Honobia Creek/Three Rivers

[rlt7272]

Looks like the writing is on the wall for the future of the "public" access to the WMA's in SE Oklahoma. As much as I dont like it, looks like I will need to join the club, so to speak, and find a group to join in on a lease. This year is set for me but I would like to put out a request for anyone that is part of a hunt club or lease in that area to let me know if there are any openings for me and my group of 6 hunters for future seasons.

The 7 of us have thought about trying to get a lease there but I am not sure how it works and how the land is being split up. If anyone know how they are doing this, any information would be appreciated.

 

[jalapeno]

do you have a reference for the "public access" or are you just stateing an opinion?

 

[Garand]

Agreed, they sure carved out a huge swath for the private hunting leases.. And as luck would have it, the areas I always went are now private leases so I'm back to square one trying to find hunting holes...

Here is a link to Weyerhaeuser's hunting lease page. You can search on there for areas open for bid, or for clubs to join.

http://www.weyerhaeuserhuntinglands.com/UserPostings.aspx?show=Club

Here is one I saw when I glanced through the list.
"LCHC is a 5900 acres lease with under 18 members we offer deer,turkey,bear & hogs. We are located in southeast oklahoma on the east side of mountain fork river, approximately 10 miles east of Broken Bow.We are looking to add around 5 members lease will be $800 per member kids hunt free.If interested call ASAP. "

 

[r00s7a]

I am all in favor of privatizing a lot of that land. I know that isn't probably too popular of an opinion, but most of those leases are dirt cheap compared to other places in the state. Like the post above, where else can you get on nearly 6000 acres for $800? There is still plenty of public land to satisfy the masses... and stinkin Texans. But those leases will keep all the Texans away from you, and allow year round access to some awesome land.

 

[r00s7a]

But there are no good deer left down here any longer. The bear population is dropping significantly, and all the hogs uh, carry disease or something. Panhandle is your best bet.

 

[Okie4570]

r00s7a's wrong on this one guys, sorry. Strong NW winds last night and today blew all the game to the SE corner of the state. There's a "rogue antelope" alert as we speak for the towns of Idabel and Hugo!

 

[rlt7272]

When I said "public" what was with the understanding that the land is owned but has been under an access agreement with the State of Oklahoma.

Thanks for the link.

My problem is going to be finding a like minded group of hunters. I spoke to a guy last weekend from around Wright City who was in a lease not too far from me. He said that he could have gotten in with family but he knew that would be trouble and there has already been issues and, according to him, at least one restraining order so he was glad he avoid that. The lease he is on is on a big buck management program so he was scouting places in the "public" portion for other deer shooting options. My group would rather see larger deer numbers versus bigger bucks. Now I admit , I do not know if those are mutually exclusive goals. I am more interested in being able to bring my kids in to see more deer and to get them some more shooting opportunities.

I am trying to get educated on the lease/management process. Someone told me to get a subscription to the local papers that there are ads there for leases and hunters.

HOWEVER, after further review, r00s is correct the deer hunting and scenery sucks in SE Oklahoma, I should probably go out to the beautiful plains of Western Oklahoma. Plus there is tale of a Bigfoot roaming around there, never heard of any Bigfoot in the Anadarko Basin

 

[kdlong]

rlt7272 im sending you a name of someone to talk to.

 

[kdlong]

it's like roos said no deer left down here.you might want to try kansas or texas. i saw them dang texans loading up all their gear and going home. sais something about they have more and bigger deer down there.

 

[Sticky Stokes]

Sounds like the State added some acreage to the Honobia Creek WMA area: Had this in my email inbox this morning from the ODWC.

Sept. 14, 2012

A service of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation



Honobia Creek to add 22,347 acres for sportsmen

A cooperative agreement between the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and a timber company with land in southeast Oklahoma will secure more than 22,000 new public acres for sportsmen.

At its September meeting, the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission authorized the director of the Department to enter into a three-year lease with Southern Diversified, LLC, for the company's lands in LeFlore, McCurtain and Pushmataha counties. The agreement would expand the Honobia Creek Wildlife Management Area to 102,346 acres.

According to Alan Peoples, chief of wildlife for the Wildlife Department, the new properties would include land never previously available to the public, including several sections of the Mountain Fork River and the Little River that would benefit both hunters and anglers. The land is located east of Smithville near Watson.

The Honobia Creek and Three Rivers WMAs provide access to thousands of acres of privately owned timberlands in southeast Oklahoma through lease agreements between the Wildlife Department and the timber companies that own the land, currently including Weyerhaeuser, Hancock, Rayonier and Molpus. Sportsmen fund the lease agreements through their purchase of the land access permit required of most residents and all non-residents who hunt or fish on the areas. The cost of the land access permit is $40 for residents and $85 for non-residents and provides access to over 300,000 acres of land for hunting and fishing.