About Honey Brake

Brothers Ron & Michael Johnson, raised in Chicot State Park, Louisiana’s largest state park, learned valuable lessons at an early age from their father about respecting and valuing the land. Ron and Michael’s grandfather, Edious Johnson, was the first caretaker and superintendent of Chicot State Park and paved the way for his son, Dudley Johnson, to later assume the role as the park superintendent. Dudley Johnson passed on his ideas and ethics of land stewardship to his sons as they grew and began their path of education toward becoming engineers.

Ron, the elder brother, earned his petroleum engineering degree. He spent years with a major oil company before making the choice to become a farmer in order to spend more time with his family. Having spent the last 40 years as a farmer, Ron has developed a wealth of knowledge of the Louisiana delta region and agricultural operations. Michael’s education in mechanical engineering led him to a different path and eventually into ownership of an oil and gas exploration company in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ron’s experience with the oil industry and farming soon convinced Michael to consider investing in land to diversify his company assets. In 2005, when some of the Louisiana Delta Plantation property became available, Michael agreed to the initial purchase of 30,000 acres of agricultural land as an investment opportunity and for a chance to work closer with his brother, Ron.

Catahoula Parish native Drew Keeth, CEO and waterfowl guide for Honey Brake, LTD has been an avid outdoorsman from an early age and grew up hunting the cypress brakes and flooded grain fields of our Sportsman’s Paradise of central Louisiana all his life. Drew worked in the boating industry for most of his life but also developed and managed several different hunting clubs and guide services in central Louisiana, including managing recreation and wildlife on Louisiana Delta Plantation. Drew’s passion for hunting is exceeded only by his off season obsession of preparing exceptional habitat for wintering waterfowl through moist soil management techniques that produce the most abundant food sources for ducks that are possible. Having been a waterfowl guide for over 23 years, Drew has developed the knowledge of everything duck…from flight patterns and habitat to decoys and dogs his hunting experiences have led to help establish Honey Brake as the premier waterfowling operation in North America.

Drew’s commitment to wildlife has also been demonstrated in his leadership and support of numerous wildlife conservation organizations. Having served as President of the Cenla Fantails Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, committee member of Delta Waterfowl and Ducks Unlimited local Chapters and active member of the Central Louisiana Hunter Retriever Club as well as having a seat on the LSU school of coastal and conservation. Drew understands and works to give back to the outdoors that he loves and cares about. Drew is also committed to our youth! His wife Lacey and their children, Karlee and Kolby are the light of his life but Drew has always supported efforts to encourage the development of young hunters into a life of hunting and respect of wildlife. An avid supporter of the LDWF youth hunt weekends Drew has shared his time and Honey Brake Outfitter services to help ensure that young people get a unique opportunity to experience duck hunting at its’ finest.

In Drew’s words “To be a great guide you have to have a servant’s heart, the will to please, and a passion for waterfowling. Anyone can hunt for two or three days but providing the experience of a lifetime for sixty plus days straight is what makes the professional staff that we expect at Honey Brake”.

A dedicated professional duck hunting guide and lifelong waterfowler, Jared Mophett was raised in a family that loved and pursued hunting as a way of life. Having worked with his father as a duck hunting guide along with over 23 years of continuous guiding experience, Jared reins as one of the most experienced and successful guides at Honey Brake. Not your ordinary duck guide, Jared is a professional in every sense of the word. From competition calling to retriever training to following duck migrations, Jared is not just your ordinary duck hunter. Jared is known for his “No Days Off” philosophy and literally guides or hunts 120 days per year for ducks and geese. He has missed less than 10 days of hunting in the past 18 years. We can only assume he was very sick!

Jared has been published in numerous local and national newsprint, magazine, and waterfowl publications and has had extensive exposure on many TV shows. He’s a member of the United Kennel Club for 15 years, the Call Makers Association and many other national conservation organizations, but his commitment doesn’t end there. Jared is dedicated to waterfowl management on a year round basis and works just as hard off season to create optimum waterfowl habitats in order to reap the rewards of duck hunting during the season. Jared has served as a pro staff member for many waterfowl companies, competed in many local and state duck calling contests, and is an avid duck call collector. Some of Jared’s favorite calls include Echo, Hobo, RNT, and Zink calls, but give him any call and he can make it sing.

“My goal is to provide my guests with the hunt of a lifetime.” — Jared Mophett

Louisiana Native Chelly Cross was born and raised in Houma Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun Country.  She worked for over 20 years as a supervisor and chef on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico just off the Louisiana Coast, where she perfected her beloved Creole cooking for large numbers of hungry workers.

After leaving the oil industry, she made her home here on beautiful Lake Larto, site of the Honey Brake Lodge, where she has resided for the past 17 years.  Chelly loves the socializing with our guests as much as she loves life itself.  Her other passions include raising rabbits and chickens in her backyard and fishing for Bream and Catfish on Lake Larto.  Her smile is infectious, and she possesses that joie de vivre that makes you forget about anything that may be bothering you.  Her heart is truly as big as her smile.

