Baiting cam sites
Connecticut
Hi guys, not sure of the law in this situation. I know it's illegal to hunt over bait, and in most zones illegal to use consumable bait, at least on state land, not sure about private. However; is it legal to, during the off season, bait cam sites on state land to get an idea of what deer are in that area? Sorry if it's a stupid question, still very new. Took a look at regulations and they only seem to reference WHILE hunting.
You will probably be in direct violation of the following statement on page 26 in the "2016 HUNTING & TRAPPING FIELD GUIDE":
"Taking or "ATTEMPTING" to take any deer with the aid of real or artificial bait in Zones 1 to 10, or on state lands in Zones 11 and 12. (Any food, mineral, or chemical product designed to be eaten by deer is considered bait.)
Keyword here is "ATTEMPTING" as one could infer that you are using cameras and bait to attempt to take a deer or more later during the season. You will be walking a thin line.
I'm sure there is some kind of law about feeding wildlife on state land. If they want to nail you bad enough they will find one.
I would suggest to forget about the cams and get out there put in some legwork to try and figure out how the deer use the area. Get some woodsmanship skills if your new. Experience is far more important than technology when it comes to deer hunting. It takes time.
Putting a cam out there can be harder than putting a stand in a good spot. Cams are in most cases not much good for anything other than giving you an inventory of deer in the area. If that is your purpose, find a good pinch point they use and set up the cam so they don't know its there. Make sure they don't know you were there either. Don't make the mistake of thinking that a camera will tell you where and when to hunt, you will drive yourself nuts, and learn very little about hunting deer.
Legally, not much of a debate. You put out feed, and you're either feeding them or baiting them so you can poach them. It's a no-win situation.
Sort of like how a guy can't go out stumping on a Sunday, because under the law, having a bow and arrows in your possession on any property that could reasonably hunted = prima facie evidence that you ARE hunting. And since there is no way to prove otherwise, you're done.
The whole Presumtion of Innocence thing kinda goes out the window where game laws are concerned....
I was u able to find a law that said feeding is illegal. I know it's frowned upon as far as not wanting deer to become dependent, but I couldn't find a law saying you can't. And with out a bow since there would just be cams, it's not poaching because no prima facia evidence of hunting. I could be wrong, that's why I asked the question, just trying to see if anyone already knew. Left a message for DEEP tonight.
I admit in late summer/ early fall I do put down some deer corn on state land in front of my cams but never hunt over bait. I just want them to walk in front of the cams so I can take a census of what's in the area and not have animals walk behind them. That's my only reason for doing this. Maybe it's not "exactly" legal but once I access an area I pull my cams anyway. More bears hit the bait than deer up here anyway. Haha!
That's all I'm talking about doing Mike. If I find out it's not legal I won't do it. Didn't know if anyone on here knew the answer before I gave it a shot.
Get a plot watcher camera they cover a lot of ground and you don't need bait I love mine .
Plotwatcher Pro to be exact.
Not that I'm questioning you, personally, Mike... But honestly, if I found bait out on public land, I'd be ticked.
I don't think that's a great idea. Your actions can be much too easily misinterpreted, and if anyone were to report it, you could get stung....
That is possible GF but I hunt the big woods. I rarely even see another hunter up here. Again I never hunt over the bait. The deer trails up here are not well established. They seem to wander around willy nilly. Just taking a census well before the season opener. I'll ask one of the ECON officers. I'm sure I'll run into one or two on the ice this year. I'll post what I find.
Also I never put a small pile of corn out more than once before moving the cams I find it to also be counterproductive. Once the bears find it guess what? No more deer pics! Then the damned bears like to screw with my cams. They have clawed them, bitten them and even pulled them off the trees LOL!
GF. You made me rethink this a bit. I can certainly understand you getting ticked finding bait on state land. I guess it depends on where you are too. I can call the DEEP office but I tend to get different answers depending on who I get on the phone. I would rather approach a CO and ask him how he would handle a specific scenario. They have different opinions too and it's totally up to their discretion. I've had nothing but good experiences with most COs. Many of them hunt and fish too. Some of them read and post here so I would welcome any input.I consider myself to be a respectful and ethical law-abiding bow hunter. If I'm making any kind of unlawful mistake I need to hear it directly from the enforcers of our wildlife. In the interim, I will refrain from putting a handful of corn in front of my trail cams. I appreciate your take on this buddy. Never gave it much thought. I get it!
Holy Cheet, Mike - We just set a record!!!!
First ever respectful objection leading to reconsideration of a position without any fireworks!!!
Just really glad that you accepted my POV as I had intended to present it. Here's to making it the norm!
I can't speak to whether it's legal or not, but I've heard plenty of hunters say they bait during the off-season to see what's in there area. Personally, if you know that you aren't hunting over bait nor intend to, I don't have a problem with it. I know a Warden who works the area I hunt, I'll ask if I run into him this weekend.
It's the gray area between baiting and feeding. As it was explained to me, baiting is when you hunting over bait during the season. Feeding is when its out of season.
No fireworks GF. The problem with text and emails is that people don't sense the real emotion or intent of certain messages. Your response was respectful and your thoughts on the topic genuine. Some people here could take something away from this. Yeah, it should be the "normal"
Just wanted to update since I finally heard back from the DEEP with an answer. They said that it is perfectly legal to bait the cam sites since no hunting would be taken place over them. They did say they do not advocate it and that state statute 26-25a allows the DEEP commissioner the ability to regulate wildlife feeding on state property after a period of public notification and comment. As it stands now however it is legal.
Ro
thanks for the update. Good info.
I put out corn after hunting season when the snow is deep. I have oppusms dying near my house in deep snow. Poor animals. I don't hunt deer at home or in this state it's too hard to get a permit. I hunt on my land in vt. I bought land in vt to hunt.
