2002 Mushroom Sightings

Alabama:

Alabama morel. Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 11:27:28 EST. found my first Alabama morel. I haven't been hunting in years. I live in Waco, Texas and have never found any there. I'm in northern Alabama right now, Hope to find more. This moring was the first time out here. I'm attaching a photo of it. Good hunting. Chuck C.



morel sightings. Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 14:46:48 -0700. 74 morels found in North Alabama near Athens. Ted K.

Morels. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 12:53:01 -0700. Hi Tom, For the first time in several years I never found any black morels. Have no idea why. Starting to find the whites and greys. Will depart North Alabama within the week for Idaho again and should find plenty of morels there. Dick C.

Sightings. 3 of us found about 150 grey and whites near Rodgersville, Alabama on April 15. Dick C.

Alaska:

Morels. Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 12:08:34 -0800. From: Terry S. I am waiting for the season to hit us here in Fairbanks, Alaska. We are having a cold snap and it is forecasted to go to minus 20 tonight. It will be about 8 weeks yet before I can find any morels. Terry's Homepage http://www.home.gci.net/~sacora/

Arkansas:

False Morels in Arkansas. Visited my morel site today (3-21). Did not see any morels but collected 3 false morels, Gyromitra caroliniana, two small ones, one medium sized. Area is close to Arkansas River in the Arkansas river valley area not too far from Petit Jean Mountain. - J.J. Michael Kuo of Eastern Illinois University explains the "false morels" at http://nt2.advant.com/kuocgi2/morels/falsemoreltypes.html also visit http://www.ocslink.com/~morel/3196.html

Updated morel report from Arkansas. Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 10:17:33 -0600. I visited my morel site again on Thursday (March 28) and Sunday (March 31). I still did not see any yellow morels but collected several Gyromitra caroliniana to show people, not to eat. I am hopeful that this site will start producing morels this coming weekend and will continue to have morels the next weekend. - J.J.

morel sightings Date: 4-3-02. 22 small gray ones,VERY SMALL! 7 good size tan ones with a slight orange cast on the outer edges. These were found in different locations. This cold snap will probably set them back a little. Today only 50 degrees but we have had several warm days & lots of rain in March. Last night was cold and tonight suppossed to be 26. Not good. Happy hunting! Krs in Arkansas.

Yellow morels are up in Arkansas. I checked my morel site near Petit Jean Mountain on April 4. A 2.5 hour walk yielded about 25 grey (young yellow) morels of various sizes. This weekend and next week should be the best time to hunt in this area. - J.J.

Morels in Arkansas. Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 07:57:36 -0500. Found 6 grey morels in southern Arkansas County on Sat 5/6 and a single yellow morel in Village Creek State Park on Sunday 5/7. Did a lot of searching to find those but it was fun. Jerry L.

Arkansas morels. Collected 25 morels in Stone and Baxter counties in northern Arkansas 4/13-14. Most seemed to have just emerged. Many of the residents of northern Arkansas pick morels and its hard to beat them to the ash trees. This week should be quite good. With temperatures in the 80's the season might go by quickly. Jerry

Morels. Date: 13 April 2002, From Mark R. Found about a dozen greys and one yellow in northwest Arkansas (Boone County). Should be lots more this week.

Morels in Arkansas. Found about 55 medium to large morels in northern Pope and southern Newton counties on April 20 and 21. Forty four of them were under one ash tree, what a dream! This might be the last weekend for most of Arkansas. It was fun and I'm looking forward to next year already. I really enjoy watching this sightings page and think the link to the progression maps is great! Jerry





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British Columbia, Canada:

Prince George, British Columbia ; Morels: Sun, 16 Jun 2002 08:29:54 -0700. June 11th, 2002. The weather here has been far too cold for this years crop. However, today ( 2 weeks later than usual) we found a few blacks. There should be full crop by next week. Al in Prince George, B.C.



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California:

Subject: sighting Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 22:33:41 -0800. I just walked out to go to work yesterday morning and saw one single morchella esculenta growing in the bark from the flower bed. I live in El Cajon, Ca. the gardeners laid down this bark, I think its redwood bark, about 4-6 months ago. so far 10-15 have popped up , but th emajority of them popped up when the bark was freshly laid. I think if I scratch the surface and move it around it will help the production of more, yes? anyway , I ate the one I found yesterday for dinner tonight. satee'd in butter and salt. yum! Larry.

Found a half dozen this morning: Pacific Beach, California. 2-6-20. Over the last couple of months I have been harvesting fresh morels from a partially shaded bed of redwood gardening chips in my side yard. They are always plump and very delicious. I only have to beat my gardeners to the prize! Here is a good recipe I came up with tonight using a few wild ingredients found in my local area. 6 plump, fresh, FREE morels. 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme. 3 cloves roast garlic. pinch of lavender flowers.-not too much, go easy ! 2 Tbsp whole butter. a little splash of Amontillado Sherry. 1/4 cup demi glace (enriched beef stock) Laura Chanel Chevre -(or any favorite goat cheese) A few slices of good crusty bread. Saute mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and 1 tbsp. of the butter over medium high heat until mushrooms begin to soften. de-glace pan with the sherry and add the beef stock and lavender. when this mix begins to boil add remaining butter and stir quickly. serving this dish with the goat cheese spread on the crusty bread slices and a fried spinach garnish. Bon Apetit ! Chef James. Pb, California

not a sighting, but a request: Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 10:21:02 -0800 (PST). From: Gregg P. ...this is not a sighting, but a request... My wife and I moved from North Carolina to California last summer, and now that spring is taunting us from a much nearer distance, our thoughts turn to bird watching, wildflowers, butterflies and morels!!! We gathered 'em in Ohio, Indiana and N.C., but now are faced with the challenge of where to begin in California. Is anyone willing to share any info? We are up on Donner Summit, Nevada Co., a half hour north of Lake Tahoe, 45 miles from Reno, NV. Anybody? Any hints?

