In 2007-08, managed hunts on both WMAs resulted in 253 whitetails taken by 1,538 hunting efforts, or 6.1 efforts per deer. Close to 400 whitetails are taken by all hunting methods on these lands every season.

On these combined tracts, deer numbers are above average, and hunters usually score on high-end bucks ranging from 8 to 10 points during late-season hunting in December and January if the area is accessible. Bucks-only opportunities are available here annually in late December and early January. The primitive weapons season follows the late-season bucks-only modern gun segment.

I've hunted these lands on several occasions, and the use of grunt calls near thick areas along acorn ridges has been able to lure white-tailed bucks out of cutover thickets. Certain trails are usually associated with bucks holed up in these thickets. Expect good deer movement here if December rains and cold weather combine to foster conditions favorable to deer movement.

For more, check out the LDWF Web site, or contact the LDWF at its Ferriday office, P.O. Box 1640, Ferriday, LA; (318) 757-4571.

Thistlethwaite WMA's 11,000 acres lie just four and a half miles north of Washington on state Route 10. Although this WMA is far from any river, the genes of the whitetails here hail from the Chicago Mills area -- in a location within what's now called Tensas River NWR. Therefore, visiting hunters will find good late rutting bucks during the bucks-only modern gun segment scheduled in late December and early January.

"If we have a cold winter, I am looking for the effects of management here to take root," said Tony Vidrine with the LDWF District VI headquarters in Opelousas. "It's not uncommon to have a few bucks taken that score in the 140 B&C-class range at Thistlethwaite, and we have bucks in our records there weighing 250 to 275 pounds every year."

Thistlethwaite is entering year four of a 10-year experiment aimed at producing top-quality whitetail bucks on public lands. Quality management prescriptions here mandate that hunters take only spikes or bucks with at least 4 antler points at least 1 inch long on one side.

"We may see a few older bucks come out in 2008-09 at Thistlethwaite, but I give the experiment about five years at least to begin showing signs that it may be working," said Vidrine.

At Thistlethwaite, a bucks-only segment is offered in late December through January, and the muzzleloader segment follows the bucks-only hunt. Archery pursuits make up the balance of the season. "If you don't put in the time, you won't even see a deer," warned Opelousas' Ryan Hooks. The 55-year-old principal of Opelousas Junior High has over a 20-year span wrested 30 whitetails from Thistlethwaite, including a prized 250-pounds 9-pointer. Two seasons ago, he also killed two other bucks at Thistlethwaite -- another 9-pointer and an 8-pointer.

December and January are months during which the rut occurs at Thistlethwaite, so hunters are advised to take advantage of the bucks-only and muzzleloader segments.

In the Cajun country of the Atchafalaya Basin, both Sherburne WMA and the Atchafalaya NWR provide some 44,000 acres of bottomland hardwoods and swamps to hunters pursuing book-grade whitetails. Both of these public parcels are in portions of Pointe Coupee, St. Martin and Iberville parishes.