Hey man I could not agree more. I hunt both zones and was strictly a Northern zone hunter for most of my life. I think it is unfair that Southern zone hunters can hunt over bait but Northern zone hunters cannot. Although I can tell you for fact that once all the Southern zone hunters starting baiting deer, it made them even more nocturnal than they were before and the reason why is because everyone was doing it. The deer could bed down 100 yards from a feeder and stroll out there at 2 Am and grab a bite to eat. The only time feeders can give a real advantage is during the last few weeks of deer season, when the weather turns much colder on a consistent basis and vegetation dies off. Where I hunt the acorns are still fairly abundant, but dwindling. Still, the most heated part of hunting season is winding down and many guys are gearing up for the holidays and neglecting their feeders, not to mention hunting less. The deer will start hitting the corn and mixed feed much harder once the acorns are all gone. Hence, the best deer taken around us these past couple years were taken in late December and early January. And they were huge bucks, believe you me. Where am I going with this? Back to my point that it is complete BS the Northern zone hunters cannot bait, especially in late season, and I totally agree you should be allowed to hunt through mid January. If it were up to me we would extend the season until the end of January statewide. Sorry for the long winded post.