Morel sighting: Date: Fri, 08 Mar 2002 20:48:47 -0800. Found my first morels of the 2002 season on March 7. They were growing under Incense Cedar in Sebastopol, CA. Only a couple rogue morels, but the apple trees will be flowering soon and that means more will be popping up! Darvin http://SOMAmushrooms.org

Subject: Not recently but.....San Diego. Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 18:43:55 -0800. From: Terry I was on business visiting the seismic research lab at UC San Diego a couple of years ago and stumbled across a whole bunch of Morchella deliciosa across the street at the offices in the wood chips. If you know your way around campus, I'd suggest snooping around. You never know. The folks in the office tried to convince me that they were "false morels" but I know a morel from an elfin saddle and gyromitra (I know what I see even if I can't spell it). See http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Morchella_deliciosa.html If you are into gyromitra, and I know a few who are, check out the Marlette lake trail up North Canyon, off US 50 at Spooner Summit (Lake Tahoe). They are up there in the spring. I checked out the trail to Gobbler's Nob in Utah (Mill Creek Canyon) and found them there too. It looked like Morel habitat to me (at least similar to Colorado habitat) but no Morels found. My wife, Kris, and I are always bouncing ideas about habitat off each other. She's a natural at finding mushrooms. Our fall back position is "but then again,,, what the hell do I know about mushrooms". As an old friend with the Colorado Mycological society once said "mushrooms grow where they want to grow." Best wishes for a great 2002. One of my quotes is "Morels are where you find them." and that was a great picture for St. Patrick's Day!

southern california sighting of morels. From: Rebecca. Hi there, I am from the Southern California coastal region. While visiting my brother on April 14, in SILVERADO CANYON, I found some tasty morels! They were near the creek. Only found about a half a dozen but I was not really looking very hard.

Black Morels in Camino, California. Hiya, April 24th 2002 - A friend in Camino California - just up the road from Placerville on Hwy 50 - called me about some mushrooms he had picked. The altitude at Camino is about 3400 feet. I made a special drive down from Lake Tahoe to identify them. He had picked 8 or 9 very nice Black Morels which had fruited adjoining a walkway to his swimming pool. The largest was about 3 inches. Cooked them in a little butter with some sherry and devoured them on wheat thin crackers. Yummy. These could be Golden Morels but the pit ridges were black - so. Made a visit to Ice House reservoir area another 20 miles up the road on the drive home - found nothing - the altitude is much higher there. Still plenty of snow - will check again in a couple weeks. The snow at Lake level - 6400 feet - near my home - is melting rapidly. Expecting thunderstorms over next few days - come on rain. I'll keep my eye peeled for morels here too. Jim

they're here. Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 22:20:36 -0700. From: leni. Hello from the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, Wed. May 8th 2002. Today I found a couple handfuls of Morels, in my "secret spot". About five thousand foot elevation in Tuolumne County, central CA. Mostly small a couple large ones, good with garlic butter. There has been rain recently, should be a good year for morels.

sighting. Hi again, May 8th. Found my first two (small) black morels on the west shore of Lake Tahoe today. Altitude 6400 feet. Also found one large gyromitra. Expecting some sort of precipitation on FRI maybe this will really kick off fruiting. Several of my precursors for the season are still absent as of this date. No leaves on the aspen trees, no bright red 'snowplants' plus morning temperatures are still below freezing.. Jim

Subject: Morel Mushrooms. Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 11:21:12 -0700. From: Frederick. I live in Pasadena, California, in the moutains about a mile from the Rose Bowl. My newly planted Azalea planters, with redwood chips, are filed with what appear to be morel mushrooms-50 to 100, at the moment. I have looked at pictures, and these clearly appear to be Yellow Morels. Cooked my first one in olive oil--delicious nutty flavor. I guess if I am still alive in 24 hours, I will continue to feast.

morel sighting california. Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 19:27:45 -0700. Finally! Morels at Lake Tahoe, California - May 23rd - picked 30 plus black morels in one spot on the west shore. Some were of Morel'o'saurus size. Had em cooked in butter with red onion along with pork tenderloin, wild rice, miso dressing on iceberg lettuce with Grgich Hills Napa Valley Fume Blanc. YUMMY!!!!! Jim



Subject: CA Morel Sighting. Greetings from a pair of KS transplants, Gyra-Jon and Kathy "the black morel queen". Wanted to let you know that May 24th and 26th we were in the S. Lake Tahoe area and found 18 blacks, 2 quarts of cup morels (really good, if you have never tried them do it soon!) some ramaria and 5 lb of Gyramitra. No Jim I'm not on the west side and the snowys aren't quite full yet but the aspens are coming along, come on rain!!!





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Colorado:

9 small greys. went out april 15 2002 and found 9 small greys. it wont be long till the nice ones start popping up i cant wait tracy. co

morels in Colorado. Even though Tracey reported 9 small greys on April 15, for Colorado, the outlook for Denver is bleak unless we get some moisture within the next few days. The winter was very dry and there has been little precipitation during March and April. I checked my area today---April 18---and while this is a little early, the soil is bone dry at least 3" down. I saw no morels. I will keep going every week, however. I know I will find some, but I don't expect a good year. We do have rain/snow predicted for the next few days, so my fingers are crossed. Ellen

morels---colorado. Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 13:43:18 EDT. What a sad, dry year we are having. I have checked my morel area three times already and the only report I can make is that it gets drier every time I go. There has been not one sign of any morels even the size of a small fingernail. Ellen

Subject: FW: Colorado morels! Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 11:53:46 -0400. From: John. Yes, they DO exist in CO! Found 3 1/2 lbs today at lunch in BOULDER, CO. A former coworker walking her dog yesterday found and told me about a whole patch of what turned out to be 3 dozen nice yellows, growing along a creek under blown over grass. Apparently the grass protected the spores from sun, wind and cold and kept the moisture and heat in. Unbelievable! Born and raised in IL, been here 20 years and never found any out here till TODAY! You never heard such joyous profanity spew from an individual as me at about 12:18 p.m. MT on 5/16/02.

morels in Colorado: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 13:19:24 -0600, Hi, I was born and raised in Missouri, Grover (Southeast St. Louis county) and then move to Kansas City. My mother was raised in the boot hill so I was hunting morels from about the age of 4. I moved to Denver in 1984 and have tried to find morels around the snow melt line. (thats where the books say you can find them) I have never found one. Now !! I have found 2 in my front yard. My mother moved out here in 1992 and I dug up some Iris and mint to plant in my front yard. Could the morel spores stay dormant that long or should I be searching my neighbors yards also so I can have all the morels. Christina F.

