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Baiting Bill HB1618/SB1942

Should baiting be allowed on private land?

  • Yes

    Votes: 192 40.4%
  • No

    Votes: 209 44.0%
  • Don't care

    Votes: 74 15.6%

  • Total voters
    475
Baiting is waste of time, well I say that and I have never baited. And planting a food plot is not the same as baiting.

Only time I have ever hunted over bait was one year in KY (it is legal there and I have been hunting there for close to 20 years now and never baited) and the only animal that even paid any attention to the corn was a couple squirrels. I hunt an opening in the middle of a thicket there. The landowner was being nice and put a pile of corn, I mean a PILE where I could see it (without my knowledge) and this is a spot where I average seeing 40+ deer a day. Not one deer ever even looked at the corn. NOT ONE! I have never baited and don't care to.
Baiting is waste of time, well I say that and I have never baited. And planting a food plot is not the same as baiting.

Keep telling yourself that…. 😏
 
Is there a difference other than cost, sweat, and time spent between baiting and food plots? Unfortunately we will always have stupid in elected positions because it's hard to get smart people to run. 🤷‍♂️
Yes. What is placed as bait (usually corn piles) can be extraordinarily unhealthy for wildlife. Food plots are almost always nutritionally beneficial.
 
Yes. What is placed as bait (usually corn piles) can be extraordinarily unhealthy for wildlife. Food plots are almost always nutritionally beneficial.

People think plots are same as bait but fail to acknowledge that plots are year round nutrition, not a temporary candy attracting, and many of us do not plant plots to hunt over. I don't even allow hunting over or near my plots. While both pertain ultimately to hunting, plots are a long term management technique and baiting is a momentary hunting technique. Completely different in execution and application.
 
I was never a fan of corn. Gas stations in Michigan would sell 50 lb. bags of carrots starting around September. Finally, I got smart and found a farm that would fill my truck bed with carrots using a skid steer. Much cheaper.

Had a neighbor get carrots delivered by a dump truck. He'd sit and watch the deer with his grandkids. They didn't hunt over the pile. It was right behind the house.

Plenty of seasons I hunted over bait and saw nothing but racoons and squirrels. Deer would come in at night after legal hours so baiting in my opinion doesn't change much.
 
Just curious...what about prescribed fire or timber stand improvement projects? Both generate much more forage and cover for deer than most food plots...should those be limited or restricted to level the playing field?
No I think improving what nature has already provided is completely different than planting a half acre kill plot. I think planting an apple tree with the intention to kill deer from it later is baiting as well.
 
Right now for example. Many are planting or will soon be planting healthy sources of cool season fall blends in food plots that deer and turkey will benifit from all fall, winter and some into the spring....supportinging a multitude of wildlife.
Then...right now for example...in this wet and high humidity climate...someone will pour out and pile up their "deer corn" which in this environment is likely to develop some level of aflatoxins which are deadly to young turkey poults and song birds...and the aflatoxin tainted corn is not helpful to nursing mama does either...(but nest raiding coons love it)
So yeah...a deers gonna eat, but what? Healthy sources of food or tainted, molded deer corn from a bag?
Also...the food plot keeps on giving where the bait pile often stops being replenished after the baiter gets what they want...as stewards of the land and wildlife we need to look outside ourselves and consider whats best for all wildife...and not just be focusing on serving ourselves.
 
Right now for example. Many are planting or will soon be planting healthy sources of cool season fall blends in food plots that deer and turkey will benifit from all fall, winter and some into the spring....supportinging a multitude of wildlife.
Then...right now for example...in this wet and high humidity climate...someone will pour out and pile up their "deer corn" which in this environment is likely to develop some level of aflatoxins which are deadly to young turkey poults and song birds...and the aflatoxin tainted corn is not helpful to nursing mama does either...(but nest raiding coons love it)
So yeah...a deers gonna eat, but what? Healthy sources of food or tainted, molded deer corn from a bag?
Also...the food plot keeps on giving where the bait pile often stops being replenished after the baiter gets what they want...as stewards of the land and wildlife we need to look outside ourselves and consider whats best for all wildife...and not ju aflatoxin poisoning.
 
Show me one deer that has died of alfatoxin poisoning.
I cant....but I care about whats best for deer and other wildlife. Aflatoxins are deadly to poults and other song birds and some studys even show lower average birth rates from mama does that eat a steady diet of aflatoxin tainted corn...show me one deer that benifits from eating toxic food? Point being there are so many other healthy options to actually help wildlife...but they require more effort than opening a bag.
 

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