Mike Johnson grew up hunting before land leasing was popular and, as a result, brings a unique perspective to HLRBO’s modern model of finding access to hunting land. In his second year as an HLRBO Field Representative, Johnson has excelled in a role that blends relationship-building, land knowledge, and a passion for the outdoors.
A Life Built Around the Outdoors
Johnson’s connection to hunting started early. Growing up on a small farm in South Alabama, he started hunting at 8 years old "walking with a single shot shotgun and a pocket full of shells,” he said. It was a time when, as he puts it, “there was no such thing as a lease,” and neighboring landowners simply welcomed young hunters crossing fences to enjoy the outdoors.
Those experiences—hunting everything from rabbits and squirrels to deer—left a lasting mark, and Johnson says that period “ingrained a love of the outdoors in my soul that has never waned.”
Today, that passion extends to his family life in Canyon Lake, Texas, where Johnson and his wife have three adult sons. All have a strong love for the outdoors and are avid hunters and fisherman. His life also includes “five grandkids that I dearly love spoiling," he said.
Alongside his HLRBO work, Johnson holds a full-time career with Pulte Homes, where he works in the residential home construction division.
HLRBO Field Rep Mike Johnson shooting hunting TV show "Texas Untamed"
Working the Land and Listings
Johnson's territory as an HLRBO Field Rep spans much of Texas, primarily South, Central, and West Texas, regions he describes as dramatically different in landscape. “These regions are all very different from one another in topography and terrain,” he says, adding that “the beautiful thing about Texas outdoors is the variables and different types of terrain you encounter from one region to another,” which keeps the hunting experience diverse and engaging.
Johnson knows Texas well, in part from years he spent hunting the ranches and wild places of the state for an outdoor TV show, "Texas Untamed". On the show, he focused on archery hunting for deer and feral hogs, with some episodes featuring wing shooting doves and turkey hunting.
Now with HLRBO, Johnson is still traveling around Texas focused on expanding opportunities for hunters and landowners. He has been “very active contacting property owners, cold calling, answering ads from different listings, and working on getting new listings for the site,” he said. This is all while also scheduling field walks and land verifications.
Finding the Right Fit
Having walked properties ranging from 50 acres to 6,000 acres, Johnson has also seen how land leasing in Texas has changed. In his words, “land leasing in Texas has evolved… from one of just neighbors securing land and taking care of one another to being seen as a business model to produce real additional revenue streams to land owners and ranchers.” With social media and increased interest in outdoor recreation, he says, “once people figured out they could make money, the focus changed from relationship building to who could pay more.”
Still, Johnson believes success in the leasing world comes down to compatibility and warns that simply chasing the highest bid can lead to problems on both sides. "This sometimes leads to over harvesting, destroying properties, and turning landowners off leasing altogether," Johnson explains. "A reasonable landowner has more opportunity to get a respectable hunter willing to take care of a property in order to keep access for extended periods of time."
His advice to landowners is simple: focus more on finding the right fit for your property, rather than just the one with the deepest pockets. For Johnson, despite massive changes in the leasing landscape, “finding that right fit for both the landowner and the lessee—it’s the trick.”