Morels in Colorado: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 13:58:26 -0600. Due to very dry conditions, I did not find Yellow Morels in low-land locations and I did not find early Black Morels in foothill locations. Beginning June 1st, I was finding Black Morels in the mountains above 9,000 ft in flat areas in aspen groves. This was along the peak-to-peak highway from I-70 to Estes Park. By June 6th the morels were getting large and 'old', but I anticipate finding them over the next two weeks at higher elevations. William W.



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Connecticut:

Connecticut report. Hi there, Morels found in Redding, CT. At April 13. 2002. 19 pieces. At April 18. 2002. 153 pieces. Very promising beginning of season. Attached are photos from April 18. 2002. Vladimir, Milford, Connecticut.



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England:

advice please. Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 07:41:46 -0000. I live in UK, in Devon and I have a Morchella Esculenta in my garden. What shall I do? Please contact me. Jacky W. Hi Jacky, First of all, one mushroom usually won't make a meal, so unless you get more, all you have is a taste. But since it is in your garden (assuming no one else can get it) it may grow some and therefore make more of a taste. You might even water it if you aren't getting rainfall.. Be sure to use non-clorinated water. If you don't think it will get much bigger and would like to consume it you need to be sure it is really a morel, Cut it off at ground level and slice it in half lengthwise. A true morel has a sponge cap, is completely hollow, and the cap and stem connect to one another at the base of the cap. See the article at http://www.ocslink.com/~morel/240499.html If it truly is a morel, enjoy. Recipes at http://www.ocslink.com/~morel/480202.html



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Florida: No reports yet.



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Georgia:

Morels Found in Atlanta and N. Georgia / Tn. Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 07:48:41 EST. Found four very large greys yesterday 21 March. We have had flooding conditions in a lot of areas this past weekend. They were found in and around sycamore trees, pretty flat farm land. This Wednesday a report came in from Atlanta with pictures of greys being found in very low wetlands. The season is on the brink of starting here. We currently have temps. in the 29 degree range at night. What effect will this have? Regards, Breck Have you ever seen morels that look perfectly normal except the very top is dark and shriveled? They have been frostbitten. That's what happens when the temperature drops below freezing when morels have already sprouted. Otherwise, no harm will occur. The remainder of the organism - the mycellium - is still under ground where the temperature is somewhat warmer.



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Hawaii:

Two replys arrived in response to our question last year concerning morels in Hawaii.

morels in Hawaii!! Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 20:36:49 -1000 (HST) From: Frank S. For the record, we located Morels in West Hawaii on the Big Island growing in forest land. So much for the myth that Morels do not grow in Hawaii!

They are here: Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 01:11:57 -1000. From: Carla P. You just need to know where to look. Maui, Hi.



Hawaii Big Island Morel Sighting: Tue, 10 Sep 2002 10:34:32 -0500. Aloha, I'm no expert in fungi, but I think that we have a morel growing in our garden in Volcano, on the Big Island of Hawaii. I'm including a digital photo, which, I hope, has enough detail for you to be sure. The "head" or sponge-like region is about 5cm in length and the stem is about 3 cm. Tiny, by comparison to the photos I see at NMMHA - National Morel Mushroom Hunters Association's web site. Please let us know if we have an actual morel, and we'll keep an eye on it to see how its growth progresses. --Steve S. Yes Steve, you've got a true morel. Congratulations from the mainland.



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Idaho:

Morels in Idaho: Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 22:27:48 -0600. From: Steve This might not be much of a sighting, but I found one very lovely morel on June 11, up by Pomerelle Ski Resort in southern idaho. My girlfriend and I were out for a drive when she asked me to stop and see if we could find a tree that she had carved her name when she was a child. Sure enough we found it, and as we started to walk back to the car, there beneith a pine tree was a morel. We also noticed that some previous campers had thrown a bunch of charcoal under the tree, and that's where it was:) This report is here because it arrived after the Sightings Page closed last year

Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 15:04:08 -0700. From: Michelle. Finally popping up in North Idaho. Found 15 blacks north of Hayden Lake at the base of a mountain. Went higher but seemed way too cold still. It was just getting dark so I'll go back this weekend. Michelle

Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 11:27:19 -0700. Found 22 blacks north of Hayden Idaho. They were growing on south slopes in lowlands along streams and creeks no more than 15 ft from fir trees. Dan in Idaho

report. May 18, 2002. Idaho, North of Hayden Lake. Found 100 + larger blacks in the base of the mountains. Back trails of National Forest Land. It's rained all week, still cooler than usual but hopefully that is prolonging the season. All on West or North Facing hills. Everything I found on the southern hills we dried up crisp. Michelle



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Illinois:

Found!!!! Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 17:46:02 -0600. Hello Mushroom Hunters, I live in Clay Co. IL and went out to my favorite patch this afternoon, I found one light brown morel!!! It won't be long now. All we need is a few more days of warm temps. Good Luck everyone and happy hunting. Nancy F.

