Baiting

[Bear55]

I think Mr. Bestul's article pretty much nailed it and I have to agree with everything he says.

[Big Dave2]

I think Mr. Bestul's article pretty much nailed it and I have to agree with everything he says.

I agree somewhat with this article also but if you substitute the word bait with the word food plot wouldn't at least 4 of the 5 items he brings up in the article still be true?

[Musky Buck]

All I know is a field or a plot is no guarantee. I have had the chance to hunt corn or alfalfa for 26 years and I don't hunt either field because they just don't produce in my area after opening day of rifle and they border creek bottom and swamp. I'm better off way back in the swamp and creek bottom because the deer aren't coming out during shooting light to any of the corn or alfalfa fields near where I hunt, not until dark, I'm sure here and there a jumpy doe and fawn. My mom always watches the alfalfa field for me and rarely does she see a deer, in the 80's we saw them with way more frequency. They don't enjoy being in the open as pressured as they are. I think the food source(s) do help keep deer on our properties.

[honker23]

You don't have to shoot a deer standing in the food plot or over the bait for "it" to be a factor. Most hunters know if you position yourself between the bed and the food, you'll shoot a deer. Having bait or a food plot just narrows this game down and kind of takes the hunt out of it for me. Just my thoughts on it.

[Musky Buck]

Bingo Honker, and hunting them back in the debris shows me they often times have other things they are up to before they head out to the fields, I'm sure some have better field luck than me it's just fairly rare to see them out there when world war 3 breaks out, meaning opening day, the patterns change quick, bottom line is if you are out anywhere you have a chance.

[UdeLakeTom]

I have had a couple of food plots, they hit them, and then leave...the one defense for food plots is late fall and early spring nutrition. Also, many will feed during the winter. Food plots are just that..for food. Baiting is as the word suggests, for bait.

[Musky Buck]

Right on Ude and we should try to keep this on the light side, it is a tough issue and difficult to keep on the lighter side, I wish the people who do bait here in MN illegally could report how it has worked for them vs. before they baited and why they started, although we won't have anyone speak up on it I wouldn't think. You probably wouldn't get many honest answers. I made that case many times Ude that food plots provide year round benefits to a lot of wildlife, they can be costly to put in and are far from the slam dunk you might see on TV. I tried 2 food plots, spent a bunch of coin, they both failed to grow. Oh well. I tried but didn't have the right equipment available and couldn't get the equipment where I needed it.

[CodyDawg]

I am totally against baiting. Earn your deer by acquiring good hunting skills and put forth the honest effort.

[Bear55]

Originally Posted By: Bear55

I think Mr. Bestul's article pretty much nailed it and I have to agree with everything he says.

I agree somewhat with this article also but if you substitute the word bait with the word food plot wouldn't at least 4 of the 5 items he brings up in the article still be true?

Maybe, maybe not. Too many people see food plots on TV and see them packed with deer. Its just not reality, these are the highly managed game farms that are loaded with deer and sometimes fenced in so they have no where else to feed. I've got a food plot up in the Northwoods, the only one around for miles as far as I an tell. One would think it would be crawling with deer but its not. I get a few game cam pictured in the summer/fall but its not the deer magnet that everyone thinks it is. In five years we have not shot a single deer on that food plot. Sure the deer use it as a food source but they are like people, they like variety in their diets. I'm starting to think its a waste of my time and I might even just forget about it in the future.

[Musky Buck]

That's just it Bear, same for me, sure I don't have the equipment. It is the "perception" and the "advertising" that they are playing on your emotions. Plant this and you'll shoot this. Give em this rack builder plus and you'll have monsters everywhere. Reality and actuality. Most shows these guys are on large properties in the thousands of acres or high fenced. If we had the same acreage we could make that happen to. I haven't seen a whitetail show yet where I hear gun shots from neighboring parties echoing on tape. I don't see stands on property lines and the like. Most shows are a far cry from what MN deer hunting is all about. Heck I rarely see these guys even tag their deer. I watch these shows like I used to watch AWA wrestling. It's entertainment, pieces of reality.

[Musky Buck]

Maybe this is why to Bear that food plots are ok here, the DNR is aware that food plots aren't a certain deer machine here in MN with so much agriculture around anyway.

[Bear55]

Totally agree Musky, people need to know the difference between the "movies" and real life. I don't watch as many hutning shows as I use to, some of them I even turn off if I know they are hunting some Texas ranch or high fence hunting preserve. However I do watch a few shows from time to time for the entertainment value and I get a chance to see some great deer. You have to remember that maybe 97% of the guys on tv on not great hunters, they just have a great location or opportunity to hunt places we can only dream about.

[sparkydm]

This is always such a fascinating topic to me. Some folks are quite fed up with it, but I'm enjoying the varied opinions and insights. I used to be totally against baiting for a few reasons. Now I'm not nearly as passionate about my stance. We all have our reasons for baiting or not baiting. You hunt your way, I'll hunt my way. My definition of hunting may not be the same as yours. So be it.