Published: October 03, 2007 05:12 pm            

Bowhunters have plenty of public options

Every year we try to put together a list of the top bowhunting destinations on public land and this we have our best one yet.

East Texas is blessed with most of the affordable public hunting land in the state and for bowhunters there are so many options it would take years to hunt them all.

If you still haven’t found a place to bow hunt, don’t worry there is almost a month of the archery-only season best and the following are some of the best options that won’t break the bank.

Alazan Bayou Wildlife Management Area--- Located in the southern reaches of Nacogdoches County, this 2,063-acre area along the Angelina River corridor is a great spot for bowhunters to consider.

Like several public hunting units south of this one, Alazan Bayou allows no gun hunting for deer at all. That means bowhunters have the run of the place throughout the entire hunting season and that deer receive very little pressure.

For more information, call Joel Casto at 936-639-1879.

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Moore Plantation Wildlife Management Area---at 26,772 acres, this area of Sabine and Jasper Counties is big and so is its reputation. According to TPWD officials, Moore Plantation is managed under a cooperative agreement with the US Forest Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife and the adjacent landowners.

TPWD officials said it is part of the Sabine National Forest and is mostly owned by the National Forest Service, which is primarily responsible for timber management and controlled burning. In other words, this is a highly managed piece of property that ranges from mature pine forests to creek bottoms, offering a variety of habitats to hunt.

Each year, Moore Plantation produces head-turning bucks and a couple of those typically come during the archery-only season.

For more information, call Bob Baker at 409-384-6894.

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Alabama Creek Wildlife Management Area--- This 14,000 acre jewel of Trinity County is part of the Davy Crockett National Forest and is operated by the US Forest Service and TPWD under a cooperative agreement. It is another showpiece for management as selective timber harvest and controlled burning have maximized habitat conditions here and created an excellent environment for trophy buck production.

Trinity County has one of the strongest whitetail populations in East Texas and some of its finest specimens can be found here.

For more information, call Sean Willis at 936-639-1879.

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Sam Houston National Forest Wildlife Management Area---At 162,984 acres, this national forest is now the largest wildlife management area in the region. TPWD manages the whole area in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and since they have gotten involved, the quality of hunting has improved some.

Hunters are now required to possess a $48 annual public hunting permit to access it and there is now a lot of effort put into monitoring and managing the area.

Quite a few hunters from the Houston area hunt here, making the areas off main roads quite busy during the early part of the season. However, anyone willing to push back into the farther reaches of its boundaries should have no problem encountering deer. There aren’t lots of trophy bucks, but there are plenty of young bucks and does.

For more information, call 936-344-6205.



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Bannister Wildlife Management Area--- This another section of national forest (Angelina) operated by the U.S. Forest Service and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. At 25,695 acres, this San Augustine County hot spot has a reputation for producing quality bucks.

A lot of that has to do with location as it is located on a peninsula that extends into Sam Rayburn Reservoir and between some good highland pine forests and dense creek bottoms.

Target the oaks here during the bow season and key in on what species of oak is producing the most. If its white oaks, hunt them and if it is red oaks do likewise. There are many hogs in the area and unless there is a massive mast crop it does not take them long to deplete the supply.

For more information, call Bob Baker at 409-384-6894.

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Sabine National Forest----Located along the Highway 87 corridor, this chunk of National Forest has a good deer population and offers easy access for hunters.

This forest is a nice mix of rolling, pine-covered hills, hardwood bottoms with pine plantations along the border.

A note of concern for hunters choosing this area is that you have a good chance of seeing eastern turkeys here, but remember they are only available to hunt during the spring season. There is no fall season on eastern turkeys just yet.

For more information, call 409-787-3870.

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Davy Crockett National Forest---Next to the Sam Houston National Forest, this one probably gets the most pressure with a fair amount of Houston/Conroe are and Lufkin hunters targeting it.

The key areas to target here are some of the remote creek bottoms and along the edges of pine thickets where they meet the more open pine forests.

For more information, call 936-655-2299.

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Angelina National Forest---Of all of the national forest land in Texas, this one is probably the most beautiful and it probably receives less pressure than the other areas, simply because of its location away from the larger cities.

There are many squirrel hunters here who typically target the main trails in and out of the forest. Other than that, this area is as good as any for whitetails during the archery-only season.

For more information, call 936-897-1068.

Hunters who utilize public lands should be wary of special rules.

One of the main requirements on any of the public lands in East Texas is hunter or blaze orange.

Forest Service regulations are that hunters must wear a minimum of 400 square inches of hunter orange (144 square inches visible on both the chest and back of hunters and a fluorescent orange cap or hat.

Hunters using the wildlife management areas (WMAs) must also have the $48 annual hunting permit and that includes those hunters using WMAs within national forest boundaries.

These include Alabama Creek WMA in the Davy Crockett National Forest, Bannister WMA in the Angelina National Forest, and the Moore Plantation WMA in the Sabine National Forest. As noted earlier in the story, the entire Sam Houston National Forest is now entirely a WMA.

In most cases, hunting on national forest land is free of charge, but with changes to a TPWD managed status on many lands hunters should be mindful on their specific location.

(To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at cmoore@fishgame.com. You can hear him on the radio Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.)

        

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