ONE BLACK MOREL TODAY! Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 17:02:05 -0600. I found my first black morel (Morchella angusticeps) of the season today in Williamson County. It was a small thing, less than 1 inch tall, just poking out from the leaves. But there it was, in spite of the 18-degree weather we experienced two days ago. I always compare the appearance of the first morel of the season to the first ripe tomato in the garden. Morels, just like ripe tomatoes, don't magically appear overnight in massive quantities. Gardeners don't wake up one morning to discover their garden is inexplicably filled with bright-red tomatoes when none existed the day before. Similarly, morel hunters don't walk into the woods one day to discover a forest suddenly filled with morels when none existed the day before. It takes a while, a couple of weeks perhaps, before one is able to go out and collect a basket full of either tomatoes or mushrooms from that place where the first one appeared. Be patient. Some patches fruit a little earlier, some later. That's just how it goes. People always like to brag about finding that first morel of the season, or that first collection for a meal - and I'm one of those people. But the reality of finding the first few morels is that the heart of picking season is still 2-3 weeks after that first morel shows up. Now I can relax for about 10 days until the first big waves of blacks start fruiting in quantity in Southern Illinois, then happily wear out my legs for a few weeks after that. Good luck to all Illinois pickers in the weeks ahead. Treat your fellow morel hunters with courtesy if you can bear it (they're just like you, after all), and remember to respect our public resources. Joe M.

FIND!!!! Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 22:02:33 -0600. i went hunting today in union county illinois and found one 3 inch black morel. my wife cheryl found one 2 inch false morel in the same county. my wife will laugh at me for soaking and frying one morel, but at least i'm sharing it with her. good hunting and good karma !!! michael and cheryl

Morels. Date: Fri, 05 Apr 2002 21:32:36 -0600. Hi Tom, Just a brief note before we leave again for more collecting tomorrow. We got to southern Illinois late Sunday evening, March 31. Found the first morels on Monday, April 1, 8 M. angusticeps, on a south facing hillside. Tues., April 2, was sunny, pleasant and in the upper 70's. Went to a different site and found about 25 more black morels, most in the 2" to 3" tall range. Got rain Tues night and a 30 degree drop in temperature. It was pretty cold Wednesday and I wore a long sleeved shirt and a sweat shirt jacket and warm hat with ear flaps down while collecting. I visited an area where I had searched last Monday and found nothing. Wednesday, however, I found 80+ black morels there, most had appeared since I was there Monday. I would say the season there is a week to 10 days behind this time last year. Redbud is just beginning to show some pink and there was no dogwood flowering yet. Mayapples just beginning to come out of the ground, saw no Trillium or jack-in-the-pulpit yet. Yes, ticks are out as are spring beauty, toothwort, and dandelion. Some trees beginning to show light green or red as buds open, but not as much as this time last year. Only black morels found this initial foray, no semilibra, deliciosa, greys, or false morels. Plan on going south again tomorrow. Will keep in touch. Darrell

Morels. My wife and I found 30 really nice blacks on 04/05/02. Sunny afternoon in Southern Il. John & Rosie

FIRST M. ESCULENTA, DELICIOSA, SEMILIBERA. Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 23:21:51 -0500. I finally found the other morel species today (4/10), after finding nothing but black morels for a few weeks. This report is from all the way down at the extreme southern tip of Illinois in Alexander County, where the Mississippi state line is closer than the city of Chicago. Here's what I found: a single M. esculenta, still quite young and wrinkled; three M. semilibera (2 fresh, 1 about a week old) and one M. deliciosa (tiny and fresh), all of them on a hillside where I expect to find collectable quantities of M. esculenta and deliciosa in about a week. Of course, Mother Nature has her own opinion about when morels should properly appear, and we rarely agree. Joe M.

shrooms. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 07:10:09 -0500. From: Larry K. Found 78 grays in 6 different patches in about an hour in Fairview Heights, Il. (12 mi. East of St. Louis) on Saturday the 13th. South facing hills and flats where the sun can hit for a long time. Heading out this afternoon!!

Magnolia Report: April 14, 2002. We took a walk in the woods today and checked a few of our usual spots. Nothing yet, but the signs are all there. Undoubtedly there were some there - we just didn't find them. Tom & Vicky

shrooms everywhere. From: Brad. April 13,2002 Went out this morning to southern illinois and found a little over 2 dozen little grays. They seem to be up on south facing hills.

Morel sighting in Illinois Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 12:42:31 -0500. Found the first morels of my '02 season. Three close together about three inches tall, under pine trees, top of a rise. The last was on a game(deer) trail, found while crawling through gnarly cover. All looked like they've been up a couple days. I've been out five times this past week, looks perfect but the may apples range from emerging to about eight inches across. Oh, I'll be as specific as central Madison County ;-). Bob

First Find. From: Alex. 04/13/02. I found several here in Godfrey, IL. It's a little dry but Monday should be great!

Central Illinois. Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 14:44:00 -0500. From: John. Spent two hours on the sun exposed hillsides of central Illinois, near Peoria on Saturday, then back again on Sunday. Nothing yet, but we've now had 2 days in the 80's.

no morels yet. Reporting from north west Illinois,,, Monday 04/15 /02,,,hit our spots yesterday but no dice.Today weather is in the 80's so it will be any day now.Good news is Asparagus is popping up in my garden,but none of the wild stuff yet.Talk to you when we hit paydirt.Good luck to all and stay safe. Conrad,,,Dixon,Illinois

mushrooms in Illinois. hello all hunters; I just found 15 nice black morel today (4/15/2002)in about 45 mins.. This afternoon on the south side of the hills! I livein central Macoupin County Ill. Good huunting to all. Hope i do not see you in my woods,lol. good luck all, Otto

Central IL morel sighting. Monday, April 15 I found about 50 grey's ranging from 1/2" to 2" in size. I found them in a wet bottoms area around 2 elm trees in Macoupin County. Greg M.

1st shorty. From: j. hey guys and gals nathan from dewitt county ill, april 15 found 8 falsies and one shorty today great spot yet to produce more cant wait to let you know about the big hit!

Morels. Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 22:00:31 -0500. Two black 3" morels found in Fox Ridge State Park this evening. East Central Illinois. 8 miles from Charleston, Illinois. Weather ideal--wet and 85 degrees today. Jim D.

