WINTER ESCAPES
www.porchprairiemag.com
Volume 2 • 4
The Honey Brake Experience Photos courtesy of Honey Brake
Built on some of the best waterfowling and accommodations to be enjoyed in the United States, this Louisiana lodge is quickly redefining the total outdoor experience.
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hether you touch down at the airport in Alexandria, La., and roll east along LA-28, or make the trek by one of the many other highways that crisscross the state known as the Sportsman’s Paradise, one thing is universal, nobody is ever disappointed when they arrive at Honey Brake Lodge. Like the glowing Emerald city in the Wizard of Oz, the rustic, yet palatial main lodge of Honey Brake nestled on the shores of Larto Lake is a refuge of civility and comfort in the midst of some of the most naturally beautiful, yet rugged—and duckfilled—land carved and shaped by the Southern elements. It’s this contrast between game-rich wilderness and bayou-esque flooded fields minutes from the five-star accommodations and dining that has made Honey Brake one of the top destinations in the world for waterfowlers and certainly tops on many a duck hunter’s bucket list. Oh, and did we mention, there are a lot of ducks? “Most any other lodge you go to you typically can enjoy good hunting, good facilities, good food or good staff. You can pick two of the four, sometimes you can find three of the four, but you’re rarely going to find all four in one place. At our lodge, we have all four,” says Drew Keeth, CEO of Honey Brake. HONEY BRAKE ENVISIONED. Keeth, who grew up in nearby Jonesville, and cut his teeth working land and guiding hunters in the area virtually came with the land when it was first purchased by brothers Ron and Michael Johnson. The Johnson brothers, who were raised in the Chicot State Park, Louisiana’s largest state park, learned valuable lessons at an early age from their father about respecting and valuing the 52 - WINTER 2021 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine
land. Their grandfather, Edious Johnson, was the first caretaker and superintendent of the state park before their father, Dudley Johnson, assumed the role. Ron and Michael both went on to become successful engineers; Ron, the elder brother, became a petroleum engineer, Michael got his degree in mechanical engineering and was successful working in oil and gas exploration in Texas. After years working in the petroleum industry, Ron decided to return to the land and become a farmer. He soon convinced Michael to join him. In 2005, when some of the Louisiana Delta Plantation (LDP) property—originally formed in 1964 and at one point growing to 96,000 acres to become one of largest single-owner row crop agricultural farms in the United States—became available, Michael agreed to join Ron in the initial purchase of 30,000 acres as an investment opportunity and for a chance to work closer with his brother, Ron. Already influenced by their father’s and grandfather’s ethics and appreciation for conservation and enhancing natural resources, the Johnson brothers recognized the increase in value that outdoor recreation brought to land already in agricultural production. With that in mind, they soon purchased another 8,000 acres known as the Honey Brake Wetlands Reserve Project tract, which at the time was enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), an additional 800 acres of farmland and eventually additional property on Larto Lake bringing their total contiguous landownership to approximately 40,000 acres. The WRP land was contracted out to Ducks Unlimited for development of water control structures to support waterfowl,
making it the largest Ducks Unlimited waterfowl project in the country. The purchase also included 75 leased duck blinds on the property that required significant management. In order to realize the full financial recreational value of their investment, Ron Johnson hired Keeth as the LDP recreation manager. Johnson had known Keeth as a young boy and became reacquainted with him in recent years through his work in the area. It was together that what would become Honey Brake today was first envisioned.
_______________________ “Most any other lodge you go to you typically can enjoy good hunting, good facilities, good food or good staff. You can pick two of the four, sometimes you can find three of the four, but you’re rarely going to find all four in one place. At our lodge, we have all four.”
- Drew Keeth, CEO of Honey Brake _______________________
SPORTSMAN’S PARADISE. Honey Brake and the land hunters can enjoy as part of the outdoor recreation offered there, primarily waterfowling, takes place on 20,000 acres of the old LDP—that’s 20,000 acres of the most prime duck habitat in the United States along the Mississippi Flyway. As Keeth mentioned, you get unparalleled service, lodging, food and great hunting. But let’s face it, without the hunting, the other amenities can only carry an operation but so far. “We are on the X for the ducks, which is obviously a giant asset for any waterfowl operation,” Keeth says. “We have enough land and amazing habitat managed intensively for ducks, but it is also great habitat that produces trophy deer, alligators and hogs,” says Keeth. “Combine that with the five-star facilities and service, and it’s what keeps people coming back and telling their friends to come.” Keeth says a common refrain from those who visit Honey Brake for the first time is how amazed they are when they see the actual lodge and grounds as opposed to looking at them on the website or see it on their long-running television program, The Honey “They always tell me; this is way better than we expected this from what we’ve seen. Your website doesn’t do it justice,” Keeth laughs. He laughs because he notes how the lodge boasts photography and video to support its robust marketing efforts from some of the best photographers and videographers in the industry. And to be sure, the marketing and imagery is slick and even award-winning. But there remains nothing like experiencing Honey Brake in person. PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2021 - 53
