# SouthEast michiga (oakland county)



## cdavid202

Anyone got any good spots or helpful hints for oakland county for some morels.... didnt do well at all lat year and am having a hard time finding good spots. Im kinda new to hunting them (3 years now)

thanks 

C


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## slamthefish

Don't take this the wrong way, but I have never, and I mean never, heard of someone giving away their mushroom spots. Especially in a metropolitan area like southeast Michigan. Giving away even a "general location" on a super popular website lie this will assure several dozen sets of foot prints in an area you found yourself with nothing to show for it but stems. Best bet is to use maps and grab yourself a gps, bug spray, and hiking boots and search hard. You will find them. Good luck out there and make sure you know what you are picking to eat.


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## hillbillie

Sort of like asking which stream you found the gold nugget in.


Don't give up and when you do find them the reward will be greater

One helpful hint turkey hunter's often find them by mistake


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## tbarden11

Now is a good time to look for the target trees.....dead/dying ash and elm. I have found my best spots by locating the trees first. I also usually do best by streams or creeks. I live on the border of Oakland county, have never found black morels but have always done well once the whites pop out. Keep at it, once you find a spot it should produce for a few years.

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


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## outdoor junkie

blacks are up now, look for stands of poplar and search thoroughly.


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## itchn2fish

And search SLOWLY, at a snail's pace. At first, this early, look for very tiny, small ones, they are easy to miss. The bigger ones may stick out, but they too are easy to miss, especially for "older" eyes, like mine. Go slow, look behind you also (you get a differant perspective). I have found ones that I have stepped on before! Find one, and circle around in a tight circle, and expand outwards; there may be a cluster of them where you find one. Good luck. Good info so far, and even though you have been told where they usually are (poppals, aspens, ash, old orchards, elms, etc), they can turn up in unusual places (under spruce, even pines, meadows, banks of lakes/ponds, in a lawn, etc). My brother Buzz (Trowoot) says, "they are where you find them!". 
You will become a tree indentifcation expert, it just takes some practice. Poplars are those softwoods that grow swiftly and you'll soon start to recognize them. They are nicknamed "cottonwoods" because those are the same trees that the females give off those floating cotton-like parachute seeds in late spring (maybe middle spring this year). This is one link I found: couldn't find one showing poplar bark.
http://forestry.msu.edu/extension/extdocs/idents.htm#picts


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## cdavid202

yea i thought about that after i posted it, I kinda was like well i guess i wouldn't give a glory hole hunting or fishing spot up and morel spots are even harder to find so it was a pretty dumb question lol. i wouldn't expect anyone to give it up either, sorry. 

Thanks for the replies though and the hints on what to look for now. im gonna head out sat if it dont rain or Sunday after all the rain hopefully something will be poking through the ground.

I gotta get better at knowing my trees that's for sure i have a hard time without leaves telling elm trees apart from others sometimes, think im gonna print off pics and bring em out in the woods with me.

thanks again for the help

C


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## spoikey

I have always shared my spots and have always had an over-abundance of Morels. I've only dealt with one bad apple. Newbie's have to learn too. Just takes a little guidance for them to develop their own spots.


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## Brian121208

When I was checking one of my best Grouse hunting spots a few years ago I found tons of Morels. I hope you have a GPS, this is were I park N42 26.268 W82 41.315
It can be a bit wet getting into the spot depending on what kind of vehical you are driving though.
Good luck!


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## FSUfishin

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

In Oakland county walk and walk and walk. when you find them it will be worth it. It took me 10 years and now I can pretty much find them if they are there, never have found any blacks down here though.


