Problem at Tiente was that no baiting was allowed but area was surrounded by private land and everyone, private land owners, turned on feeders a day before the hunt started. Nilgai simply stayed near the feeders. Game Warden is the one that pointed out feeders and told us where nigai had moved to. Hope you have better luck at East Lake.
I understand the frustration with the neighboring landowners actively trying to disrupt the hunt, that sucks. I don't think any of the NWR drawn hunts allow baiting which can make it more difficult, but I liked that aspect. To me it equates to hunters relying more on skill and strategy, and in my mind, lower chance of success for others might mean higher success for me as there are that many more animals not taken over bait.
Though I didn't observe or hear about issues with neighboring properties, I was on the 3rd hunt and the animals had been pressured pretty good at the point. There's a few good posts on these hunts and the vast majority spell out how difficult they are one way or another. Some also had pics of the 'harvest board' or whatever it's called; archery hunts usually ended with <5% success (so about 12 of 250 hunters killed something) and rifle something like 20-50%, depending on hunt. Now that the hunts are under TPWD, I'm sure this years data will be available sometime before 2018 season.
For me, the bottom line is: difficult does not mean impossible; very difficult does not mean impossible; improbable does not mean impossible; generally speaking if others can do it, so can I (or you); in many instances we limit ourselves more anything else does.
CedarParkAg,
If you can, try to speak with the wardens and see who's feeding or not. If that's going on, maybe try to find an area like I described before (dense cover, active travel lanes) where they may be leaving the hunt area early AM to neighboring feeder all day and back in the evening. You might be able to catch some slipping up.
Volunteers told me someone on a previous hunt someone had shot a bull through the nose with an arrow. With all that thick cover/brush, be careful you have a clear shot and don't rush it. They aren't tanks as some might suggest, but there is very little margin for error with shot placement on these animals. Go with a neck shot if possible. If not, heart is more low and forward (compared to deer). I'd think a slight quartering away would be ideal, aiming low and juuuuust behind the leg. This should allow bullet to travel through ribs, heart, and maybe out just ahead of the opposing shoulder and preserve more meat. I've seen others suggest 'breaking down the shoulders' but I would avoid that if possible. It's the best wild game I've ever had, very mild and beef-like, and tender if cooked properly.