Hey, guys!! I have read through your posts, but I am new to this. I live in Hopkins County, and I have lots of ridges around my home. How does a beginner get success?
That's pretty vague NutSak. I never look under leaves cause there's to many of them. Best to wait for the morels to show them selves, less chance of stomping all over the babies. "elso77" prob best to start out keying to dead up rite elm trees. A good way to spot these is cruising back roads ect, cover lots of areas that way. Just do lots of hit & runs. Plastic bags & a good knife for when ya find them. Good luck, enjoy.
Damm, those blacks are TOUGH to find, last year i went peak season and the blacks were 10" tall, and drying out. Saw May apples today..good sign in city limits in L Ville. OH.., this is the beginner in west ky... a honey hole, read post, hillsides on top, facing east for early snacks. later the yellows you can see driving down the road at 35 MPH.... good luck, buckseaon 54 here
I like the mornings with the sun to my back when hunting a new spot. Makes them easier to see the blacks and smaller greys/yellows.
Once you find a spot that meets all the requirements. Get down low. Slow down the speed at what you scan the woods. When scanning move you head like a cat would to give a little depth to what you are looking at. Sometimes a leaf will look like a morel but if you learn left to right slowly around a foot you will be able to better I.D. what you are looking at. Bring a sandwich and a drink. bring or find a stick that is at least a little taller than your waste. use it to walk, scrap leaves. and push grass and may apples out of the way. Also. When you are walking it is often smart to hold the walking stick out in front of you are head level. This will catch most of the spider-webs that are waiting for you on the path. slice the morel off at the stem about 1/4 inch above the soil. that stem is loaded with spores that are needed for morels to produce next year. a lot of hardcore shroomers bring mesh bags. because they tend to spend hours in the woods, the early picked morels actually start to spore as the dry out. so you want them to fall to the soil to promote new growth next year. I also bring distilled water if i know i dont have acess to creek water to wash my shrooms off before i leave the woods. I find a spot that looks habitable and lightly wash them with water. They need the moisture for the trip home and it also helps spreed spores. just a couple tips to help you prepare for a good hunt. Look for them around April 20th - 24th - From the current weather that is when I expect the peak of the season in Central Kentucky.
How much does elevation affect the morels? We are in Northern Oldham county and have been checking the areas we normally first find them and so far nothing. It just seems odd that they are being found in Jefferson county and we're not that far away but we are at approximately 800 ft elevation and I was wondering if that could be why?
MyFinds65, I suspect that the ground temps must be warmer in Louisville Metro due to the heat generated by the city. If you aren't in Western Oldham you probably aren't getting the benefits of that heat. The vegetation in the Metro area seems to be farther along than the rest of the state.
Ricard76, That does make sense! I was just thinking it was because we were "higher" up, now I'll have to try and figure out a place we can go look in Jefferson County near some warmer ground because reading your and nutsack's post has had my mouth watering for about a week.
MyFinds65, I decided to move away from the creek bottoms this evening to see if any were growing in the adjacent hills. Checked around elm and ash which are the trees that have been producing this past week and only found 1 4 inch yellow. I'm going to continue to focus my efforts nearer to the creek bottoms where I've been finding some.
Who ever is telling people to use plastic bags has to be a newbie, to hunting morels. In the first place, you should NEVER use any type of bag that doesn't have holes in it to allow the spores to fall back in the ground! You can by morel bags, or make on. They are very easy to make and it keeps the morels growing. If you can't find a bag with holes such as netting, I can give you directions on how to make one. Or I could make you one for $20.00. It is worth keeping the spores in the ground! Also, you can't believe everything you are told when it comes to finding them, not many morel hunters want to give away their secrets to anyone, they want them all to their selves! Happy Hunting!!!!
Forgot to mention that it is good to use a knife, to cut the morel at ground level. Again this helps keep them coming back year after year! Please don't use any bag that doesn't have holes to allow the spores to fall from the s'rooms! Happy Hunting,
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