Hunt for morel mushrooms kicking into high gear

Saturday, April 18, 2015
Submitted photo/ A lot of morels ready for the kitchen. Note the mesh bags used to carry the mushrooms while walking in the woods to spread the spores.

Nevada Daily Mail

Each April, there are three things that get outdoor minded people fired up.

With good fishing as water warms ---- the fish get active and start spawning runs ---- the woods sound off with the sound of turkeys gobbling as the firearm spring turkey is about to open and hunting morel mushrooms gets underway.

Submitted photo/ Christina Tolar, with morel mushrooms, including one that was 8-inches long.

The fishing has picked up with crappie, white bass and walleye runs going, and the regular turkey season opens Monday for a three-week run. The youth season was held last weekend. Now is the time to get serious about finding those tasty morels.

Usually, around the last week of March, we find the black morels. They pop up first about the time the beefsteak mushrooms appear. Next comes the golden morels that are the prize mushrooms for the avid hunters. Many people aren't familiar with the black morels. They appear earlier than other morels, but taste just as good as the others. They are usually smaller and harder to see in the woods as they hide in the shadows and on sunny days are difficult to see. After you do find one, look all around because the blacks are usually found in bunches.

If you start hunting for black morels, you can expand the season by a couple of weeks. The common morels usually appear as the black ones pass. The common morels are the most popular of the morels and may be found in a variety of places. Some of the better locations are under dead and live elm trees as well as ash and apple trees, but are often found along waterways including small creeks up to large impoundments.

Two years ago, two Independence fishermen were bass fishing on Table Rock when they pulled into a cove. One of the anglers nearly jumped out of the boat when he spotted a bunch of golden morels on the bank near where they were fishing. They forgot all about the fishing and started picking mushrooms. James Roberts and Fred Greer, had gathered more than 100 morels.

Greer said, "It was the best fishing trip we had all year. Not only did we catch fish, we had more mushrooms than I had ever found before."

Morel mushroom hunting is an addiction ---- once you have found out how delicious they are, and how easy they are to find and identify. A season can last up to five weeks and they may be found close to home. It's no wonder that morels are Missouri's favorite mushroom.

The season for hunting morels is just getting started and should last until the first part of May. I remember finding the last morel on May 10, last year. Of course, weather plays a big part in hunters success. Hot and dry weather can cut the season short, but this spring conditions look good for prolonging the season.

Morels development depends on the temperature of the soil, which may change from year-to-year. When the temperature of the soil increases, suddenly the morels can appear overnight or sooner. I remember one time when my family was hunting morels in the nearby woods when rain hit the area. On our way back to our car, we started finding mushrooms in the same place we had looked earlier. Warm rain, a couple of days of hot weather and warm nights can trigger their popping up as well.

Once you have found a bunch of morels, often times they will be in or close to the same area. Many times they grow where they shouldn't and don't grow where they should. Unfortunately, a large part of our woods contain no morels. Some places that look like spots where there should be morels, and are barren of them.

It's easy to see why April is a favorite month. With the fishing going strong, turkeys gobbling, and morels popping, it's a great time of the year.

Hunting morels in April can be a fun family adventure. It's easy to blame your eyesight or hunting them too early or too late, but once you find that first one, it gets easier to spot more. It might take some time before you hit the mother lode, but when you do learn where to find them, keep that location a secret and go back to that same place next year.

It is recommended while hunting morels, you should carry a mesh bag to put the mushrooms in so the spores may scatter the ground as you walk through the woods.

Happy hunting!

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