I'm sad

Janie,
Hi from a fellow girl hunter here from the Ozark Mtns/foothills of Missouri. I do not think it is too late. I think it is just beginning. I do not know your area but most of the finds I have seen are small ones in areas known to hunters or honey holes.
I have been hunting myself for about 15 years. I am mostly self taught by studying the internet, watching youtube videos of hunts near my area, learning the trees and a LOT of walking. I have usually fried a few mess's of morels by now but it is a late season for us due to a very long cold winter.
If you have someone you can trust to take you and teach you it is all the better. Please be careful. Take good care, God bless and good luck.

 

Greetings Janie,
I agree with Garden, the past two coats of lingering snow and cold weather pushed our hibernation bit further. I have search one area for 10 years that never yielded Morels, last year the week before April the 10th we did get the terrestrial rains by the low riding creek with lots of old Tulip Poplars and Dead Elm and by shear luck I was on my hike to check the creek level, leaves and branches aligned with the raging steam few days back looks like the water level reached at least 4 feet above the normal level. Right there under the fully grown fir s and some fruit blooming yellow sine flower of a carpet of Mayapples resided a fulfilled sense of content, a 6 in tall blonde Morel....what a rewarding sense of discovery...did not pick it up. It was a search that ended up by finding a total of 33 that varied is sizes on the same corner slope and within an area of 900 ft square. For two days I would visit and honker down and watch them till it's dark. I finally picked them up and dehydrated them.

So I would say it it still early even down there in NC, unless they have been already been spotted....I'm in Virginia at the foothills of Shenandoah Park and by now last year we had the Tulip poplar's leaves out with fern plants fully grown, so far the ground and the sky bearing leaves is that of the fall with exception to a midget Peach tree in full bloom as of yesterday.

It has been my experience that as long as the anguish is high to find them, I miss them and when you completely forget about what you are looking for, Morels will wave to us. best of luck this season

 

J Bug, dont give up. I hunt just south of Bham Ala and just found 4 very small grey beginner mushrooms the last few days. The 4" soil temps have to get near 53 as a low and range between 53 and 60 for a few days before morels begin to pop. I see you are just south of Spartanburg/Greenville which is very similar to Bham latitude. My best advice is to focus on the ash trees and look around them for a full minute or two (10 ft around the base in all directions) before moving on to the next ash. Just to give you a perspective that the season has just begun. I've looked under 120 ash that I hunt and found the 4 morels under 3 different ash. The season is 8-12 days behind an average season for most in the deep south. By seasons end I will have pulled morels from probably 20 of these ash trees sometimes 1 or 2 morels per tree and less often you hit 7 or 8 per tree. On average 1 in 6 ash produce for me over the course of a season. Bad year less. Good year more. Good Luck hunting.

 

I'm with ya Janie. I am getting frustrated too. I went down through SC following the Savannah River almost to Augusta just a couple days ago. Spent about half the day in the woods. Checking around any suspect trees, with no luck! My guess is it is still a little early. Early spots will be producing right now, but they are few and far between. I believe the best is yet to come. Conditions have been ideal. Don't give up looking, and even go back to any suspect trees you already checked you might be surprised. Will be hitting the woods hard this weekend! Expect for my spots in the foothills to start producing any day. Then up to the ridges Good luck!

 

Janiebug,

Contact me at jason.stark@ccaugusta.org.

I may be able to help you.

 

Janiebug,
I live in SC and hunt every year. It is still too early here. I hunt mostly in Chester county. I found a huge group last year near Blackstock on April 21st. It was warmer last year. I look every morning after I go turkey hunting about 3 days per week. None yet this year but I am confident they will show up in the near future. A lot of rain today and warmer nights coming will bring them out soon. Don't give up, I'm sure you will find some. Good luck!

 

I found around a pound in Oconee county in the foothills. Just starting here for me. I imagine that if it is ever going to get better for you, then NOW is the time! Anyone ever wants to come round my way, would be glad to hit up some spots

 

Janie.
I just played golf and then hunted for mushrooms in Fort Mill near my house. Nothing yet. The mushrooms near Blackstock seem to show up late, but all of a sudden they are there. Last year, none one day and three days later I found a lot in the same places I had been looking. It is amazing to me how quickly they appear. Some of the morels I found were longer than my hand. I see on other sites that a bunch are showing up in Anderson. If you search at least every 3 days I think you will eventually have success. I found a few in early May last year. Just keep being persistent and let us know when you find some.

 

Pics please Hurry hurry i need to see pics