there jobs as less hunters hit the woods / boycott.

 

Deer hunter numbers are going down.... PETA membership is going up. Sad thing is, the remaining deer hunters are split so many directions according to their ideals, our unity is week. I myself am against baiting. Always have been. But, I know there is a place for it. It's great for beginning hunters to see game. It's great for shot placement, etc. But to say that a food plot is just the same as a bait pile, is just wrong. Many food plots are perrenial plots. These plots are available for the deer to eat all through the Winter months when nutrition is so vital. Those bags of carrots and corn have long been gone. If a first year deer hunter shoots a deer over bait or a food plot, would any of us here be any less excited for that boy or girl? Nah.

My point is, we can all have our different views, but lets not lose sight of the important thing here. We are hunters, and outdoorsmen. The more we are divided, the more we are succeptable to the PETA's of the world.

The baiting question will be an eternal issue.

 

Actually, since the baiting issue is now a black and white law...you'll see many more citations issued.

On another note, the State is getting ready to put another class of CO recruits through a 22week academy.

The reason why I have been against baiting, is simply because as a natural resource manager, it's quite obvious that baiting is the catalyst to spread disease.

Only problem is that it took discovery of the disease in this state to actually implement a baiting ban.

 

Just my opinion.

I have never used bait nor have I even considered it. At first I was always completely against baiting. This was because of different reasons. First, until recently because of TB etc., baiting has always been legal. Back in the 60's and before it was never used very much. Back then of course there were less deer too. The southern half of the LP one might say had no deer, at least not enough to draw a lot of people to hunt other that those who lived there on the land.

Baiting became more prevalent in the late 70's. The deer herd was also on the increase and then hunters started to get selfish. They wanted more deer and bait piles started to grow bigger from dumping truck loads of bait and draw deer in from large areas. The neighbors then battled this with their own bait piles. Some hunters lost the art form of “hunting”.

At this point deer habits started to change too, year around feeding started and an artificial population of deer formed. I use the word artificial because if you took all the bait away some/more of those deer would have died over the winter months had it not been for the feeding in which the deer population wouldn’t have gotten as big so fast. The size of the deer herd assisted in other problems too, disease being one of them along with the buck to doe ratio.

The selfishness was apparent because of the fighting between neighbors and many bad feeling left along with the dislike of hunters between private and public lands. It was a bad situation overall which is when all the bait debates also really started to heat up pitting hunter against hunter.

Hence the state coming in with a specific amount of bait to be legal in most of the state.

Upon discussions with others on MS my opinion changed from no bait to it being OK to use a little, very little and not even close to what was legal by law, in order to afford the bow hunter to be able to get a deer to stop and pause and a stand to enable/assist a good ethical shot.

It seems, since bait became popular in the late 70’s, there has always been about a 50/50 split in those for and against the use of bait. I find it saddening to see posts by those that indicate that they with continue to break the law. It seems that those who intentionally break hunting laws will always break laws, especially ones they don’t agree with but that is how it has always been and will always be.

 

So, deer at a bait pile are the only one's spreading disease??

So when you drive around in the evening's and see 20-30 deer in a cut hay,rye,corn field or apple orchard they aren't?

Or how about deer yards in the winter,especially here in the UP where there are hundreds of deer?

Hmmmmmm.....


And ,can someone tell me whats wrong with a hunter that set's up over bait versus a hunter setting up by an oak tree full of acorns??

 

Wrong here. The catalyst is the pivate farms that import the deer to Raise the bar on Antler growth.

The TB started with a private club and now the CWD with a private breeder(?? ranch??). Neither had anything to do with baiting.

Frankly What ever way a person want's to LEGALY hunt r fish is fine with me. What a person wants to legaly harvest is fine with me. A person hunt and enjoys it is fine with my. IF they hunt and DON"T enjoy it is fine with me. See a pattern!

Just because someone is fortune enough to own decent acreage or spend countless hours in the woods patterening and then abushing a said deer should NOT give them the authority to peer down their noses and ridicule people who are not as fortunate.

People should stick together and support everybody else not build barriers. Ie houndsman vs trappers.

Anymore I decide at the time I see the deer if and when I want to shoot. How fast it needs to be cut up is a big factor. One day I may let an 7 point go then a day or two later decide to take the same deer or smaller. MY LEGAL CHOICE.

Yes we own small acerage, yes it has a food plot. Yes it has shacks on it. Yes it has tree stands on it. It has HAD additional bait at times.

I learned to deer hunt state land in the UP. NO bait, no blinds, just walk them up. Yes we got our deer and some decent one too. Thirty years later we hunt farm country. Small acerage. some field, some wood. How long do you think it takes 3 people hunting small acerage to still hunt it. If I gonna sit in a blind it may as well be a nice one. OH and for lunch in said blind I fire up a propane grill.

Bottom line let a person hunt WHATEVER method they prefer and be happy for them. Because I drive a FORD does NOT make me less of a person driving a BMW.

The hoopla over this baiting ban is stupid as many consider it a victory. Tell ya what I'll take baiting over CWD anytime.

Skinner

PS can't we all get along.

 

I hope the ban sticks.

Just my .02

 

"Baiting became more prevalent in the late 70's. The deer herd was also on the increase and then hunters started to get selfish. They wanted more deer and bait piles started to grow bigger from dumping truck loads of bait and draw deer in from large areas. The neighbors then battled this with their own bait piles. Some hunters lost the art form of “hunting”."

Isn't this EXACTY what is happening now with foodplot's? People are buying land, managing it specifically for deer, by planting foodplot's, creating bedding area's, and sanctuaries to improve the habitat so that the land will "artificially" hold more deer than it naturally would. Go to any of the land managent forum's on this site. This is what they are all about, improve your land to attract deer from your neighbor's land or public land and hold them there.