mushrooms

[G_man]

Found a whopping 3 of them tonight near the Minnesota River in the Metro.

[nate larson]

Hey everyone, how is the morel hunting going? I found about a dozen or so yellows two days ago but they were too small to pick, I went back there today and picked them but they hadn't grown much. I was looking around the Mankato area, I haven't had a whole lot of luck this year. Hopefully I'll find some this weekend. Good luck everyone and keep the reports comming!

[simplefish]

This is my first year on the hunt. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to look? Should I look in the woods or in grassy areas next to woods? I know they like dead elms but do they like other trees? I live right by the rum river and was going to take a look. Thanks for the help.

[tulikow]

The morels are popping up in our yard outside of Silver Lake. I tried some that we had picked for the first time and they are delicious!

[icehousebob]

I went out this morning by my house in Tonka where we usually find a bunch and found a total of one small one. I got kidded about how we would divide it among the family. I have a question for the experts; I did see a lot of deer and squirrel sign in the area. Are they competeing with me for the morels? If they are, no more squirrel feeders for them next winter.
Last week, #2 son found a couple of dozen in western Minnetonka. He didn't give me any.

[DARK30]

WOW! I found some! I was out last night leading a group of Boy Scouts looking for animal signs and such. I stepped over an old rotten log and there they were...all 8 of them. I had the boys pounding the area after that but no more to be found.

BTW.....When is the last time anybody had a bunch of kids make you pancakes and sausage for breakfast...You know the kind that gets all burnt and full of ashes? All you can do is smile and say "Good job guys"

WET NETS!

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

[simplefish]

I finally found some. 4 of 'em. 3 just sitting by a tree stump and 1 out in the middle of nowhere. Found them while walking along a park here in anoka county. Not big, the biggest being 5 1/2". Not bad for my first 4 though. Was going to go out again today but it looks kinda nasty. Good luck finding these tasty morsels.

[Scott Steil]

I found about 20 in my yard in town last night. They were all grays. It should be real good the next couple days with that nice rain we had last yesterday.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Jim W]

While trout fishing last evening and enroute back to my truck I picked near 3 pounds!

Mostly yellows. Largest was 5 inches tall and 3 inches in diameter!

Can't wait to munch on them!!!!

Did notice some were starting to break down, so the window in SE MN is narrowing!!

Jim W

[Scott Steil]

I made a quick run last night. Found two huge yellows, but they were drying up. Probably came up last weekend. I hoping the sun this weekend should bring a few more to the top yet before the season comes to an end. Fish and mushrooms...don't get much better Jim!!

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Jim W]

Scott or anyone,

Just how big do these things get? I am a "greenhorn", being my first real year doing it.

ANyway, I found a mammoth yellow last evening with my boy road hunting shroomers!

With about a 1/4-1/2 of stem, it measured from top to bottom 6 1/2 inches with a 3 1/2 inch diameter, guessing a 7+ inch circumfrance!!!!

After cutting it in half, that thing will probably take up the whole skillet!!!!

Yehhaaa! I am hooked!

Jim W

[DARK30]

Heres a pic of some of those yellows I found...

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

[DARK30]

These were tasty too...

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

[steve schmidt]

okay experts..since I am a first year picker, what happens when all the elms are dead past the time they produce "schrooms" or won't that happen. I mean, will they be non existent?

[deadeye]

I still can't seem to find any of those darn things!!! I go fishing at the mississippi river by my house every day and I look through the woods there each time and have found nothing! I was even in southern minnesota and looked around there with nothing to show for it. are there any specific spots for them or is it just luck?
><>deadeye

[Scott Steil]

Dead elms seem to produce for a few years and then die out. If you ever see anyone that cuts down all the trees along a fence line, make a mental note. That will be a good area in a couple years. An elm that has been dead for 2 years seem to be the best producers. Also, walnut trees that are not dead also produce sometimes, the old walnut shells produce the right type of food the spores need to grow. All I can say is keep checking, it is getting a little late now though.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Surface Tension]

I was turkey hunting north of Winona. Got my bird and had time to kill waiting for my hunting partner to get his bird. Looked for 4 hours and found 4 shrooms all in the same spot. Later I was talking to a local and he said around the base of standing dead elms with the bark just starting to fall off is what he looks for. Also the sunny side of the tree.
I was looking on shady hillsides and at rotting logs on the ground. After talking to this guy, I realized I was looking in all the wrong spots.

