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Shroom Season

Schwonkhead

Schwonkhead

Active Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2021
Messages
157
Location
Illinois
I took my wife and kids out to the timber yesterday to look for those delectable little nuggets known as morels and to our surprise we found about 20 hiding amongst the leaves, our 4 year old even found one. We also saw a couple deer and a big hen on our way out. The turkey was a welcome site as we haven't seen any out there for a few years. The trip was ended with our one year old sleeping in her stroller while i lugged it over downed trees and across gullies, she was out so hard she even slept through the ATV ride back to the house. If anyone else is in the central Illinois area it appears they are a poppin.
Unfortunately this morning I discovered that I also found a tick. He was latched on pretty good, took awhile to get it off.
 
Was just out and found about 50 with my dad and brother. Most were black, a couple gray and a lot of snakeheads.
 
I found about 20 pretty good sizes yellows Sarurday. They were almost to dry to pick. This weather has been crazy. It should be full blast by the end of the week if we catch some rain.

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Page said:
I found about 20 pretty good sizes yellows Sarurday. They were almost to dry to pick. This weather has been crazy. It should be full blast by the end of the week if we catch some rain.

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Click to expand...
What state? Thanks
 
Found a few blacks so far but not nearly as many as last year
 
My wife and I found these last Friday, very central part of the country. We've been finding them for the past couple weeks. We need some moisture to keep them going though!
20210427_063131.jpg
 
Haven't found any in MI so far... :disrelieved:. Others have but I have struck out as of yet in all my hotspots. It's been unseasonably cold so far though so there is still time. Hoping that we don't have a repeat of last year where it was winter and then summer with no mushroom growing spring weather! They popped up in a few days and it was over (shortest shrooming season ever)!
 
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This two articles will get you headed in the right direction they also have a scad of other morel related articles on this site that can be helpful.

www.themeateater.com

The 6 Trees Every Morel Hunter Should Know

Finding morels can be a challenging task for new foragers. I vividly remember the struggle to find my first morels; it felt as if I walked every square inch of woods where they didn’t grow. Later I realized I had been far too fixated on looking down. Rookie mistake. Veteran foragers know the best...
www.themeateater.com www.themeateater.com

www.themeateater.com

3 Guaranteed Places to Find Morel Mushrooms

I’ve had strangers offer up onX pins for where to find roosted turkeys and spawning walleye, but rarely do foragers volunteer morel mushroom spots. Like a good family recipe or secret bait, a lot of morel honey holes go to the grave with whomever found them. Since no one is going to walk you...
www.themeateater.com www.themeateater.com

For me though the key has been to cover a lot of ground in lower lying river bottom areas and to not LOOK TOO HARD but still be paying attention and scanning side to side as I walk at a decent pace. If I am wondering around scouting deer/turkey and paying attention to other things and don't keep my eyes scanning the ground around my immediate radius I simply don't see the buggers. If I stop and squint and stare at the ground too long, I may find some but not as many. If I keep a decent pace (not fast but not slow), cover lots of ground, keep my focus on scanning, and move through lower lying areas I can generally fill a bag when they are popping!

I also always keep note of where I have found them before. As I search new areas I add to my database of areas I have had good luck finding them in the past. I also keep note of what type of morel I found, when I found them, and what condition they are in. Blacks, greys, and whites are the earliest ones to pop up whereas big yellows come in later in the season. The yellows pop up over the longest portion of the season IMO but if you start to find that the majority of them are sun burned or are turning dry that is a sure sign the end is near.

Certain areas (for whatever reason) have morels that pop up earlier than others so keeping note of all this stuff is a good way to keep a good check on where you are at in the morel season. You'll have a good idea whether it's early, mid, or late in the morel season by doing this and know whether to keep looking or hang up the hiking boots!
 
MOtgrinMI said:
Haven't found any in MI so far... :disrelieved:. Others have but I have struck out as of yet in all my hotspots. It's been unseasonably cold so far though so there is still time. Hoping that we don't have a repeat of last year where it was winter and then summer with no mushroom growing spring weather! They popped up in a few days and it was over (shortest shrooming season ever)!
Click to expand...
Yeah, we had some snow recently too. Luckily it warmed back up enough for them to pop.
 
MOtgrinMI said:
This two articles will get you headed in the right direction they also have a scad of other morel related articles on this site that can be helpful.

www.themeateater.com

The 6 Trees Every Morel Hunter Should Know

Finding morels can be a challenging task for new foragers. I vividly remember the struggle to find my first morels; it felt as if I walked every square inch of woods where they didn’t grow. Later I realized I had been far too fixated on looking down. Rookie mistake. Veteran foragers know the best...
www.themeateater.com www.themeateater.com

www.themeateater.com

3 Guaranteed Places to Find Morel Mushrooms

I’ve had strangers offer up onX pins for where to find roosted turkeys and spawning walleye, but rarely do foragers volunteer morel mushroom spots. Like a good family recipe or secret bait, a lot of morel honey holes go to the grave with whomever found them. Since no one is going to walk you...
www.themeateater.com www.themeateater.com

For me though the key has been to cover a lot of ground in lower lying river bottom areas and to not LOOK TOO HARD but still be paying attention and scanning side to side as I walk at a decent pace. If I am wondering around scouting deer/turkey and paying attention to other things and don't keep my eyes scanning the ground around my immediate radius I simply don't see the buggers. If I stop and squint and stare at the ground too long, I may find some but not as many. If I keep a decent pace (not fast but not slow), cover lots of ground, keep my focus on scanning, and move through lower lying areas I can generally fill a bag when they are popping!

I also always keep note of where I have found them before. As I search new areas I add to my database of areas I have had good luck finding them in the past. I also keep note of what type of morel I found, when I found them, and what condition they are in. Blacks, greys, and whites are the earliest ones to pop up whereas big yellows come in later in the season. The yellows pop up over the longest portion of the season IMO but if you start to find that the majority of them are sun burned or are turning dry that is a sure sign the end is near.

Certain areas (for whatever reason) have morels that pop up earlier than others so keeping note of all this stuff is a good way to keep a good check on where you are at in the morel season. You'll have a good idea whether it's early, mid, or late in the morel season by doing this and know whether to keep looking or hang up the hiking boots!
Click to expand...
Another thing we have found in our area ***ANECDOTE ALERT*** is that early on the tend to grow more to the top side of south facing hills. As the season progresses they will move down the hill more and occasionally we will even find them on the north facing side across the valley.

Also, don’t be afraid to hit the same spot you found some as little as 24 hrs later when the weather is right. I swear if it’s calm and quiet enough you can hear them pop up.
 
I have spent the last three springs looking for the suckers around the places I hunt and come up empty. I finally got on the tree ID and river bottom habitat train this year but I have still zeroed. Finding morels is hard!
 
Northwest Indiana. Grey and yellows. What is the difference between gets and blacks. And how do you feel about half-free morels?Screenshot_20210427-130840.png
 
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