Hey all I'm out in the Knoxville area and ready for some morels! I came from Ohio 10yrs ago and I always had good luck up there finding huge beautiful yellows and grays. Out of the ten years I have lived in TN ( middle and east ) I have only had luck finding smaller blacks, grays, and some smaller yellows. The only place I have found any was out in the Erwin,TN area when I lived up closer to Johnson City. I'm looking for people in the area to give me some tips for hunting here in the Knoxville area. I have 2 pieces of property I have been given permission to search that seem to have potential. I am watching the boards, checking soil temps all of that good stuff. I know the season here is a bit different than up north as well as elevation. Does the elevation seem to effect the shrooming? Do you find them up high at all? Any info on hunting the Knoxville area is appreciated.
The big fat ones are out there. I live in the Chattanooga area and "sometimes" find pretty good sized morels. Six for dinner for a person of one is a full dish. Most people think you have to get into the mountains. The ones I find are at about 680 ft. elevation. I think it is the tree type. I read every book I could find about the art of Morel hunting. So now I've given up on the "abandoned apple orchards", dying Elm trees and Sycamore stands. Where I find them does not look anything like that. But I do have my eye on this 16 inch elm tree that is showing signs of distress. Go figure. Good hunting.
@pomoxis64 I just retired out of the military and moved down here from southern Illinois . Been Hunting Morels my whole life . Was wanting to go hunting around the chattanooga / Harrison Bay Area . I'm used to the woods and hunting areas back home . Any tips or advice for where to look around here would be greatly appreciated !!
I wonder if anyone is hunting Harrison Bay, Chester park, Booker T or any of the other state parks around the Chattanooga area. Sheese! Don't say it out loud or the rangers are going to get us. You're supposed to walk around the little path and let your dog poop on the Trillium. Semper fidelis!
Oh the irony. I live near the area and want to possibly start hunting this year. It wouldn't surprise me that such public hot spots would be culled clean fairly quickly. And then there are the rules "no removal of materials". It's supposed to be protected habitat. But I guess when you're hunting you have to think outside the box a little bit. I hope to find some where I'm living, but otherwise I have friends/family in the area I may be able to ask to help keep an eye out for some spots. Has anyone ever tried grow your own mushroom kits?
We have a morel hunt on Saturday April 11th and Saturday April 18th please visit https://squareup.com/market/brewers-mushrooms-/morel-mushroom-hunt to sign-up. Group rates are available and kids are free. We are meeting in Dandridge
I've had found most of mine around hickory trees especially near streams and my marker for the season is when the dogwoods start blooming.
