ALAZAN BAYOU WMA
Sited in the southern reaches of Nacogdoches County, this 2,063-acre area along the Angelina River corridor is a superb spot for bowhunters.

Like several public hunting units south of this one, Alazan Bayou allows no gun hunting for deer at all, so archers have the run of the place throughout the entire hunting season, the effect being that the WMA's deer are subject to very little pressure.

Hunters should focus on rub lines along the creek drainages and in the more upland areas near the border of pine forests, where deer trade between bedding cover and the bottoms in which they feed on abundant acorns and other mast.

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

MOORE PLANTATION WMA
These 26,772 acres in Sabine and Jasper counties add up to a swath of hunting land as big as its reputation.

According to TPWD officials, Moore Plantation, which is managed under a cooperative agreement among their agency, the U.S. Forest Service and the adjacent landowners, forms part of the Sabine National Forest. It's owned primarily by the National Forest Service, which is chiefly responsible for timber management and controlled burning -- so, basically, this parcel is aggressively tended to.

The WMA's terrain ranges from mature pine forests to creek bottoms, and thus offers a variety of habitats to hunt. And each year, Moore Plantation produces head-turning bucks, with a couple of those typically coming during the archery-only season.

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

ALABAMA CREEK WMA
This 14,000-acre jewel of Trinity County is part of the Davy Crockett National Forest, and is operated by the U.S. Forest Service and the TPWD under a cooperative agreement. It's another showpiece for management, as selective timber harvest and controlled burning have maximized habitat conditions 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.

SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL FOREST WMA
At 162,984 acres, this national forest is now the largest WMA in the region. The TPWD manages the whole area in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. Since the state has gotten involved, the quality of hunting has improved somewhat.

Hunters are now required to have a $48 annual public hunting permit to access it, and a lot of effort has been put into monitoring and managing the area.

Quite a few hunters from the Houston area hunt there, making sections right on the main roads quite busy during the early part of the season. However, anyone willing to push back into the far reaches of the area should have no problems encountering deer. There aren't lots of trophy bucks yet, but relatively speaking, does and young bucks abound.

One hunter with a long history of taking deer from that area is Clint Sterling. "My family has hunted that area for more than 20 years," he said, "and we have always managed to get deer."

The hunter from Pasadena credits other hunters with giving up tips on where to find deer. "We have a place right on the edge of the forest where we stay in hunting season," he noted, "and we hear a lot from the hunters. One of the main things the ones who kill deer in the bow season will tell you is to stay away from the spots everybody hunts. Hunt either way back away from all of the traffic or right off the main farm roads along the boundary where no one thinks the deer would be. You would be surprised to see how many deer live right off the road because no one messes with them there."

For more information, call (936) 344-6205.