You guys got some nasty thorny, *****er bushs down there. I got in the middle of a patch and there must of been 3 different variites of thorny plants that had me stuck. I thought it would be a bad time to step on a bee nest.

[Jim W]

ST,

Yup, you Northern folk can breeze through the woods in those pine stands!lol The thorns are to keep everyone north of the cities, NOrth!LOL

From what I learned in a quick fashion, is finding elm that are in the dying process.

Look for dead branches with some leaves or as you mentioned, elms with some bark falling.

I had 0 luck around completely dead elms. They need to be standing as well.

Up until this year I had looked in the similar spots you mentioned.

Also, try looking around smaller dying elms.

Then again, I heard some were spotted around Oak, middle of pastures, cotton woods and on and on!

Jim W

[This message has been edited by Jim W (edited 05-27-2003).]

[Guest]

Found my first Morrels, ever, while camping this last weekend. They just taste similar to Oyster mushrooms. Should have framed them instead.

[G_man]

I started finding the Giant morels last night. Found 4 yellow ones with 3 of them standing an even 8" tall. All between 3"-4" in diameter. Found 8 total mushrooms down by the Minnesota River last night. Went back to the same spot today and there were 2" about 7" tall. Found a total of 6 tonight. The week before I found 28 standard size yellows and grays down in Cannon Falls.

[G_man]

One other thing, I just look around and find them, but I'm wondering how do you identify an elm tree. What are the defining characteristics that make them easy to distinguish.

[Steve Foss]

The dead elm thing is a good key, but it's overrated. Dutch elm disease has long since killed most of the elms naturally growing in Midwestern woods, and most of those stumps have rotted away. If you can find a dead mature hardwood tree, I'd take a close look around, if it's the right time of year.

We've found veritable fields of morels in open woods without lots of brush underneath. These were around Bemidji near our cabin, and they needed the semi-open deciduous woodlands, a mix of aspen, basswood and maple, and with very little dead wood around. We never found any morels in brushy areas. Tree canopy is not much of a problem, since trees aren't heavily leafed out during peak morel time.

Around Bemidji, Mother's Day seems to be the average peak time, although that varies from year to year, and you can find morels for three or more weeks in a row as spring develops. As was previously mentioned, sunny warm slopes earlier, shadier spots later.

In fact, there were half a dozen morels in our yard at the lake on the north side of the cabin last week, scattered in a line about a foot outside the roof drip-line, where they got the moisture but not the pounding of roof runoff. There are no dead trees within 25 feet of those morels.

Different regions will produce morels under different trees, I expect, though I'm told morels aren't easy to find around Ely, where we live now, since much of the forest is dominated by conifers, and morels don't seem to be found in the spruce/pine forests.

Simple fact is, you've got to put in your time wandering the woods. One day, no morels. Two days later in same spot, morels! No way to know when, exactly.

And when you find a spot, cherish it and don't spread it around. People go nuts for morels the same way they lay out bushels of crappies during a hot bite!

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 05-31-2003).]

[G_man]

1) Anyone still looking for morels in the east-central portion of the state?

2) Anyone still finding any morels when they are looking.

Last week I started finding the giant-sized morels and I've heard that signals the near end to the growing season. So I'm checkingin.

[Steve Foss]

We're going to take a gander today for a bit around Ely, Minn. So far north the season would be later, a bit, but we're not optimistic. Too much pine, not enough deciduous.

I'll post if we find anything.

But won't say where!

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]