Its not always the case that you want or need to feed. It may also be a case of casting around to find the fish so whats the point in leaving piles of feed all over the place. On some waters ground bait is the kiss of death (yes I know about blockends). Also you didnt mention whether this was to apply to rivers or still waters or both? In the case of rivers a leger would be used to search the swim for fish or as I tend to do feed using a bait dropper then leger over the top.I have experienced cases where the use of a feeder slowed down the strike due to weight and bulk so the bites were missed, a change to leger made all the difference.
chill out go fishing