I am going to be hunting in SE Ohio for the first time in about 2 weeks. Where are some good public hunting lands in that area? When is the rut in that area?

there are lots of open public lands in southern Ohio. If you check the ODNR site you can check by county and see what the harvest is for ach county. I suggest holmes county and a few other places are also quite good.
Good luck with the hunt

No offense, but it's a bit late to be figuring out where to hunt, isn't it? You'll have to be more specific than SE ohio, as even my part of the state is considered SE, though it's closer to east/central. Many, many places to hunt.

Not really...I never know when I can get out so that makes it hard to plan hunts , let alone scout an area. I have changed my mind on the night before opening day and still did ok. So not really a big deal

Well, Iimagine it's a big deal when your driving up from NC.

Currently we are going to The Salt Fork Wildlife Area. I am going with two other guys who have been doinbg all the virtual scouting they could. This is kinda a test the waters for next year trip. Don't know what to expect as far as deer. I wanted some other places to go nearby in case we get there and Salt Fork is not suitable.

We are going for a first time and will be hunting Hocking, Monroe, Athens and Perry counties. We went out there and scouted over the long Labor Day weekend and found some great looking spots. There are lots of public lands available in the whole South Eastern quadrant. I know we will see lots of other hunters but since we expect it... won't be an issue. Saw some decent bucks feeding in the bean fields.

BETTER LATE THEN NEVER I GUESS......I THINK THAT THE AEP LAND WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE FOR YOU TO HUNT AND THEY HAVE AN ONLINE APPLICATION FORM THAT YOU FILL OUT. IT CLOSE TO CAMBRIDGE AND ZANESVILLE SO LODGING WOULD BE A SIMPLE. JUST GET A GOOD MAP AND GO TO THE AEP LANDS.....AROUND CUMBERLAND.

Shawnee State Forest in Scioto County [southern Ohio] is one of the best kept secrets. Lodge,cabins and campground. Check it out on regulations. www.lazyshuntclub.org

Salt Fork and Wolf Creek (wildcat hollow) just had early muzzleloader, got a doe, sawmany scrapes....Free camping down in Wildcat hollow, bridge on hwy 555 is out just north of Ringgold, north ofRinggold is some un-advertised areas of Wayne National forest, but it was also in muzzleloader area.... These are heavy hunted spots.....I suggest camping at Lake Hope (or county fairgrounds in McAurther) and hunting Zaleski, no real pressure until youth season 11-18.... Some friends are there now...will have report soon... Teko.