Morel Sightings Report. Monday, April 15th. McLean County. Went out after work to check things out. Things looked to be progressing well as of Saturday the 13th, and today the May Apples and other foliage were looking good. But we had high temps and high winds in between, and the ground is really dried out. We need a good soak, and some fairly calm air, or our season may be in trouble. Laurel & Wayne

Mushrooms. Was in S. Illinois, Hamilton County, on April 11, 12 & 13. No mushrooms. Evidently just a tad too early. All the signs are there indicating that it can't be too long. May apples had just popped up. Dog woods in full bloom as well as the flowering crabs. Dandelions in full bloom. Temp was in the high 70's & there has been plenty of rain during that time. Going back this week to try again. Jack

morels. (Illinois) Went looking in McLean County on Tuesday, April 16th and in LaSalle County Wednesday, April 17th and found no morels. thought I would be more likely to see cacti than mushroom the ground was so dry. Was about the warmest day that I can recall hunting for morels. I hope this odd weather does not hurt the crop. Mr. Moe Wrell

Morel Sighting. Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 10:44:38 EDT. Howdy All...Found some Morels on the 13th in Champaign County....3 nice greys..none of my buds have seen any yet so I guess I'm the first ... need a good rain and they should begin to pop... Gary

Champaign County IL. From: Dan. I have been out four times in the last week-4/11 to 4/18 and finally found the first black of the year. Barely an inch tall but it is a comming. I have a friend in the Peoria area that found 30 or so black morels on 4/16. Good luck!

Annual Southern Illinois Trip April 13-16. Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 14:49:21 -0400. We found about 6-8 lbs. of morels in Union and Perry counties last weekend. Usual sites were sparse compared to last two years - we had to work very hard to get what we got. In some newly found hunting grounds :), we found a mob of blacks, big fresh ones, which was unusual because we've never found them in any quantity this late down in the Shawnee. Other than the big blacks, we found many half-free's, little deliciosa's and finally a few big yellows on the 16th. Weather was hotter than hell to hunt in but of course worth all the sweat, ticks, chiggers, etc to taste them after a long winter. The booty is happily drying in our spare bedroom - where we live in Chicago, too many Eastern Europeans to leave outside in the back yard to dry. We were worried they'd sprout legs and walk away from our tummies and into some knowing Slavs. We're looking forward to the Northern Illinois season to start in a week or so. Happy trails to all! Mama Doe and Unkle Korpse

sighting and capture. Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 17:06:41 -0700 From: Tony. 4:00 pm this afternoon, the sighting and capture of 4 small grey morels. Place: Maybe in, near, or around Princeville Il. or Peoria, anyway somwhere near there. Just returning the favor.

Illinois Morel Sighting - 2,373 Morels Found. My husband and I just returned from a 4-day self-guided morel hunting expedition in Southeastern Illinois and couldn't be happier. We drove almost 400 miles to get to our "hot spots", and boy was it worth the trip! I've broken our numbers down by the day: April 13 - After thunderstorms in the area the day before the high temp was about 75; overcast and drizzly. We hunted for 9 hours in flat areas and southeast slopes and were rewarded with 32 half-caps; 293 grays and yellows and 19 big, beautiful blacks. The yellows and grays were small and fresh - ranging in height from 3/4-inch to 3-inches. *****Was saddened by the sight of other mushroom hunters using plastic bags and buckets! Shame! Shame! Let the spores spread and produce future shrooms by using mesh bags!!!!***** Total for the day was 344. Went to Wal-Mart and bought a dehydrator with extra trays to keep the half-caps from deteriorating! April 14- Overcast and light, intermittent showers - high 70s. Returned to same spots and searched for 7 hours. Discovered 178 half-caps; 301 grays/yellows and 20 blacks - total for day was 499. We noticed that the yellows and grays were somewhat larger than the previous days finds; ranging from 1" to 3" in height. The blacks ranged between 4 and 8 inches. Was hopeful that the pattern would mean even larger morels over the next 2 days. April 15 - Much sunnier, hotter and more humid with temps in mid-80s. Found mostly yellows as big and bigger than 2 days previously- finally finding them in "patches" Had two really good finds of 60-plus shrooms in relatively small sections on southeast ridges. Ventured away from our two favorite spots to try an area 1-1/2 hours north and wasted 4 hours by only coming up with two half-caps. Saw several other hunters, one of which said he was finding them "few and far between." But can you believe him? Went back to our tried and true spots and was rewarded with a daily total of 6 blacks (slightly smaller than 2 previous days finds), 117 half-caps and 359 grays and yellows - totalling 482 for the day. April 16 - Final day of morel hunting "vacation" - couldn't resist returning to two previous locations for last day. We were glad we did because several of the yellows were even bigger than the previous days finds- once again in patches on southeast ridges. Also found a patch of half-caps that did not seem to end. Noticed that several of the shrooms were beginning to dry out and lose their tops. The day was much breezier than the previous days. We picked until we ran out of daylight and ended up with a whopping total of 5 blacks, 310 half-caps and 733 grays and yellows for a daily total of 1,048. After doing the math our 4-day totals yielded 50 blacks, 637 half-caps and 1,686 grays and yellows - - - A grand total of 2,373 morels from just two spots. We figure weight-wise our finds were probably between 40 and 50 pounds - - we were truly in "Morel Heaven". Good luck and may you be equally blessed with morel sightings! "Morel Maniacs" Sonya & Harold

Morel Post. Gary, Champaign County, Central Illinois.... Found three greys on the 17th.. need some rain and I think they will pop....

Sighting. First time out for the year. Produced 17 small" very small" grays.E.Peoria IL. It is very dry and hot hear. They were spread out on bottoms of valleys on south facing hills around elms & hickerys. 4/19/02 Someone please do the rain dance we need it. Good luck hunting, Roger

First morel. From: David. Woodford Co. Illinois. Found one small gray on April 18. It was dry like cardboard. The hot weather and strong winds are drying them out. Sure cold use a good rain.

