Do Baiting Laws Need to Be Changed?

[tucker301]

Currently, the law allows waterfowlers to add water to grain fields, but does not allow for the adding of grain to water.

What's the difference?
There isn't any.

When these laws were written, the flooded crops allowance meant that hunters could shoot birds over harvested or unharvested grain fields that had become flooded due to natural occurences.

These days, however, big money duck clubs are building huge impoundments designed and engineered to allow for the easy flooding of grains that were never meant to be harvested, but merely planted for the purpose of flooding to attract waterfowl in droves.

These crops are planted for no other reason than to be flooded later on when the grains have matured.
The fields have dams, drains, and pumps to make sure that the "crops" get flooded just in time for duck season.

In my opinion, this is baiting, and therefore should be just as illegal as tossing a five gallon bucket of corn into a swamp.

What do you say?

[tillery]

have you ever seen someone add loose grain to the pond before it is flooded? Thats all it takes to be a duck shooter but us duck hunters prefer to find the ducks . Just last year I got invited to go hunt in a flooded bean field and it was the first time I have ever seen wild greenheads trying to land while you are setting out decoys that seems to me that , that just ain't write.

[split arrow]

if your not allowed to bait any other game animals then why should you be allowed to bait ducks? To me baiting is kind of like poaching in a way, you make the best possible situation for ducks to come in instead doing homework scouting out the best possible place to set out decoys call in ducks and actually work for your limit. I could see baiting at a club for young hunters or the disabled.

[simpink]

I beleive if you farm and own the land you should be able to do what ever you like to it, even to benifit your waterfowl shooting. If your farming fields strictly for the use of flooding and then hunting and you have no other fields intended for public or personal food production yeilds, then yes i think there should be some sorte of hunting restrictions applied or taxation maybe. Sometimes flooding certain fields can divert the birds and keep them from eating certain local crops. It's a tough one but flooding of fields can account for a lot of wing shooting for some people. At least the people are putting in the time and effort to grow the crop before flooding, this does take a lot of time and money and effort. If your just throwing a buch of food around a pond, then yes this is a direct act of baiting waterfowl and should not be allowed. There are loop holes in every system and always will be and if your willing to go the extra mile to do so then right on you, hard work pays off!

[tucker301]

I have had some interesting conversations with a senior federal officer regarding such practices.
He feels that growing and flooding crops is nothing more than a rich man's way of baiting.

They are taking advantage of antiquated laws which in the past allowed hunters to shoot waterfowl over fields that became flooded due to natural processes.

Obviously, his job is to enforce existing laws and legislate, but we're going to be talking more about this and he has offered to give me some assistance in the procedures necessary to lobby for changes in the laws.

To me, flooding crops is in no way part of the normally accepted agricultural process, except with rice and cranberries.
Therefore, it should be considered conspicuous and deliberate baiting (using food products to concentrate numbers of wild game for the sole purpose of harvesting said game).

To me, it's no different than hunting deer in pens.

[sdkidaho]

I'm not really an advocate for either side here as I've never been exposed to it. A couple of questions do come to mind.

Do the flooded crops benefit the migrating waterfowl? Obviously not every duck or goose that passes over these flooded crops is shot and killed, so the question is whether or not food there is a benefit to the birds that are passing through, an easy meal as it were, on a long journey.

Also, would this new legislation include the people that plant food plots to attract big game animals? I see a lot of commercials on the hunting channels about food plots for deer, to attract them and help them grow the large antlers, and products to prepare the ground for the food plot, etc. It would seem to me that this is the very same type of thing you are talking about, but only for big game instead of waterfowl.

[Liberty or death Jr.]

I don't really see what is wrong with it. Whats the difference between planting sunflower for doves, corn for deer, and wheat for pheasant and geese? When the farmers here plant winter wheat, it really draws the geese in. The tall wheat holds loads of pheasant. The sunflower holds loads of doves and the corn gets the deer nice and fat. I don't see the difference between finding a farmer to let you hunt a field that he planted and flooded for harvesting purposes that draws in ducks or planting one in your own field for the soul purpose of hunting ducks.

[tucker301]

The flooded crops hold waterfowl until the weather absolutely pushes them out. Even then, mallards would rather ski on ice in flooded grain than to pack up and migrate to open waters.

Flooded grain also creates a support system for an inflated population of waterfowl that eventually have to return to nesting grounds and compete for a place to lay their eggs.
When the grain's all gone and they do move back up, their circumstances go from feast to famine.

Welfare ducks don't do well when they have to go back to work and live on the land.

However, neither of those are the core issue.

The core issue is the fact that big money duck clubs can afford to grow and flood 100 acres of barley just for the purpose of drawing in ducks to shoot.
Meanwhile, other hunters in the area go all day without hardly seeing a bird, because the fat cats have them locked up and on a string to their flooded grain.
In fairness, the little guy should be allowed to toss 100 lbs. of corn into a pothole or pond.
He's not going to kill all the ducks either, so some would benefit from his feeding as well.

As far as baiting other wildlife with food plots and feeders goes, that's another issue, but my opinion is that it's just as wrong as flooding grain fields.
When I see those guys in Texas shoot those huge whitetails as they step out into a trail with scattered corn on the ground, I just shake my head and wonder how they can possibly convince themselves that they're hunting.

My state, VA, has outlawed the purposeful feeding of deer under any circumstances.
I think the same needs to be done for waterfowl.

[Liberty or death Jr.]

So, say I have a 500 acre plot that has almost no animals on it. Instead of being allowed to plant some corn/wheat/barly/sunflower to draw in some game on my property. I have to go all out and actually farm it so that I am legal. Or, I have to go to public hunting areas and compete with other hunters for a good spot. No thanks.

I really don't see anything wrong with tossing a bag of corn into a pond to draw in some ducks. You get to shoot a few and a few get fed but don't stay as you said on the flooded fields. But if I want to be allowed to draw in game on my property, they are going to be allowed to have their flooded hunting fields. Perhaps we could limit them somehow but I don't see how we would do that.

Maybe we shouldn't be allowed to use decoys or calls either.

[Novaduckhunter]

Well this is a touchy and tricky issue IMO. Personally, If I could legally throw a 50 pound bag of corn into the spots I hunted this past season, I would. North Carolina isn't exactly know for its great duck hunting. A very good day for me is to see three or more groups of ducks and get a shot a maybe one or two groups if I'm lucky. I did bag more birds this season because I patterned my gun and improved my shooting skills. I ended up with two ducks and four geese.( one more duck and goose then last year). But fired less then two boxes of shells the entire season in the dozen+ times I got out. The last two hunts I never fired a shot. If baiting would get a few more ducks and geese to come to the few hunting spots NC has, then I would. Any spot that ducks feed at, natural or not, could be considered baited if you know ducks feed their.