Tried north of there (2 hours) and it was pretty good. The reason we don’t go there anymore is because they were all full of sand. You can find many morels in a few hours. I’d really recommend looking for dead cottonwood. It seemed like we found more in the cottonwoods then dead elms. Lots of pickers so get out early if your going to go.
Yes I definitely had quite a bit of luck with dead , dying or falling cottonwoods last year. And Omaha Metro Area seem to pop about the same time as Southern Iowa Northern Missouri did last year know of any good spots just south of Omaha?
That is very interesting Tommyjosh because here in Minnesota I have yet to find any near dead cottonwood trees. I'll be sure to check a lot of cottonwoods this year and thank you for the idea. d.e.
The woods…stark silence cloaked in cold whiteness yet yearning to burst free. An ageless drama of the seasonal struggle unfolds, but the victor, awakened, is never in doubt. Elm, cottonwood, maple, birch--and others as they may--hold sway amid the timeless rhythm of this moment. Precip is much needed, timely, and intermittent rains in the future forecast buoy my hope and expectation that, when the season is finally upon us, it will inevitably hit with force--BOOM!--and an outright, feverish "morel mania" will be upon us. Good luck all.
shroom god, good to hear your musings again, getting the truck and trailer ready for my trip to heaven, i'm ready, the pups are ready, just have about 3 weeks of loose ends to tie up, good luck all, please keep me informed, thanks
Hey hunter, sounds like your timing is gonna be right. 3 weeks should be on the cusp in southern tier, don't you think? I'm going to have to give the cottonwoods some attention this year. Back in the 70s I recall finding nearly a garbage bag of huge yellows under one of those--at the crest of a hill, on the edge of a timber, exposed to full sun. Shrooms were the size of softballs. It's been a dreadful slog of time since last year but we are nearly here. Hope you strike it BIG.
Hey Elmer, Here in Northern Indiana Cotton woods produce Big Yellows generaly indicates the end of the season. Some of my most memorable finds are around these trees. I never walk past a cottonwood without looking. Good Luck!
When i hunt along the big mo it's a few in the the cedars and 90 % in the cottonwoods, of course there a way more cw's than elms, stands to reason, my spot on the big sioux it is elms or nothing at all, and i do tend to hunt on the early side of the season for a few weeks, then i have to head back to AZ and get to work, i guess it's just a matter of when and where you find em, looking is fun, finding em is better, shroom on
4/20 usually does it in the sioux city area, depends on the weather, i have picked as early as now and as late as may 10th, here is a pic from last year
cottonwoods are different that elm in that a little damage to one produces. Elm have to be dead, but not more than a year or 2 dead. A year old all dead cotton is just as good. By the way if the bark is pretty much gone from the tree its to old. Maybe thats the problem Elmer. If you could still find elm the size of cottonwood it would be nice but those days are gone for most of the country. So a giant dead cotton has a much wider root system then today's small elms. If you have never picked a mother load on one of those big old 100 year elms that used to exist it would be easy to think cottonwoods are better. I tell most newbies to go roam around the bottoms if they really want to have a chance to pick large poundage. If you are hunting the hills you need to know what you are doing. A lot of people got spoiled after that 2011 Mo. River flood killed so may cottons it made picking large amounts pretty easy for a few years. Hunter Gatherer when you are on the Sioux are you on elm in the bottoms? or are you talking hills? Ever hunt the Red up in N. Dakota?
tommy, i live in St. Joe. I can literally drive 300 miles in any direction and have a chance to pick large quantities. I have access to the MO. River and 300 miles of Loess Hills stretching from K.C. to Sioux Falls at my doorstep. I have the Flint Hills to the west and Oklahoma's cross timbers to the south with the Miss. R. to the east I am literally living the dream every spring. However that is the only good thing about this city's location that i can think of.
