Morel Hunting...

[eyesorbust]

yes ese are the real thing

[heathersmom]

i have a picture of one on my phone that i picked growing out of a tree in marshall county where we picked the rest. we picked 7 grocery bags full of them

[1runhotshot]

NICE!

[Deitz Dittrich]

This was my sunday... A gobbler and about 200 shrooms...

[1runhotshot]

Hmm, do a mount of the bird and the 'shrooms!

Both trophy's!!!

[beer batter]

I was out yesterday and found many that were starting to dry out on the tops of them. I made the mistake of picking them and cutting out the dry parts, cooking, and eating them. Only ate around 4 of them. No alcohol was consumed, the the mushrooms were cooked thoroughly.

Warning! Don't pick any morels that are not in perfect condition. I read on the internet that this can cause illness (after the fact).

My stomach was turning over around 4 hours after eating them, had a terrible night sleep as my stomach pains continued through the night, tried vomiting this morning but couldn't get anything out, now it's finally starting to get better after around 16 hours of stomach pains.

Now I have to throw away my whole batch because I sliced and cleaned all the mushrooms I had, and put the partially dried out ones with the fresh ones but they all look the same because I cut away any suspect sections of the dried ones. Bummer.

I'm done until next year. Too little rain in my area, and I don't want to risk picking any partially dried out ones that might slip through with the fresh ones. Not worth it to me after going through this ordeal.

[nate larson]

Wow...that is weird. I always pick the ones that are starting to go dry. I just cut off the bad parts and have never had any problems. I dry all my mushrooms before eating them. Then when I want some I just soak them in water for 30 minutes and cook them up. I have heard that the drying process makes them a little easier on your stomach.

Our season is close to done here in SE MN but I still plan on getting out a couple more times. Hopefully the rain we had this morning will help.

[Sartell Angler]

Found the one that wasn't fully opened up (upper left corner) near Spicer on Memorial Day...my bro found the other 8 near Sartell that same day and we convened for the picture and feast! Gonna get out after 'em again tomorrow hopefully.

[frogtosser]

so they are actually around here? I havent looked at all cause I didnt know they were around here, I have found plenty in Iowa. did you find them on private land?

[Sartell Angler]

yeah they were on private land...checked all the public areas I could find around town but no shrooms to be found unfortunately.

I'm sure a lot of landowners wouldn't mind if you searched for some mushrooms though so if you see some dead elms I wouldn't hesitate to ask a landowner if you could check it out!

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Nice bucket and bird, what part of the State were you in???

[Deitz Dittrich]

Cannon Fallsish area

[harvey lee]

I will cut out the dried part of the schroom only if its a very small part of the schroom and then may eat it. The ones with the white mold I do not pick. Probably get sick from the mold, not worth the chance. I had a buddy who got pretty sick from drinking beer and eating them, thats a no-no.

[J_D]

they are definitely out across the state, from warroad to lake city, and can be readily found on state land. just need to get off the beaten path, pine and aspen stands are where I have found them so far this year.

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Good advice...

What type pine, I have not found any in Red/Norway Pine, except the false ones, or if they were actually on an old Aspen root, mixed in the Pine???

[Sartell Angler]

They're starting to pop in full force in the St. Cloud Area...got into these in under an hour of searching last night...combed through a really damp forest and found these babies strewn about, in no particular proximity to dead elms.

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Finally!...they popped in the Cambridge/North Branch Latitude...

Didn't check since last Sunday, when I found the single immature one, and Voila'...they were all over in just two small spots, plus one in one other...

I was actually a little late, as some were huge, and others were a little dry on top, and other small ones had fully dried up...

They probably came in starting around Thursday, but it was worth the wait, as they were much larger on average than usual...

My other spots only produced one large...so I am waiting to see if they will produce anything more...

A little over 1.5 Pounds total for 24, right at 29 found, including 5 completely dried up, that I did not pick or weigh...

The immature one that I found last Sunday, and left as stated in my other post, had looked gray, and about like the one third from the left in the second row of your Photo, but one week later, with the help of Saturday's rain, it was Toasty Golden Brown, and had grown incredibly larger...

I have a new camera, and learned just enough to get some nice pictures, and into the computer, so I will be attempting to post them in the next few days...

I know I need a Photo Host, like Photobucket...does anyone remember the other hosts, and why one is better than the others???

And I was going to say, it's time to start looking farther North in the Pine city Latitude...but as you have posted they are springing in the St. Cloud Latitude...

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Johnsonator...have you found any yet???

They should be out in your area...you better start looking or they will be dried up...

[1runhotshot]

I WOULD NEVER BELIEVED IT. WE WENT LAST NIGHT- 135 HUGE ONES 9LBS TOTAL. SIBLEY COUNTY. I'M NOT SURE HOW TO POST PICS, ANYONE WANT TO PUT ON HERE SHOOT AN EMAIL. SOME ARE THE SIZE OF POP CANS.

[Wookiee]

1 run's picture

[Tippman]

Nice, I'm jealous!

[MOBY RICHARD*]

That's some serious Sponge Bobs, right there...Congrats' and Hats Off!!!

A lot of the ones I found were belled out, way more than usual too, but none as long as those Tallboys, of 1runs'...now I gotta' do the taste comparison, and see if they still have the same flavor concentration...

Those that are butter saute'ing, be sure to use really fresh butter...it makes a world of difference...

Them little critters is still sneakin' up on us, better recheck your spots everyone...

[schr0563]

I thought this was interesting. I've been watching a couple of morels that popped up in my back yard a week ago. They hadn't really changed much in the last week but after last night's rain they doubled in size. It surprised me that they could last so long without drying out, not to mention double in size after they initially sprouted. They are about 4 inches tall now. I haven't eaten them because there are only four out there - which is twice as many as last year.

[Sartell Angler]

Wow that is sweet! I'm gonna try and hit our spots again this weekend between ball games if I can. Just got done dehydrating our second "haul" of the year (which wasn't really much of a haul).

[MOBY RICHARD*]

You may wish to watch them further, and see how big they get with the continuing rainy, steamy conditions...

Or...you may want to eat them in a couple days, they really don't multiply by not eating...but by making sure they have fully developed, then you assure the spores that produce next years crop have developed and exited...

Of course the below ground, tree root host condition, is important for next year also...

I would leave them maybe two days at most, pick 3, and leave one to see how big it may get...if it starts drying out, or getting moldy, or mousie starts nibblin', then in the pot it goes...