“We are batting a thousand on ‘wow,’” he says. “They get here and it’s like ‘wow.’ They want to come back, send someone back or be a part of what we are doing, especially once they start hunting with us.” But what makes the hunting so good? The first thing is simple; it’s the same thing that makes most any physical business successful, it’s in a great location. “The biggest thing that makes this a great location for ducks is we are 13 miles from Catahoula Lake and 18 miles from the Mississippi River and where the Black River feeds into it,” says Keeth. “Ducks like to migrate right through the area.” He points out that Catahoula Lake was basically like the hub of all the duck hunting in the area, but they cleared much of the pond in the 1960s and 1970s. With the extensive waterways, ponds, flooded fields and flooded timber scattered throughout the Honey Brake property, the ducks simply shifted their feeding their direction. Of the nearly 20,000 acres that makes up Honey Brake, 9,000 acres remain in WRP for the development and management of water control structures, making it the largest single, private-owner WRP tract in the United States. “We have the water, so the ducks started feeding at Honey Brake and would go to Catahoula Lake to roost,” he says. “As we’ve put even more effort in the management of the resources to continually improve waterfowl habitat since becoming Honey Brake, now the ducks feed and roost on us.” TOTAL COMFORT. Despite phenomenal waterfowl hunting, it takes more than that to become a world-class destination. It takes infrastructure; and Honey Brake has invested a lot into creating not just the best waterfowl experience through proper wildlife and natural resource management, they’ve invested quite a bit in its lodge and facilities. It’s just as important to the total experience. As visitors turn off the gravel Diversion Canal Road that runs atop a levee for miles and cross the bridge onto the Honey Brake Lodge property the first thing that will stand out from the natural surroundings in the palatial, four-floor, 13,500-square-foot main lodge. It’s a majestic sight set against the shimmering waters of Larto Lake and set among the surrounding red oaks and cypress trees. The ground level offers a stone-paved foyer that opens to a large social and game room complete with a large screen TV, pool table, foosball table, tables for dining, couches and chairs and racks for hanging waders. This is also where guests are provided their own private locker in an adjoining room that allows them to securely keep their firearms and change in and out of their duck hunting gear before and after every hunt. There’s even a work bench and supplies for cleaning and if necessary, performing minor repairs, on firearms. Breakfast is served on this main level that opens to the outdoors with large garage doors to allow the quick transition from early morning dining to loading up and heading to the blind with your hunt party and guide. A board on the wall informs every visitor of the blind in which they will be hunting, their guide and the members of their hunt party so there is no guesswork or scrambling confusion of with whom and where you should be when it’s time to roll. 54 - WINTER 2021 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine
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The second floor of the lodge houses the kitchen, the main dining room, a comfortable sitting area in the lodge’s great room, the centerpiece of which is a large fireplace. The large windows allow ample light during the day and provides panoramic views of the lake. The Honey Brake office is here too, where guests can conveniently sign the required wavers, purchase a duck stamp or required license and quickly and easily tend to any other businessrelated matters so they are quick to simply enjoy their time there. The lodge is furnished with many unique and antique pieces, replica whitetail mounts of legendary whitetails taken on the property, a sporting library of books and magazines, taxidermy and a unique spiral staircase with a handmade, custom banister that highlights the craftsmanship found throughout the lodge. The additional floors house two-room suites comfortably appointed with queen-sized beds, a day bed and a trundle bed all topped with 100-percent cotton linens and synthetic down comforters. These rooms are ideally suited to an executive-style experience with bathrooms that include claw-footed bathtubs, stand-alone showers with dual rain showerheads and a hand shower wand, multiple body sprays, salon quality hair dryers and spa towels, making the accommodations comfortable for anyone, male or female, and even couples whether hunting or visiting to enjoy some of the lodge’s additional 56 - WINTER 2021 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine
activities. Rooms also include an LCD flat-screen TV and WiFi, so those needing to maintain contact with the outside world, whether tracking the news, checking on the family or responding to emails from the office is quickly and efficiently done without interrupting the hunt. Six Lake Suites, as well as 10 private rooms are connected to the main lodge via a series of elevated walkways that wind through beautiful Spanish moss-covered trees for one of the most unique lodging experiences in the South. Each of these suites and rooms are similarly appointed for their guest’s total comfort. Roughing it may be part of the hunting experience at other places, it’s not part of the Honey Brake experience. BEYOND THE HUNT. For all the attention it has garnered as a premier waterfowling destination, it is perhaps its other amenities and activities that are quickly making it one of the top corporate retreat destinations as well. For those companies looking to create a dynamic off-site work/play team building, brainstorming retreat for employees, strategic teams, key clients and partners or board members, Honey Brake is ideal. Its natural environment provides the relaxing isolation necessary for creative and strategic teams to fully recharge and produce some of their best concepts, yet when it’s time to plug in and collaborate with partners, satellite
ACTIVITIES AT HONEY BRAKE Ok, so if you’ve ever heard of Honey Brake Lodge, you know it’s one of the top waterfowl hunting destinations in the country with unparalleled habitat, five-star accommodations and plenty of birds. But what other activities does the lodge have to offer? Here’s a quick list to perk your appetite.
• Alligator hunting • Hog hunting • Fishing • Bird watching • Wildlife viewing • Kayaking • Boating • Nature tours • Cooking classes • Shooting instruction • Sporting dog training • 15-station sporting clays • Five-stand • Meeting facilities
office staff or investors, the comfortable full-size meeting and multimedia board room complete with powerful Wi-Fi, flat screen monitors and cameras allows for seamless virtual meetings with anyone across the globe. Retreat members can enjoy a morning of duck hunting, wildlife viewing, fishing, hiking, bird watching and even spirited shooting competition on the 15-station sporting clays range or a round of five-stand and agree upon and sign their next huge deal the same day. The Honey Brake Pro Shop provides clothing and gear for sale to help round out any adventure on the property. Additional cabins and lodging originally built to support the important youth summer camp efforts of 4-H and similar organizations can sleep up to 96 people and sit adjacent an outdoor firepit and separate lakeside dining hall with open area dining and seating in addition to the indoor seating. With so much to offer, Honey Brake continues to redefine not just waterfowling, but the overall outdoor experience and offers an incredible setting for anyone looking to weave their love for the outdoors with other key moments in their lives—from corporate retreats and hosting clients to weddings, family reunions or the simple escape from our hectic day-to-day lives. P+P PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2021 - 57
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