[rick]

Got a couple of reports from 3 guys today. One in Allen county where he picked 40 blacks and some had good size. Another in Larue county that found 20 small blacks that he choose not to pick yet and a 3rd in Eastern Kentucky where he found some early greys. Pic of the 40 from Southern Kentucky.

 

[rick]

I was finally able to get in my 1st hunt of the season today. Checked several spots in Jefferson but only found 3 one inch blacks. All 3 growing along a gravel road otherwise I would have never seen them. It’s still early here. Too little to pick.

 

[Pongo805]

Getting Close now. You are right, still just a tad to cold here need this weather pattern to break hopefully within the next week or so. I've not check any of my honey spots yet just here close to the house and they are usually very sparse no early vegetation up also.

 

[wade]

Getting Close now. You are right, still just a tad to cold here need this weather pattern to break hopefully within the next week or so. I've not check any of my honey spots yet just here close to the house and they are usually very sparse no early vegetation up also.

Thank You for Your Reporting and Confirmation @Pongo805

 

[Jtr]

So the way I renegade hunt is looking up acreage for sale and calling the agent to walk the land to see if I’m interested… Eight times out of ten they say have at it and call if your interested… So for southern Kentucky I explored five spots, one of which I found this perfect shed (no critters chewed on it) and spent two hours trying to find its mate… The areas I explored seemed very dry even by riverbeds and rivers… The soil five inches down was colder than the air… So no morels but a shed, a bio-bottle, and many great hours exploring the backroads of Kentucky with some rain it will blowup… The temps are rising, this year is going to be a good year up here (NWI/SWM) with all this moisture… If what’s going on in Georgia and Tennessee are any indicator, we are probably going to be historically early… As a side note if you are ever around Mammoth Cave NP, definitely stop and spend as much time as you can touring the caves and above ground trails… there’s a reason it’s a world heritage site…😉

 

[rick]

Checked on some more black patches in another part of Jefferson county today and found nothing. These woods weren’t as far along as the woods I hunted yesterday. I did notice yesterday that the cutleaf toothwort plants weren’t as far along in their growth as I was hoping. So I knew when I saw how small the toothworts were that I was probably too early. Of course that didn’t stop me from
continuing my hunt!

 

[rick]

Finally made it down to my farm near Mammoth Cave National Park. The woods didn’t look ready but I did check 3 patches. Found 8 1-2 inch blacks, enough to fry! Backed out after seeing how small they were. I was afraid I would smash more than I found. As you can see, some were hidden well.

 

[engalwood]

View attachment 44841
View attachment 44843
View attachment 44842
Finally made it down to my farm near Mammoth Cave National Park. The woods didn’t look ready but I did check 3 patches. Found 8 1-2 inch blacks, enough to fry! Backed out after seeing how small they were. I was afraid I would smash more than I found. As you can see, some were hidden well.

Nice to meet you today sir! We will be back

 

[rick]

Went back to pick the 3 tiny blacks I found Thursday. The 3 little ones hadn’t grown at all and I didn’t find any new ones. These next couple of frigid mornings are going to freeze the ones that are up already.

 

[rick]

Well this just isn’t right. Temps shouldn’t be trending down this time of year.

 

[rick]

Checked on a few patches that produced 8 last Saturday. Found 12 and picked 4 of those. The other 8 were very small so I marked them and covered them with leaves to see how tonight’s freeze affects them. All of these I found today looked like they had just popped following last night’s rain.

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[Kokomorel]

Looking good Rick keep us updated

 

[rick]

All of the one’s I left overnight were not damaged by the 25 degree temps. Found 6 new ones while checking on the others. Picked another 12 to go with yesterday’s 4.
I did leave 2 to see how they fare with the upper teens/low 20’s the next 2 nights.

 

[db77]

Not having much luck with the black morels in Grayson Co the last several years. We do fair on the yellow and gray, but finding that first black has been a challenge. Rick, didn’t you do a post a while back about specific areas or trees to key in on for the blacks?

 

[rick]

Not having much luck with the black morels in Grayson Co the last several years. We do fair on the yellow and gray, but finding that first black has been a challenge. Rick, didn’t you do a post a while back about specific areas or trees to key in on for the blacks?

For black morels I focus primarily on woods that have a lot of tulip or yellow poplars. I find most of mine on east and north facing hillsides or near the crest of those ridges again facing east and north. I do find some near or around beech and pignut hickories but there are almost always poplar nearby also. If the woods are predominantly oak I don’t even bother to look. Most of my better black morels spots are in extremely hilly terrain. When you find one ALWAYS assume that there are others nearby. Get down at ground level and slowly scan that area 360 degrees. Early in the season the blacks are really good at hiding slightly covered by a leaf. As for the big yellows, creek bottoms are my #1 choice around elm and poplar. And those big yellows don’t hide like the blacks. I learned another way to hunt for the black morels 20+ years ago while turkey hunting. More than a few times I would be hustling to set up on an early morning gobbling bird and as I would start climbing up the side of the ridge he was on, I would see morels on the hillside. I would mark them and proceed to set up on the bird. After the hunt I would go back to pick the hillside. I learned quickly that the black morels were much easier to see while ascending the hill as opposed to descending the hill. I used those lessons to start hunting new areas by starting the hunt for black morels at the base of east and north facing hills. It works even better if you try that with the early morning sun to your back which shines on the hillside in front of you. Hope you find these tips helpful. Good luck!

 

[db77]

Great stuff! Thank you sir!

 

[db77]

Hope I didn’t kill this thread! Anyone finding any?

 

[rick]

Got back out today in Jefferson where I found my 1st 3 on 3/9. I guess the bad news is it doesn’t appear that any or many new popped there since 3/9. The good news is maybe they were just delayed and not damaged by the freezes. I picked 1! I don’t recall a season like this one where they have been delayed this long after initially popping.

 

[zinnas]

Got a couple of reports from 3 guys today. One in Allen county where he picked 40 blacks and some had good size. Another in Larue county that found 20 small blacks that he choose not to pick yet and a 3rd in Eastern Kentucky where he found some early greys. Pic of the 40 from Southern Kentucky.
View attachment 44723

👍💗 Man I can taste them now.

 

[rick]

Soils temps are getting right again. We should be able to start finding them again this weekend.