Morels

Not a lot , but good to get a few

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Very nice, they should be popping this week with the weather forecast

We found a few in the south metro this weekend. Not many but enough for a taste.

I have never had these, and don’t know that I have ever seen them in the wild. Pretty sure I’m missing out, from what I hear. Don’t even know if they grow in SE WI.

Ron Schara was taking Morels on his wcco radio show recently. He mentioned Morels can be found pretty much anywhere in the world, just different time periods when they pop. Even in the Artic circle! Found that interesting. (SW Wisconsin for sure.)

-J.

Got some updates from my trail cams this weekend, Morels must be popping up in the south metro as a group of hippies were trespassing on posted land hunting for them. I guess that’s what you get for having 15 wooded acres in the heart of a city…

I found a couple yesterday also.. All small on the sunny side of a slope. They are just starting. Next weekend should be prime time from Rochester to the cities..

Chuck Melcher wrote:

I have never had these, and don’t know that I have ever seen them in the wild. Pretty sure I’m missing out, from what I hear. Don’t even know if they grow in SE WI.

Yes, yes they do.

Is this coming weekend going to be too late for SE MN? Or will it be just right?

I have the ability to take Friday off of work if need be, but ideally I’d just head down there to start looking on Saturday morning.

Is there anything that looks really close to them that you shouldn’t be eating? I’m going to do a little reading on them and see how to tell when they are ready or not… you have my interest now.

Chuck Melcher wrote:

Is there anything that looks really close to them that you shouldn’t be eating? I’m going to do a little reading on them and see how to tell when they are ready or not… you have my interest now.

there is a false morel , you can google it and get some good info to identify them

philtickelson wrote:

Is this coming weekend going to be too late for SE MN? Or will it be just right?

I have the ability to take Friday off of work if need be, but ideally I’d just head down there to start looking on Saturday morning.
Se mn is just across the river from where I go. With this warm weather , I would think they’ll be popping pretty good

A buddy of mine down in SE, MN just texted me he found a bunch of grey morels this morning, should be good still this weekend. I have heard they greys come first, but have no proof of that.

Mike Martine wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Chuck Melcher wrote:</div>
Is there anything that looks really close to them that you shouldn’t be eating? I’m going to do a little reading on them and see how to tell when they are ready or not… you have my interest now.

there is a false morel , you can google it and get some good info to identify them

@chuckmelcher, the false morel is pretty easy to identify in that it has a solid, but spongy stem. Morels will be hollow inside.
They’re ready when you find them, but other reports I follow show them being found now in your area…great time for a walk in the woods!

Chuck Melcher wrote:

Is there anything that looks really close to them that you shouldn’t be eating? I’m going to do a little reading on them and see how to tell when they are ready or not… you have my interest now.

Chuck, all morels are hollow from the cap through the stem. You may run into beefsticks. They have a long stem and the stem goes up into the cap 1/4-1/2 inch. The cap is usually small. You can eat these but I usually leave them be.

A true morel the stem will connect directly to the cap. No umbrella affect anyways if that makes sense. I break it down by 3 different colors and everyone has a name for the colors.. Black, grays and yellows. They grow in that order.. Usually the Blacks start first and the big jumbo yellows end the season. Not always true but gives you an idea where you are at in the short season we get for picking.

The False morel will usually have a orange or red tinted cap. It has some of the brain look to the cap but does look a lot different than a Morel in my opinion.

Great thread! This is my second season hunting Morels and I’m totally hooked. False morels usually have a “cotton” lining in the stem and the stem goes “up” into the mushroom generally creating like an umbrella. I made it out Sunday with very good luck for how early it is (I didn’t expect to find any). Here are some pics and the ugly falsy. This weekend should be lights out, hope for more rain to keep them poppin’ hard.

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What are you guys looking for in good Morel territory? I’ve never found one (only been out looking once last year, and once this year), but would love to get a better idea of prime habitat.

BigWerm wrote:

What are you guys looking for in good Morel territory? I’ve never found one (only been out looking once last year, and once this year), but would love to get a better idea of prime habitat.

X2 I have not been out but plan to this next week sometime for the first time.

Dead and Dying Elm trees is where it’s at. I’ve also noticed that disturbed ground in any way is usually money when paired with dead trees. 1 year old burn sites are supposed to be really good as well but I’ve yet to try that out. When going through the woods you need to first “look up” to find the dead elms. When you do if the time is right (next few weeks) you should find some. But again, DISTURBED GROUND has been by far the best.

My wife likes to help out with hunting morels. She doesn’t look for them but she will walk the dogs staying back a little ways looking for trees and directing me to potential sites while I trek through the woods. That way I can focus on the ground only. Having a spotter works out good. For someone as clumsy as me it can be unhealthy for me to walk through the woods looking at the sky instead of the terrain.

LOL… Now you guys have me looking up photos and info on elm trees. A lot easier finding info on live ones than dead.

Be careful, this can turn into a full fledged addiction.

Suzuki must be in a dry spell this year.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

Suzuki must be in a dry spell this year.

I started looking yesterday. I’ll give it some effort through next week but I have too many other things going on now. I even promised to take Jesse fishing tomorrow! Can you believe that ****!!!

^ You’re such a jokester!

Chuck Melcher wrote:

LOL… Now you guys have me looking up photos and info on elm trees. A lot easier finding info on live ones than dead.

I’m not going to be able to describe it here, but once you know what to look for, it’s quite easy to spot the dead elms.

As someone else said, first look up! You’ll want to find branches with no leaves on them(duh), but then notice how the branches are shaped/structured. the branches are shaped different than they are on oak trees for instance.

Then I check the trunk and look at the bark. The elms tend to not have deep cracks/crevices in the bark, and often are kind of a pale grey color.

The best way is to have someone who knows what they are doing walk through the woods with you for a couple hours. Within an hour or two you’ll be easily spotting the dead elms from a good distance away, even in pretty heavy trees.

Someone should design a tree identification app where you take a close up picture of the bark and it determines the species of tree.

philtickelson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Chuck Melcher wrote:</div>
LOL… Now you guys have me looking up photos and info on elm trees. A lot easier finding info on live ones than dead.

I’m not going to be able to describe it here, but once you know what to look for, it’s quite easy to spot the dead elms.

As someone else said, first look up! You’ll want to find branches with no leaves on them(duh), but then notice how the branches are shaped/structured. the branches are shaped different than they are on oak trees for instance.

Then I check the trunk and look at the bark. The elms tend to not have deep cracks/crevices in the bark, and often are kind of a pale grey color.

The best way is to have someone who knows what they are doing walk through the woods with you for a couple hours. Within an hour or two you’ll be easily spotting the dead elms from a good distance away, even in pretty heavy trees.

Someone should design a tree identification app where you take a close up picture of the bark and it determines the species of tree.

…and once you’ve done it long enough, you’ll catch yourself mentally noting dead elm locations at all times of the year, no matter where you are.
My best dead elms have typically been just starting to slip their bark. Big dead elms are cool, but I’ve had little bitty dead elms at just the right time produce huge.
Box elder and, occasionally, even maple have been producers for me as well. In the end, they are where you find them…but the dead elms always gave me good reference points instead of just wandering the woods aimlessly. Kind of like casting to specific structure vs trying to work a giant featureless flat, to me at least.
Now I live in the land of NO elm trees…to the south of me, and to the east in the UP, but almost non-existent here in the part of the piney northwoods where I live. I struggle hard to find morels here in any numbers.

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Crushing the morels Winona wabasha countys