I don't bait and never have, even though it's legal here. I also have no problems with people doing it since I feel that hunting over a natural food source is very similar to baiting as is the use of sexual scent attractants.

What I have found though, is that mature deer - esp big bucks - will AVOID a baited area until after dark, if he visits it at all. Most mature deer in my area seem to equate piles of food with human intervention and take no chances.

I have capitalized on this by building trails out of the woods that offered a [supposedly] safe exit without going past the bait piles that another hunter places in the same spot every year. The deer stopped using that major trail when the bait appeared and began using my trail. I scored, he didn't. The spot is about 250 yards from my house on a relative's land.