Bait vs Food plots

[SD51555]

Those master-baiters just won't stop regardless of the law.

The threats of going blind can't even slow them down.

 

[Mortenson]

Yeah once their phone battery dies it's a good time to be in the woods and sit it out. They walk out at 8 am and kick some deer up.

 

[Telemark]

Legal here in my state. For the majority that do it locally really seems to only be an advantage to bowhunters before gun season or bow hunting very late in the season during really cold snaps around here. As soon as the first guns start going off nice bucks start getting scarce and the road hunting pushers start pounding the brush killing every deer they see. If using feeders and planting whatever I can keeps deer on my property or shifts them onto it where they are safer....good.

I can't ever see them outlawing baiting here, way too many deer getting hit on the roadways with Insurance being big lobbyist and deer hunting being big money for the ODNR.

That has pretty much been my experience in Ohio also.

I almost completely quit baiting for deer several years ago. If I use bait now it's just small piles behind trees to position deer for a shot. And those piles are small, about 5 lbs. of corn with a pound of Acorn Rage on top. This has been very effective for taking a doe during muzzle loader season.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

It’s extremely advantageous where I hunt and legal and everyone does. I’m like a unicorn where I hunt. My neighbor shot a 170 and his girlfriend a 161 last year over giant piles of corn cobs. Mature deer absolutely come to corn during daylight. People who say otherwise use it as a way to make it sound like it’s not that much of advantage.

 

[yoderjac]

It’s extremely advantageous where I hunt and legal and everyone does. I’m like a unicorn where I hunt. My neighbor shot a 170 and his girlfriend a 161 last year over giant piles of corn cobs. Mature deer absolutely come to corn during daylight. People who say otherwise use it as a way to make it sound like it’s not that much of advantage.

How deer react to a food source, regardless if it is a pile of bait or native food, can vary significantly. The algorithm behind all life is to pass as much genetic material as far into the future as possible. In order to do that, you need to first survive, then be healthy, and have sex. Then you offspring have to survive to sexual maturity. This is not planned or conscious thought, it is engrained in DNA. As the individual interacts with the environment it responds to sensory inputs.

The algorithm running in a deer's brain is constantly battling between nutrition and security, and hormonally driven sex can override them both during brief periods. In places were native foods are scarce and climate is harsh, deer may take big risks to get quality food. When their survival and health are not at risk, security wins the day every time. There are behavioral difference between male and female and young and more mature bucks. In general, older bucks lean more toward security than younger bucks or does. If they did not, they would not made it far enough to be older. Generally, does take more risks than bucks. This is because female deer have different strategies for passing genetics than male deer. Bucks use the strategy of having sex with as many does as possible consistent with their health and safety. Once a buck services a doe, his cost for that potential offspring is zero. An impregnated doe has a high cost. She has to get enough nutrition for two for the gestation period and for the nursing period. The number of fawns she can have in a lifetime is small compared to the number of does a buck can service in his lifetime, so a lower percentage of a the fawns a buck fathered need to survive to breed. So, a doe is hamstrung by the nutritional needs of her fawns as they learn to survive from her.

So, in the end, a bait pile is a crutch. It is advantage over hunting any native high quality food source when food is scarce. When quality food is plentiful, it may even be a disadvantage in that deer eventually figure out it is higher risk if they have lower risk alternatives. When I say crutch, I mean a short-cut. Instead of putting in the work of planting a food source or improving habitat or simply scouting to find native food sources and pinch points, one can simply dump out a plie of corn near their stand.

Certainly under some circumstance, bait can be effective, but no more effective than good scouting for quality foods (provided any are available).

 

[BenAllgood]

Success at consistently killing mature bucks over bait is area dependent.

Success at consistently killing mature bucks over a food plot is area dependent.

 

[Booner21]

I do both the legal way I plant the corn and then mow it down. Not sure why it is legal in IL but it is. Mowing 150 bushel corn isn’t much different than running a spreader behind your atv filled with it. I fell much better about the first one.


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[Mortenson]

I do both the legal way I plant the corn and then mow it down. Not sure why it is legal in IL but it is. Mowing 150 bushel corn isn’t much different than running a spreader behind your atv filled with it. I fell much better about the first one.


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Are you totally sure it's legal to mow it down? Last I recall the regs saying it must be part of a normal farming practice. Could be considered a gray area, but always be prepared to explain if it arises.

 

[Mortenson]

Success at consistently killing mature bucks over bait is area dependent.

Success at consistently killing mature bucks over a food plot is area dependent.

But only a few neighbors (of potentially many trying) need to be successful over a bait pile to make it a tough year for others!

