I have long been a fan of reducing the amount of baiting. The worst thing that happens in our area of Northern Michigan (Charlevoix and Antrim Counties) is that folks from downstate come up, ignore the two gallon limit and pile 500 pounds of garbage out in the woods.
The next thing that happens is that all of the deer go nocturnal. The feed is there 24/7 and they know they are safe after dark. The trail cams prove it.
We switched to broadcast spinners several years ago and they work wonderfully. They are far from a sure thing. The area where we hunt is rolling and wooded with flowing creeks. It offers a place to rest and get a drink but there is little browse in the area unless someone happens to be logging. Even the wildlife biologists have told us that the deer pretty much have to pack their lunch in with them.
We have opened up areas of the forest and planted clover but the 100 foot tall trees really choke out most of the sunlight. It is hard to get anything to grow.
There aren't any good "pinch points" but they do tend to get lazy and use saddles in the ridges.
We have found that if we pour out field rye just prior to the season starting, it will germinate without tilling and will grow 4-8" tall by the time we are hunting. They seem to like the stuff and best yet, the raccoon and squirrels aren't interested in it.
I'm going up in October and November this year but I'm not taking my hunting gear. I just taking my cribbage board and a couple of bowling balls. I already have my buck picked out down here.
