Any info would help. is this a good piece of public land? does it have good deer? is it over hunted? can you park on the side of goldmine road, 229, 44, and walk in or must you use the parking lots?

Get a map and go scout

I plan on doing that in about 4 weeks

Don't expect too much but there are some deer around.

I hate to admit it, but I have never even heard of it.

There's some deer. Lots of walking if you want to get back in the woods. Hilly country. Best way in my opinion to access it is by boat.

Admittedly, I never stepped foot on it despite living very close to it for a while. Access by road seems to be quite limited. Having floated Yates lake a few times I would agree that access by boat seems like a good idea.

land sales realtor buddy used my boat to show it to the state people when they bought it.

said I would see some kick back from the commission,... still waiting.

I've never deer hunted it, only turkey hunted. Be prepared to walk uphill a lot! Very hilly and some of it is very steep. The access from water seems to be the same. Get out of boat and go straight up. Parking is along the various roads that run through the property. Pull into turn off and park without blocking the trails. No motor vehicles allowed passed the parking areas beside the road.

Thanks for the info from google earth it looks like a lot of hardwoods I'm going to take a scouting trip up there some time in August

The problem I see is that it's a lot of land and very few roads, making it hard to know what general area other guys are hunting in. Typically when I'm on public land, I totally avoid roads where other guys are parked unless I pass them a good distance. I'm not sure that's possible at Yates.

I grew up hunting those woods. I have walked from corner to corner of it. It is very steep in spots, and very easy to get turned around in. 20 years ago deer hunting was marginal. Small game was good. Turkey hunting was great. That was 20 years ago. Beautiful place and I have many fond memories there. Be prepared, it's hard hunting, and dragging deer in and out of there is a mofo. That was when I had a key to every gate, couldn't imagine doing it with limited access. Good luck.

Awesome to here I'm glad to here from someone who's hunted it before. The more I look at the map the more excited I am to start scouting

It may be hilly to a flat lander, but I don't consider it hilly. Certainly no different than cahaba, oakmulgee, or mulberry fork.

I forgot to add this. In my time hunting up there I have killed some fine rattlesnakes. My best had 13 rattles and one button. Watch your step!

ill keep that in mind

Any more reports about Yates? Curious about it and Coon Creek.

Run my squirrel dogs there some... have seen some fantastic deer sign, scrapes, rubs, etc... but never have seen a deer.