April 19th Clinton Lake area found these and about 25 small grays 1 To 3 inches Ground is really dry, found these toward the bottom land under some cottonwood bark. They are small but they are there. Happy Hunting and think Rain. Bryan K

2 morels found. Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 22:12:30 -0500. after a verry cold and wet begining of april and then verry hot and dry mid april i finally found 2 small morels atop a sun facing hill. ive been looking every day for 1 week now and i was getting tired of finding nothing. its too dry worse than last year .im hoping itl rain alot or there will be verry few morels. i found them near marseilles ill. 30 miles northeast of magnolia. in lasalle county seems to be the first ones in northern ill. brandon

Peoria, Illinois findings. Saturday, April 20th. Found 19 Greys, largest 3" in my gravel driveway!!! Find them there every year next to the fenceline. Happy hunting! Gary, Peoria, Illinois

Mushrooms. Morels: Found 12 greys in Schuyler County on 4/18/02. Went today on 4/20/02 and found 30 yellows in Schuyler County West Central IL. Gary and Deb

Found. I went out for an hour on 4/20/02 and found 12 grays that appeared to be a day old. The area that I was hunting in is just south of Decatur, IL. The weather here has turned nasty, but I expect by mid to late week there will be plenty of yellows up in this area of the state. BOB. Ps. when I find the "mother load", I will let you know.

Morels are Poppin'. Todd and his friend George found 114 black/ gray morels on Friday April 19, 2002 and another load of 153 of the same on April 20, 2002 We are located 41* 07' and 90* 30' .....................near North Henderson, Illinois. And we are on a roll.......going out as soon as it gets light........Oh we finally got a good soaking rain last night and the temps will be in the sixties so you know what time it is now!! TODD

morels found. From: COLLEEN. found two small yellow morels April 21 2002 in central Illinois

morels. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 22:19:22 +0000. hey, Bob and Danny found about a pound of greys today in Henry and Mag town. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm good eatin. kathy

Found 4 greys near Monmouth, IL in Warren County on April 21. They were very small. I think they'll be a lot more out about mid week. K.C.

mushroom find! Found 3 greys behind the garage on sunday the 21st. Think i need to hit the woods tonight and see what is going on. Peoria, Ill area. TRES

morel madness. 4/20/02 jason in piatt co. central ill. went out the smorning found 45 tasty morsels in about one hour. hade good rain lastnight all about one to three inches.

mushrooms. Hi, I have found 1/4 lb. of small to medium morels today, Apr. 24 2002. I am from Winneabago county that is in Northern Illinois. I enjoy reading your web. Scott

sightings. 4/21/02 Spring Valley,IL Went out last week and today, nothing to report. A man at Wal-Mart said he had found 20 small greys in Peru,IL....hard to believe. It's raining here in Ladd as I write though.----Josh

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 10:03:29 -0700. morels/yellows in upper grasses(small)-taz county,il

Morels popping up. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 10:42:42 -0500. From: Bill. April 22nd in Dupage County Illinois we happened on a great spot with over 100 morels popping up. Most were too small to pick and unfortunately, someone else found our spot the next day and cleaned out about half of them. It took all my will power not to pick the remaining but we left them to mature for at least a couple more days. I've included a few pictures of some that got away.

Morel Report. April 23. McLean County area. We snuck out of work early and--finally! On this trip out (our fourth), we found 27 nice fresh grays in a limited area, in leaves and under low foliage. Almost thought they were yellows, because they are larger than the grays we usually find in this general area--from 1.5 to 3.5". What a strange season! All our usual indicators (May Apples, Redbuds, etc.) are about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. But we don't care, as long as the morels show up! Laurel & Wayne

Sangamon County, Illinois. From: Kurt. Went out on Saturday, April 20th, to a consistently producing area and got 22 yellows, 1/2 over 3 inches and very elastic. The rain on friday, April 19th, was welcomed and the ground temperature must have been sufficient from the preceding few days.

Found in Piatt Co. Saturday 4/20 found approx. 200 small 1" - 2" greys and yellows. It was a lot of work, but worth it. Hoping the recent rain and forecast for warmer weather will bring on the biggun's. Happy hunting. Mike and Terry

Geneseo, IL sightings. Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 17:29:01 -0500. After having three days of 90 degree weather last week, they are starting to come, but are very small-as you can see in the 2 attached photos! Gary

Morels, of course. Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 15:19:27 EDT. Just to let you know that I found a small gray(1 1/2") in Elgin, IL. Magnolia should do well this year. Happy Hunting. Barbara

Found in Piatt Co. Saturday 4/20 found approx. 200 small 1" - 2" greys and yellows. It was a lot of work, but worth it. Hoping the recent rain and forecast for warmer weather will bring on the biggun's. Happy hunting. Mike and Terry

Sightings. 4-20-02, The Greys are out, get your stomping boots on because it's pretty muddy, but what's a little mud when your talking about morels. Found about 20-30, 2"-4" greys. Happy Hunting to all, I'm hoping to hit central Il. next weekend. Will check back next week, Looks like it should be a good year! EJ. from Chicago.

Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 18:55:48 -0500. found 5 grays in sangamon co. il We had the rain, now we need the sun and heat. gary s.

morels. My wife and I went to our favorite place in east central ill., around Marshall, on Sunday, April 21st, but alas, we found only a dozen of the tasty mushrooms. All blacks, but with a heavy rain over the weekend and with a little sunshine, we will be returning to the scene in a couple of days. We were still able to enjoy the ones we found, served up with a nice steak on the campsite grill. It don't get no better than this!!!! Happy hunting to all and put those plastic bags up and use the mesh type so the spores and re-seed the woods. Ed & Julia

Morel sightings. Found 4 very small greys on April 21 near Monmouth, IL in Warren County. I expect quite of few will jump up between Wednesday and Friday. I guess we'll see-K.C.


