Still Looking for Morels? Search Harder or Head North

Now I am not saying that the season is over here in Mid-MO. The cooler temps and rain are sure to keep some morels alive and growing. However, that week of 80 degree plus weather at the end of March darn near got everything to flush (even the northern slopes and darker areas) and made the ones that were already up grow so big that man y have began to rot.

And it isn't just my gut telling me this, I know a hunter from the northern edges of Mid-MO who picked over 30 pounds starting on Friday and over the weekend, but even he said that by Sunday he was only able to pick about one out of every three he found because most were so far gone. So, to hit the motherlode or to find a nice batch of fresh greys, you will need to head north a bit more, maybe even beyond the state borders.

That's what Shroom King and I did at the end of last week and let me tell you the many hours spent in the car turned out to be well worth it. But I'll let you decide. Here are some videos highlighting a few nice finds in the two days. These weren't picked north of the state line, but pretty darn close to it.

I came upon this spot only ten minutes into the woods and knew it would be a good trip.

Several trees were hitting well. It was just a matter of finding them among the wooded slopes.

Many parts of the area had been cleared by controlled burning the previous year. These made for easy spotting and also contributed to trees dying (mainly small ones whose lower trunks succumbed to the flames) but no matter how small they still produced.

By Friday people were starting to really hit the woods so I spent less time taking footage so i could focus on finding the morels before the weekenders hit the woods.

The mushrooms in the area were unusually picturesque.

I even saw a few half frees. They seemed to come more on the second day after some rain had fallen.