Landon lives in Natchez, Mississippi, and has hunted waterfowl for 15 years. He’s an accomplished specklebelly and duck caller. Growing up in a farming family gave Landon a great interest in enhancing row crop property and the wetlands set aside areas for years. Landon also trains retrievers. His personal lab, Boss, is at the top of his game. Landon graduated from LSU in 2011 with a degree in Agricultural Management and applies this knowledge to help manage his family’s land as well as consult our group on what is best in regard to management practices at Honey Brake. Landon has been with our team for three years and works hard to ensure his clients enjoy every minute of their visit.

Mark Herron and his wife Naomi have been lifelong residents of the area for over 50 years. Mark has been hunting this area all his life with great success. He hunts blind on both private and public area and moves with the birds. He is an accomplished caller and relishes getting the birds in close for his clients. His dog, Swampy, is full of energy and she has great blind manners. He is a local businessman and has a stellar reputation in regard to customer service. Mark has a private camp on our farm and is a permanent resident during the waterfowl season. He is also an excellent bass fishing guide and has served on the Skeeter Team Pro team for many years.

Kim was born and raised in Metro Detroit, but lived the last 30 years in Marshall, Michigan, where she raised her three children.  Her son is now a Clinical Pharmacist for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, her middle daughter is a Nutritionist for the WIC program in Kalamazoo, MI, and her youngest daughter is a freshman at MSU.  Kim joined our team in July, when she and her husband moved here to Louisiana, which is his home state.  Accounting is in Kim’s family, as her paternal grandfather, her father, and youngest brother are all accountants.  She has been working in A/P, A/R and Payroll for approximately the last 32 years, though not always all at the same time, and is very excited to be a part of the Honey Brake Team!  She is sure that her maternal grandfather is smiling down on her, as he was an avid outdoorsman, who hunted and fished every season during his short life.

Madison is from Greenwood, MS. He has grown up hunting on his family’s farm outside of Greenwood. When he’s not finding something to hunt, he’s helping run the farm or selling insurance for his parent’s insurance company. Along with Tallie, his black lab, you’re sure to have a good time in the blind.

Jeremy Washington is a Mississippi Native. Jeremy's family stills live in Pontotoc. Jeremy has spent 20 plus years chasing ducks in the Mississippi Delta and Arkansas .

Jeremy spent 8 years in the Army as an infantryman deploying once to Iraq and Afghanistan twice .  
After leaving the army Jeremy went back to what he does best; hunting and fishing. After working for a few outfitters he worked as a  personal duck guide on the infamous wildlife farms for Paul Bear Bryant Jr. of Alabama football. When the Bryant’s decided to
Sell the farm Jeremy made a permanent home here at Honey Brake. "It’s the greatest place on earth" he says. "HB sets you up with everything you need to be the most successful duck guide in the business".  "Just takes hard work and determination".

"I wing shoot 120 plus days a year from Canada early ducks to late season chasing geese back North.  

"In the summer I work for a professional fishing team called Second Wind, a 72 F&S out of Orange Beach Alabama. We fish the Triple Crown series out of the GOM".

Born in East Tennessee, Cody was blessed to have the Tennessee River in his backyard. As far back as he can remember, hunting and fishing have been a way of life. Introduced to the outdoors by his grandfather, he often thinks back to the days when they would fish from his boat or go turkey hunting on the river.

While all that remain are fond memories, he knows that grandpa would look down and smile at the outdoorsman he has become. He always said to be truly happy, you need to do something you enjoy and Cody finds that to be truer each day. Being in the woods or on the water, teaching others skills & techniques, and sharing new experiences are all part of what makes his time afield enjoyable. With more than 10 years of guiding experience you’re sure to hear some good stories with plenty of laughs along the way.

When he’s not at Honey Brake, he enjoys chasing spring gobblers, fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, or guiding hunters in Saskatchewan’s dry fields for ducks and geese. Usually not far from Cody, you will find his black lab Brody. Hunting together 100+ days a year the two share a special bond. It’s hard to say who likes their job more. Serving clients and ensuring that your Honey Brake Experience is a great one is just what we do.

I am 22 years old. I was raised just 10 minutes from Honey Brake and have spent my whole life on the Louisiana Delta Plantation farming with my dad and grandfather. My love for hunting started at the age of 5 when they began to take me with them. Growing up, I always thought how special it would be to be able to stay here in my local community and have a job doing what I love, and Honey Brake has made that dream come true. I now spend the whole hunting season here guiding for doves, ducks, and deer. During the off season I assist in managing the habitat along side Jared, operating equipment, and lending a hand anyway that I can