Daniel, There are plenty of public places to hunt. I live in east central and every reservoir around has lots of public land hunting. I have never had any trouble nocking on doors either. Yes, Leasing is growing around here but not as bad as out west.
Here are a few places to start looking, Hillsdale lake,Clinton lake,Melvern lake, John Redmond, Perry lake, Pomona lake, Tuttle creek, Most of thease lakes are with in a 1 hour drive from my house and have tons of public hunting.
Start looking there, Plenty to look at and shoot me any questions you may have. As far as the best dates for us, Nov 1st thru the 15th is pretty hard to beat as far as the bucks running around.
Good luck
Tracy