Magnolia Report. 04/25/02. The first report of any mushrooms around Magnolia was from Festival Committee Member Dan H. on 04/15/02. He reported finding one tiny gray about half the size of his pinky fingernail. That week Magnolia experienced 5 days of summer like heat which normally would have ended the season and had us all concerned. Fortunately it hadn't really started yet. Josh N. found eight tiny grays on Sunday, 04/21/02 and approximately one additional pound since then. Dan and friend, Bob, gathered about a pound on Sunday, 04/21/02. Josh, Tomi, and Vicky found 107 small to medium (half-inch to two inches) grays and small yellows on Thursday, 04/25/02. Tom's prediction for The Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship on May 4 is very optimistic. The weather is staying cool which will extend the season. (Low of 35 degrees tonight) The mushrooms found today were very cold. They were so fresh and clean that we didn't even rinse them. They went straight from the cutting board to the frying pan. I really think that our timing is almost perfect this year. Competitors should find greys of all sizes and the yellows should average 4" to 6".

shrooms. Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 21:13:40 -0500. Got about 70 yellas today but they're getting pretty old. Had about 30 fresh ones from the bottoms and north-facing hills That brings my total to 729. My worst year ever!!! The year before last had been my worst year with 875. I hunt for our famous mushroom fry. This will be our 35th consecutive year. Last year we had 80 people, even with the rain, and we ate 1,100 morels in 2 1/2 hours. It sure is a fun way to celebrate nature's bounty. Well, gotta hit the woods. We're expecting about 125 folks this year. Spread the spore; Larry (Fairview Heights Il.)

morels found. found 4 grey morels on sun. the 21st on a southfacing hill in marseilles ill central lasalle county . its plenty wet here but too cold hope it warms up. brandon

Morels found in Will County. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 21:16:43 -0500. From: Rick. I went out for 45 minutes on Tuesday and found 9 small morels on southernly facing slopes. Location was in strip mines 20 miles south of Joliet, Illinois. Can't wait to go out this weekend. It seems that are just starting to pop around this area.

Illinois morels. Northwest ILL near Savanna 4/30/02.I found about 5 lbs today.Most were grays but I did find about 100 small yellows under one small elm.This weekend should be real good if it warms-up like they are forecasting. flh

sighting. Spring Valley, IL- After searching for days I finally found some shrooms! I fond 36 in all. They range from fingernail to 3 in. size. Found most of them on east facing hillside. Have yet to find any in the "usual" spots facing south. The greys were very fresh. The few yellows were starting to decay, and saw others that were to far gone. Good luck this weekend, wish I could get out of work to be there. 4/30/02 -JOSH

morels in illinois. From: Mark. Hello, This is Sponge from somewhere near Pecatonica IL. I found 3 small greys yesterday (4/29/02. They were about 1 inch tall. If we get some warm weather, next week should be good for the start of the season.

Date: april 29, 2002 we found about 30 small greys. the biggest was about 3 inches. these were found in norhtern illinois. where? can't tell you!!!!!!!!!!! becky, jodi & jeff.

found some !! From: gloria. 4- 29-02 central illinois ( logan county ) went out about 7:15 pm , just to say that we went to check. of course the weather has been @#$%*! and did not to expect to find any. found two yellows, 2 " and 3" respectively. we ate em.

Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 11:21:39 -0500. Found 6 small yellow morels in Carroll County IL. On April 28 temp. was around 45 degrees. Once we get some warm weather they will be ready. Sadie Q.

Illinois Report. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 09:43:01 -0500. Went out Wild Turkey and Morel hunting this weekend (4/27-28) in Schuyler County and was blanked Saturday but found nine Yellow Morels on Sunday as I was giving up and heading home. Woods are wet, great debris areas, but no sun, very late morels and no turkey! Zettler

Illinois sighting. Morels found in Cook County, IL. Found about 58 2"-3" grays on Sunday April, 28. Found mostly under Dying trees in about 5 different spots. David in NE IL.

cook county illinois sightings. Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 22:05:14 +0000. Huge new wave of Dutch Elm infection in Cook County. Most young trees in my spots are infected. Could produce large fruitings in next few seasons if weather cooperates. Holy cow, are there going to be any elms around in 10 years? Have found several okay patches, have left majority to mature. Found 70+ esculenta under one elm today. All are fresh, but are very slow to mature. More than abundant rainfall, but too cold. We need warm temps and low winds. Any opinions if it's going to be a delayed season this year? This is a normal year by my old standards. The past few seasons have been about 2 weeks early. We shouldn't peak for another 2.5 weeks or so. Too early to tell if it's going to be an above average year or not. If we get too much more rain they'll rot before they have a chance to get nice sized. Jay D. Cook County, Illinois

clark county IL. Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 23:39:05 -0500 (Central Daylight Time). Clark county is having the second worst year in recent history for the morel hunt. Finds are down by all old hunters. We have no idea what is wrong. Jim

Two Great Finds! Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 22:39:03 EDT. Found 36 greys on tues the 23th, and 75 greys in one area on thurs. So far good hunting! Peoria, Ill area. TRES

Illinois. Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 13:29:59 -0500. From: Chris. Popped!!!!! 2 years in a row on April 18. Still few, but should be in full bloom by weekend in K3 county Illinois.

greys in danville il.area. From: Alan. 4/27/02. very wet and cold had to look long and hard for 3 hours but found 3 greys. local tavern had 1 lb. for sale, yellows! and greys with more on the way. alan.. tolono il.

Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 22:57:53 EDT. on monday, april 29, 2002: found about 225 nice size greys. a few yellows mixed in. northern illinois , but can't tell ya where!!!!!!!!!!! becky, karli, jeani, and ryan

Morel hunting in DuPage County, IL. Hi. I went out with my family today, May 5, 2002, looking for morels in familiar spots in a DuPage County forest preserve. We checked near numerous dead elms, and crabapples. No signs of morels yet at all. We'll probably look again next weekend. Good luck, ...Dave

Mushrooms. Date: April 30 & May 1 & 3. Found approx. 150 morels of all types: greys, yellows, whites & giants. Almost all at base of dead elms. Location in Woodford county. Found total of 64 at two elms. Ironically each had 32 & both trees were not 100 yards apart. Have had to hunt hard, long & close to find these. A very unusual season. Discovered that an elm just going into distress can be a good producer. Found an elm that was just beginning to show signs of bark deteriation but was still alive with a green canopy that produced 32 morels. Proves to me that even though the tree may still be alive with green leaves if it is under stress that it can produce. Tom, enjoyed the festival on May 4. Thanks to You & Vicki & your staff for all your time & effort. Jack

