Looking Back on the Michigan Morel Season

It's that time of year again. The morel mushroom season is coming to a close. Now is the time that we can look back on our season and analyze our success and compare it to years past.  Overall, I would say that 2012 was a mediocre year for morels, at least in my area. I didn't find anywhere close to as many mushrooms as I did last year, but I still found a few. I think the main problem this year was that we didn't get much rain in April while the mushrooms were growing. Every grey morel that I found seemed to be small and a bit dry and crumbly. I came across only one decent patch of yellows and it yielded only about a dozen large morels (as shown in the picture below).

5 inch tall yellow morel

I have heard similar findings from morel hunters in other states. The guys down in Kentucky said it was too dry down there as well. On a turkey hunting trip to Kentucky this year, I only found 3 yellow morels, and they were so dried up that they were inedible.  

In the meantime, all we can do is hope for a better season for the mushrooms next year. Let me know how your season went. I am curious to see if anyone had a better than average year for morels. 

Wild Turkey Shot Placement (Archery)

It is getting very close to turkey season in most states, so I thought I would help out the archery guys by showing you a few pictures of where to put your arrow in that big gobbler. Just aim where I put the yellow dots and you should be all set!

With mechanical and cut on contact fixed blade broadheads, take the body shots. With decapitating broadheads such as the Gobbler Guillotine and Magnus Bullheads, take the head/neck shots.

Wild Turkey Vitals

The Secret Weapons of Turkey Hunting (Part II)

By Kyle Swart - KS Outdoor Productions

In Part 1 of this series, we talked about the effectiveness of a gobble call. If that alone isn't enough to get a bird on the ground for you, here is another "Secret Weapon" that will help you even more and increase your chances of killing a nice turkey this spring.

The second "Secret Weapon" is a full strut tom decoy. My favorites include the Primos Killer-B and the DSD Strutter Decoy. However, it doesn't matter which strutting decoy you choose, they all work the same way.

DSD Strutter Decoy

It is likely that you have seen a full strut decoy being used by turkey hunting professionals on TV shows. This is because they work! I have found success many times using a full strut decoy when all else failed.

These decoys trigger an aggressive and territorial instinct in tom turkeys. The toms will usually charge in to show the decoy who is boss and to assert their dominance. Because of this, non-dominant toms and jakes will often times stray away from your decoy.

The best way (in my opinion) is to set up the decoy in some sort of clearing such as a field edge, in a 2-track, or just in a small clearing in the woods. It is natural for turkeys to strut in clearings and open areas and this will also make it easier for a real turkey to see the decoy.

You should always have one or more hen decoys with your full strutter. From experience I know that it helps a lot. If a dominant tom turkey thinks that your decoy is stealing his harem of hens, he will be there as fast as he can to get his hens back. When he does that, it puts him right "in your lap" where you can get a shot at him.

Hopefully this series will help you bag your first or best turkey ever! Let me know if you would like a review or advice on any turkey hunting gear.

* NEVER USE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY BECAUSE OTHER HUNTERS MAY MISTAKE YOUR DECOY FOR A REAL TURKEY *