We're blessed in Michigan to have an abundance of public land to hunt. I rarely hunt private land and i don't bait. I'd rather others didn't bait in the area I hunt because it makes the big boys go nocturnal. You can watch it happen on game cameras. But if it's legal, then so be it. I'll hunt the way I want and others can do whatever it is they do.
Interestingly, baiting is banned starting in 2019 in the Lower. The U.P. can still bait, even though they had a positive case of CWD there. That was supposed to be the trigger to stop baiting immediately. 90% of the U.P. hunters bait. It's big business - the two week deer season is a make or break deal financially for many businesses up there. The DNR backed off it's own decree knowing the impact it would have on the U.P. economy. So all those semis loaded with sugar beets from the LP can keep rolling in the fall.
To the OP, I'm sorry, that sucks to lose your place to hunt - whether you pay for it or not. I imagine if I lived in Texas I'd have to have a lease. There's no way I'd not hunt. I really don't have an opinion on leasing as I've never done it. Now, if someone wanted to invite me down to hunt their lease so's I could render an expert opinion...
Baiting is the worst thing that has ever happened to Michigan deer hunting. That's what I told Georgia deer hunters a few years ago when they were considering starting.
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