# Do outfitters bait their fields??



## tb (Jul 26, 2002)

I've hunted a long time and generally move around a lot. An area that's good one year might be dry the next. A hail storm might whack a barley field or two and a small area might have extraordinary hunting just for that one year. A certain general area might have really good crop conditions one year and the hunting is better than average. Tomorrow I might hunt 100 miles from where I hunted today. Waterfowl migrate, so you have to move along with them. So I never really understood the logic of leasing ground for waterfowl. Or buying a section or two. The land you just bought might be dry as a bone for 4 years. But it seems to be happening all around. So.... to my point.

I was talking to a guy the other day. I know his kid used to guide for an outfitter we all know. Then he let it slip. He said he "thought" outfitters baited their fields through the farming practices they use. Leave enough crop on the ground for easy pickings. That's what holds the birds, year in, year out. Could this be true?


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Based on many recent events by these "professionals"...I wouldn't put it past them... :eyeroll:


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

I've heard that a while back some of the guiding organizations on the river would spread turkey feed in some way or another on their fields for geese. They would have to drive the fields in the middle of the night to keep the ducks from eating all the feed. I don't know who or when or if it still happens, but I would not be suprised.


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## neb_bo (Feb 3, 2007)

i know a few farmers who hunt that leave a few rows of corn standing on the edge of the field for the deer and turkeys. its not legally baiting here, and i dont see any problem with it, but i do see how that is a serious advantage in waterfowling.

im not a waterfowler, but arent the birds going to move on anyways though? (thats just a question, im not trying to justify it.)


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## always_outdoors (Dec 17, 2002)

> im not a waterfowler, but arent the birds going to move on anyways though? (thats just a question, im not trying to justify it.)


Not neccessarily. We have many ducks and geese that stay here in ND through the entire winter because they have open water and plenty of food. Hard to imagine that they will stay here in January when it is -22 below out, but they do because the river is open and if there isn't too much snow, they can get to good food sources such as high oil crops like sunflowers which keep them warm.

As for the topic, I am going to say no. I think there might be a farmer here or there that adjusts the sives on the combine to make things more "desirable" to the birds, but I know farmers who aren't guides that do that for their own hunting purposes. The other reason I say "no" to this is that many waterfowl guides will tie up huge amounts of acres. If they were baiting, they wouldn't need all these acres tied up because the birds would just come to that field.


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## tb (Jul 26, 2002)

In my opinion, this one's a no-brainer. Why wouldn't you do it if your livelihood depended on it?? Come on, you've got 5 guys from Corporation XYZ flying in on Tuesday. 3 day hunt at $2,000 per man. That's a cool $10,000. Plus a big tip. And these guys can afford to come back as often as they want. You have to have birds. How can you guarantee it? C'mon NoDak -- get real.


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## 4CurlRedleg (Aug 31, 2003)

If you see them shoot the snot out of them for 2 consecutive days and they still want in there the 3rd day, you'll know.

I am convinced that it is regular practice by them and farmers who charge to hunt.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

It may happen but when crop prices are high I have a hard time believing any farmer is going to leave more in the field than he has to. If his land is being leased he is likely going to get X amount of dollars up front and is probably not gonna leave a couple thousand dollars worth of grain in the field just so the outfitter can put more money in his pocket. If the farmer is the outfitter he would certainly have to consider if he gets enough business to justify it.

I have an uncle that was fanatical about getting everthing he could. Poor ducks and geese would have starved on his field.


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