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## cdavid202

Brian121208 said:


> When I was checking one of my best Grouse hunting spots a few years ago I found tons of Morels. I hope you have a GPS, this is were I park N42 26.268 W82 41.315
> It can be a bit wet getting into the spot depending on what kind of vehical you are driving though.
> Good luck!


lol thats funny... 

c


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## itchn2fish

Poplars are the ones you see being harvested for paper mills that are loaded on to a truck sideways if you ever notice trucks of logs going down the road. The poplars harvested will be mostly much smaller diameter, loaded sideways & cut the size of the bed-width.Other wood is also used, but it's usually poplars.
Lumber trees will be pines & hardwood, much larger dia (usually 28" circumferance minimum) loaded the length of the trailer bed.
Poplars are soft, so when you are amidst them, there are usually alot of poplars that are blown down and broken off. Pick up a piece of dead, dry poplar, and it will be very light. Like someone hinted, grouse & morels like the same areas. Poplars don't have much for branches, except for the top, and even then not much extravagant branching. If you hunt or fish or spend anytime outdoors, once you start recognizing poppals, you'll realize that they are pretty common. If you have ever hunted or been in the woods when the temps are below zero, poppals being full of water, will expand and "pop" with a loud bang, sounding like a gunshot sometimes, sometimes actually exploding. A strong wind easily blows them down, often breaking off mid-trunk. These dead popals will also have growing on them another shroom for you to learn-oyster mushrooms. They are white, wet & supple (as opposed to hard & dry unedible shelf mushrooms), growing in clumps and having a noticable, slightly "peppermint" smell when cut. Oysters are "choice" & delicious and pretty much unmistakeable. Good luck to all, Allendale had a bit of rain lat night; c'mon rain......





























http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...qpvt=picture+of+poplar+bark&FORM=IGRE#x0y1041


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## bigmac

wow! nice crib!


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## CaptainNorthwood

As was mentioned dont hold your breath on people giving you even a vague push in the right direction. I had a hard time at first and I think we spent 3 years before the light bulb clicked on. We looked in some bad areas back then but we also looked in good areas as far as being in morel "type" habitat. As dumb as it sounds (and I was told the same thing) once you find one it gets amazingly easier. Each one you find your confidence goes up. Even though it doesnt make sense because we all know what a morel looks like so why would we need to see one in the woods to know how to find one? Because you just do!:lol: I knew what they looked like in those unsuccesful years. I did not know what they looked like in person and in the wild. Every year it starts out slow and then "bang" theres one......and it just steam rolls from there usually/hopefully. We have found them in areas that most people wouldnt consider morel cover and neither would I sometimes. But as the saying goes "they are where you find them" but for the most part if you put yourself in areas with the types of trees/terrain that they thrive in then chances are your gonna find some. But that doesnt mean if you have the right trees or right soil or right moon phase (made that up) that your going to find them in every one of those spots you go too. But I can just about promise you if you start by going ot the areas where they are likely to be found your going to eventually find them. There are areas where I looked years ago and never found any but I have gone back to those same areas and found them. Its possible they werent there when I was in those years but I doubt it. I just think the confidence in knowing what they look like and where they are likely to grow improved our success. Confidence is a great thing. Good luck. Nothing like morels on a medium rare venison chop.


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## Crazy Axe

bigmac said:


> wow! nice crib!




What time's dinner?!


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## outdoor junkie

You mentioned going out if it wasn't raining. My favorite time to hunt them is i nthe rain. Never anyone out. the leaves are beaten down making them easier to spot, and in the rain they seem to grow by the minute. i will be out tomorrow rain or shine. Good luck.


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## cdavid202

i will b to. good luck to you as well!

C


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## Paperboy 1

Hey "C"... Most of the elm trees in Oakland County are dead and have been for a long time. No leaves. PM me and I'll tell you of a couple of spots I used to look down there.


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## Willie Tippit

outdoor junkie said:


> You mentioned going out if it wasn't raining. My favorite time to hunt them is i nthe rain. Never anyone out. the leaves are beaten down making them easier to spot, and in the rain they seem to grow by the minute. i will be out tomorrow rain or shine. Good luck.Like a rainnyday on the water fishing..........


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## cdavid202

Paperboy 1 said:


> Hey "C"... Most of the elm trees in Oakland County are dead and have been for a long time. No leaves. PM me and I'll tell you of a couple of spots I used to look down there.


pm sent


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