When I hunted the southern end of the State, baiting was not necessary. After all we hunted wood lots around corn fields. Kind of silly to put bait out when there are fields of it all over for hunting over. Also there were large numbers of hunter moving the deer around.

Then you have the private farmers in the southern end of the State that soak up all the deer crop damage money they can and any other money available to them but when you ask permission to hunt their land and help rid them of the herds causing the damage they tell you there is someone going to hunt there. Their land, their rules.

Then, there is no use baiting on some of the smaller plots of public hunting grounds I foundbecause opening day all you see is blaze orange jackets every where. That or you get the "Mister Hunter who spouts,"This is my neck of the woods even though it is public hunting grounds,because my group has been hunting this area for twenty years... kind of fool." Even though you were there in your stand long before him and his group managed to get out of bed, they demand you leave the area to them. If you don't then you have members of his group sitting within 50 yards of you, or making drives around you. Needless to say hunting public hunting grounds did not appeal to me at all.

In the northern end of the State you have the choice of baiting or trespassing unless you're willing to enter the National Forests which lead to their own list of problems. This idea of getting after a deer and trying to stalk him down is all fine and good until you reach the neighbors fence and the neighbor and his groupis sitting in that woods on a bait pile waiting for a fool like you to kick him over the fence.

Hunting the national forest one year, I return to my vehicle to find a note. You are hunting in our area and we are warning you that if you know what is good for you, you will not return to this area. How can a National Forest be considered someones area?

The other beauty for the non baiter is you sit in a stand over a natural food plot such as an Oak Grove thicket full of acorns, on your postedproperty only to have the neighbors decide they do have the right to stalk and chase deer across your property because.. "We're your neighbors."

Do I bait? Darn right I do. I bait on my property. I tell all my neighbors and anyone else that will listen to stay off my property! I even post it for the hearing impaired that can not hear meyell at them to get off my land. I make it plain that I am hunting there and anyone caught trespassing will be dealt with according to the law in the strictest of manner. I bought my property so I would not have to put up anymorewith all the other hunters crowding my stand. I bought it so I could hunt in safety and peace. So why do I bait? Because it is one way I can keep deer on my acreage. The land is too poor of soilfor a food plot not to mention the time and expense as well. Do I always shoot deer over baits? Nope not always. Bait stations are no guarantee that you WILL see deer. I know three people that hunted their property this year over bait stations and did not see deer. I also stalk my land. A fresh snow, and fresh track. I am more then willing to follow that until I hit a neighbor's fence or obstacle I do not wish to cross like a river for instance.

This idea of a food plot being different then a bait station, I'm confused here? You're planting something, not a typecrop,that is not natural to an area, which has a large appeal factor to white tail deer, that only you and your group will be allowed to hunt, correct? And this is different then a person(s) who hunts a small section of land, piles a bait of corn or what ever which is not natural to the area, that bait which has an appeal factor to whitetail deer (squirrels, blue jays, bear, rabbits, and who knows what else), that if he gets there first (on public land) only he or a member of his group will hunt, and does not make a food plot because he has not the property, the time, or the money and equipmentto do so or all of the above. And this makes the food plot all right and the bait wrong? OK right, every one is allowed their opinion.

I know two people who shot nice bucks. They stalked them down they claim (through my neighbor's property... I know because the neighbor saw them come past his blind). Now, they were on someone elses land that does not allow hunting. Should they have beenturnedin to the DNR or the property owner brought charges against them, orwhat? After all they were breaking the law. This was done a few years back when they outlawed baiting across the entire state. The guys said they had no other choice.

I know of another person that shot a nice buck (a real nice buck!!) on federal property in the middle of no where, away from everyone else,over a bait pile that he tended to on a regular basis to try and bring deer out of the center of the wood to that area. Now he's wrong because he broke no law but hunted over bait, and the other are ok, because they didn't hunt baits but trespassed or ruined someone elses hunt.