Any mushroom hunters here?

[Thurston Fluff]

You beat me to the website jjkoestler. Growing up we always went. Now my brother is way more into it than I am but went with him a couple times. I only get to go maybe once a year now. He takes a week off work every spring and camps out alone looking for them. Best way to find them is to look up not down. Find a dead elm and you will find morels. If someone wants to go in more urban settings look around train tracks. If someone has problems discerning dead elms form other dead trees best way I know to differentiate between a dead elm and others is to look for the knobs of branches that curl in kind of like a semi clenched fist.

We still have a morel family feast every year. I smoke a pork shoulder and steaks and my bro brings in his usual obscene amount of morels I add my pound or two and we pig out. It's kind of a spring is here ritual for us. First cook out of the year type thing.

Selling them almost seems sacrilegious to me. They are way to good to eat and way to rare to just give to someone for money. But to each his own.

[GormanHarvey]

Sounds like a tremendous feast Backup!!

[dadofandrew]

It is much easier to locate them walking uphill...because they're closer to your eyes. It's almost related to the "high fastball looks so big" phenomenon.

 

The problem with eating instead of selling is you need so many, as they cook down. A family of four might need a couple pounds, and that's worth what, $30-40? Easy call for me, as being red and itchy at the ER sucks.

[jjkoestler]

My friends and I usually cook a huge breakfast to celebrate our first harvest. Most of the time we are fishing too so the menu consists of scrambled eggs with morels and freshly caught trout.

[jjkoestler]

I'm heading into enemy territory to pick some flatlander shrooms this weekend. Sounds like WI morels are about 2 weeks away. I'll post some pics this weekend.

[SenatorShriv]

Went out for the first hunt of the season today but didn't find anything. I think that it might still be a little premature. I've heard that the soil needs to hit 70 degrees before the morels really start popping up in a big way. On the other hand, I'm a huge amateur and I did talk to a guy who said he found a couple of pounds near New Glarus the other day. I'm guessing that next weekend will be primo along the Wisconsin River.

[bork]

When I was growing up near Missoula, Montana, I remember going out hunting for mushrooms in our wooded property. That picture is exactly what I remembered. So at least now I know what they were. We never did it after we moved to Wisconsin, though.

[jjkoestler]

I've found a few in SE WI, but I think the best hunting will be in the next few weeks. They should really start popping this weekend.

[craigharmann]

I really enjoy sitting in the woods, waiting for that mushroom to come through the clearing....once I get that mushroom in the sights of my shotgun, I pull the trigger....oh wait, I guess that's animals that you hunt with a shotgun. Guess I was doing that wrong.

[adoubleu]

My father has found a few this year on his property in the Wisconsin Dells area. The prime season should be coming up, starting this weekend probably.

[SenatorShriv]

I found about a pound and a half this weekend on a short hike through some parks around Madison. I figured that was pretty good for an amateur dinking around within the city.

 

I cooked them up as a side dish for dinner on Friday night and will probably do the same if I find any more in the next week or two. It's supposed to be bad luck to sell them (I believe that bartering is ok) but considering how broke I am and how much they are going for ($30 lbs in some places) I don't know if I'll be able to pass up the temptation for too much longer.

[brewerjamie15]

So, should this be a pretty good time to get some Morells?

[GormanHarvey]

Link to article in the JS today about Morels: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/45059217.html