Morels

[Gavin]

Finding any in Missouri yet? There have been reports in N. Arkansas.

[awhuber]

checked one of my honey holes yesterday. Nothing yet.

[Justin Spencer]

Neighbor found 2 the day before yesterday, planning on looking some today.

[ness]

I heard a third-hand story of some being found around Truman Lake.

[brother dave]

None yet for us around foley

[Gavin]

None here in the Lou..

[rps]

So here is how it works. Invite me. Teach me the kinds of areas, the trends, the look fors. I fix you and yours the ones you collect while I am with you. I learn and hunt on my own next year.

[P_L]

Nothing in Illinois yet either. Headed to sullivan next weekend for the 1st camping trip of the year, ill report back if I hear of anyone finding any or find any myself.

[jdmidwest]

Went out Tuesday and did not see any. Things are looking good though,

[Bird Watcher]

So here is how it works. Invite me. Teach me the kinds of areas, the trends, the look fors. I fix you and yours the ones you collect while I am with you. I learn and hunt on my own next year.

I find about 500-800 a year. I'll share with you what the guy who taught me shared with me. Now, this is just what works for me. There are many other successful mushroom hunters that have many other proven patterns, but this is what works for me. With this pattern, I can drive down a dirt road and with about 50% certainty, I can spot areas that will have morels.

I find them around Sycamores. Not just any Sycamore, they have to be "upland" sycamore trees. What I mean by that is, they can't be growing down in the creek or along the creek bank. You will find these in a few different types of places: Dry washes that come down a hillside, the shoulder of dirt roads, sometimes you will find them just scattered on a hillside, but the number one spot I look for is the edge of a cleared area - even better if the cleared area is on a ridge top. When a landowner comes in and pushes all the timber off the top of ridge maybe for pasture, a golf course, or any other type of development, they often push the timber and soil up in mounds around the edge of the clearing. Sycamores will be some of the first trees to take root in these old dozer piles. After about 10-20 years, the dozer piles will slowly decompose and what will be left is a ring of dirt mounds around the edge, maybe some with rotted stumps sticking out, and large sycamore trees growing out of them. You can often see this while driving down the road, especially this time of year when the trees don't yet have all their foliage. The white limbs of the sycamores stick out like a sore thumb. If you are driving around looking for a spot and you see a pasture ringed by white sycamore trees, 10 to 1 odds they are growing out of the old dozer piles that were left when it was cleared. I find these spots and then I ask permission if it's on private ground, but I also have found spots on public ground that produce just as many. Don't be suprised if the landowner already knows about them and picks them theirself on the private ground.

Simply wait until you have 3-4 days in a row that average 70 degrees between the daytime high and the nightime low and start looking. I'll be going this weekend.