 

[SwampCat]

It’s extremely advantageous where I hunt and legal and everyone does. I’m like a unicorn where I hunt. My neighbor shot a 170 and his girlfriend a 161 last year over giant piles of corn cobs. Mature deer absolutely come to corn during daylight. People who say otherwise use it as a way to make it sound like it’s not that much of advantage.

Baiting in my neck of the woods is at its biggest advantage late September up until mid October. Once acorns start falling and bucks start rutting- hunting success over a bait pile really diminishes. I would feel much more confident shooting a mature buck in a food plot or under a white oak mid October until mid Dec. After mid December, the later it gets in the year, the more mature bucks visit bait. Good winter food plots - at least in my woods - are still probably a better bet for mature bucks. But No doubt, in my woods, a bait pile in early season provides the best opportunity for a mature buck - provided there is one already feeding on the bait. I would not waste my time hunting bait early season that is not consistently visited by a mature buck.

I do most of my hunting on public land where baiting is not permitted. The chance of Killing a mature buck on natural food increases as natural food availability decrease. That is the same with baiting on my own land. The fact that I have a dozen food plots spanning forty acres, plus an ample supply of natural foods, makes a bait pile less attractive - especially after acorns start falling and food plots reach peak growth

 

[BenAllgood]

But only a few neighbors (of potentially many trying) need to be successful over a bait pile to make it a tough year for others!

I'm talking about clubs where most members have feeders and maybe a small foodplot. Those places are almost guaranteed NOT to produce mature bucks or even many does during daylight.

 

[roymunson]

There has been way more weener talk here than I'd anticipated.

Corn is also an effetive tool to take inventory and find a buck early season. Alas, I can't seem to get on one this year. Hopefully somebody shows up soon.

 

[Booner21]

Are you totally sure it's legal to mow it down? Last I recall the regs saying it must be part of a normal farming practice. Could be considered a gray area, but always be prepared to explain if it arises.

Can’t hunt migratory birds but can deer. Not sure the difference.

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[Mortenson]

The part that scares me is "as a normal agricultural or soil stabilization practice."

How would you defend that if questioned? Not trying to be a downer... just honestly asking and maybe there's something I'm not considering.

 

[Telemark]

It says food plots are exempt.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

The part that scares me is "as a normal agricultural or soil stabilization practice."

How would you defend that if questioned? Not trying to be a downer... just honestly asking and maybe there's something I'm not considering.

Over seed it with rye before mowing the corn to cover the seed. There is your cover crop and soil stabilization practice all in one.

 

[Mortenson]

It says food plots are exempt.

Can't say I 100% agree. The sentence reads tricky to me. Any English majors in the house?

 

[Booner21]

Can't say I 100% agree. The sentence reads tricky to me. Any English majors in the house?

I have spoken to the local game warden about this I am good with my practice. Put I wouldn’t hang my hat on that for your sake. You can do as you wish.


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[Mortenson]

Seems like technically speaking if you plant the corn in a "food plot" then you're good to go with mowing it down. If it's not planted into a food plot, but rather "standing crops" then one might run into a situation. Just how it reads to me, and I've read it a hundred times now haha.

 

[yoderjac]

Can't say I 100% agree. The sentence reads tricky to me. Any English majors in the house?

The way I read the sentence, it probably comes down to intent which is pretty hard to substantiate. For agriculture and soil stabilization purposed, they clearly exempt manipulation. They exempt food plots but don't address manipulation of food plots. So, I would be comfortable, given the regulations as quoted in a previous post, mowing strips through a corn field in preparation for a fall plant, or to allow light in for clover mixed with corn to grow. If my purpose was to attract deer or feed them, I think it would fall into a grey area that is not clearly defined. Given the purpose of the crop manipulation is not obvious, I doubt any warden would waste the time to try to cite you. On the other hand, if you ran a harvester through the corn, collected it and dumped it all under your deer stand along the edge of the field, you might get a different reaction.

Migratory birds are governed by federal regulations, so I'd l make sure I checked those closely if hunting birds.

Beyond the legal aspects, I think there are clear differences between baiting and food plots. Food plots are generally available 24/7 for at least several months. Deer can access any portion of the food plot at any time taking hunting pressure into account. Baiting has different characteristics. Bait delivery can be timed with a feeder which can act as a dinner bell under some conditions. When dumped in a pile, it encourages more face to face contact than normal.

Most states that outlaw baiting, like mine, recognize that food plots are more beneficial to deer on the whole and consider them fair chase as well, so they are generally specifically excluded from any baiting regulations. If anyone knows of a state that considers them bait, let me know. I don't know of any.

Thanks,

Jack