Sighting. 4/26/02, went out for few hours in Cass County. Found couple pounds, pretty disappointing considering what I have gotten in the past. I think next week should be better if we get some warm weather which is in the forecast. I live in McLean County where I hear people are finding them but I haven't had any luck. Need sun!! Jason

found 52 may 1 15 minutes from chicago herb

Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 07:01:38 -0500. Hi, just found the first yellows of the season today here in northern IL. 3 small ones but they were good . Happy hunting from Boone County. Lori


Subject:morels-schaumburg. Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 21:37:23 -0500. May 12th. found ten next to I-90 in Schaumburg, il... Can one find Morels in late May or June in Il.? I'm going to try Rockford area .I have yet to find the mother load in this area.... Why are there no further listings after the morel mania championship??? Bill

Subject: report. Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 14:32:25 -0500. We found 180 morels on Friday, May 10th. They were a variety of the dark and light. Also a variety of sizes. We ran out of time so I am sure we left some. This was in Northern Illinois. However, I can't tell you exact location because it wasn't far from Becky's house! :) Laura & Mark

Subject: Bingo! Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 21:49:54 -0500. From: Martina. IfoundsomeIfoundsomeIfoundsomemorels !!!! 20020513.1740 Yippppppeeeeee !!!!! Hallelujah, thanks be to God !!!!! I found (FINALLY), after much searching, six beautiful morels this evening. The sun finally came out late this afternoon (after a 3-inch semi-continuous rain over the weekend), and the temperature actually approached 60 degrees, so I thought I'd give Mt. L. one more try. After all, it is the highest point in Kankakee County (I think it towers something like 50 feet above the surrounding farmland), so the poor little critters shouldn't have needed to wear their life preservers up there, or so I thought. I had been there several times in the last month, watched the Dutchmen's breeches, Phlox, Trillium, May apples, and wild ginger blooming, and thoroughly enjoyed the ups and downs through the woods, but not until today had I found a single morel in Kankakee County. A horizontal log a couple of feet above ground looked promising, and the multiflora roses tangled around it looked like a good sign, so I went over and THERE THEY WERE! Three lovely morels all in a clump, and a couple of feet away, a single one. It was another hour or so before I found the next two, but all combined, they weighed close to four ounces (got the electronic postage scale out). The four largest were between four and a half and five inches tall, and almost five inches around at the base of the caps. I couldn't wait to give one of the prettiest to Wilma, since she's heard me talking about these mythological creatures for the last month. Randy and Marj are each going to get one, and the rest I'll save for the spores. I couldn't be more pleased-feel like frolicking around like a wood nymph (Dryad--as in Dryad's saddle, I think; I'll have to look it up.) Certainly a mountaintop experience at Top of the Mountain (that's what Joe called the property; he'd given me permission a few years ago to go skiing up there, and I figured he wouldn't mind my being there now, especially since his ashes were scattered there last week). Tom, thanks again for your guidance. God Bless! 8)M

Magnolia Report: Tuesday, 05/21/02: Don't give up yet! The cool weather is helping extend our season. I always hear hunters say, "all we need now is a few warm days and they'll really be poppin". Well, the warm weather does bring them out fast . . . then the season is over because they all come at once. The cool weather may delay their start, but, in my opinion, it means more morels. Vicky found a large one in our yard on Sunday, 05/19/02. It was on a north facing slope near the top of the slope and near a small dead elm. She wasn't really hunting, she was gardening. True maniacs never stop looking. Undergrowth is high and thick, but the morels are also. Sweep the top of the foilage to reveal what's lurking beneath. Points north should do well until the weather gets hot.

Found some: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 16:35:10 -0500. From: rkeir. April 21,22 & 23.... Found 94 gray yellow mix in Macoupin county while turkey hunting. Didn't find any big yellows yet but I'm going back next weekend. No turkey but found a shed and a whole carcas 12 pt.(NICE).



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Indiana:

Indiana mushroom. Found one small black morel in west central Indiana on 3/29/02. Very small one but at least it lets you know they are popping up. Mike

Fri, 29 Mar 2002 17:55:16 -0500. From: SHANNON G. Found 1 morel,(what we call a beef heart), on thursday 3-28-02 in Floyd County. I went hunting today,Fri. 3-29-02 in Clark County where i live, for about 2 hours but did not find anything. Good Luck To All!

morel mushrooms of illinois. Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 22:49:58 EST. i live in glen ellyn illinois are there many spots to look around my area. I found some on easter in so indiana. Still to cold though. Can you name of a few places around me where morels have been found and what is the typical time for morels around here? Anyways this is much appreciated. matt. This should help, http://www.ocslink.com/~morel/400301.html your "sure" weekend is the second weekend of May

Indiana Report. Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 16:26:03 -0600. From: Mike R. Crazy Dave brought in a bag to work today. Found 30 small blacks in White County April 7. Among small hickory trees, about 5 days behind last year at the same spot.

Season Starting. Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 23:38:11 -0500 (EST). From: RaidensRaisers. We have made 3 trips to the hot spots , and today was the day that started the season for us. Found 5 small greys none more than 3''. With the weather that is coming to Southcentral In. this week with the moisture for the year I think it ought to be a great year. And remeber to use your onion sack or commercial bag and SPREAD THE SPORE!!!

indiana sightings. Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 08:30:28 -0700 (PDT) Our mushroom season started yesterday (4/11/2002) . We found 1 small black in southern bartholomew county hoping for a better weekend. Jim and Dawn

Posey County & Gibson County, IN. Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 17:49:38 -0500. I found 3 grey very small morels today in New Harmony State Park. My mom and her friend found about 15 total yesterday in Gibson County! Woo-Hoo! I wish I could grow these things in my basement! Karen

1st time out. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 21:00:32 -0500. Took a little jaunt to the woods to start getting my winter legs into roon shape. I found 5 early blacks about 3 " on a south facing hillside in Morgan county. North and East of Bloomington, IN. This week should really bring on the grays in central Indiana with big storms and 50 degree nights and 70 degree days. take care, pete

4/15/02 i found about 50 nice size grey in indiana, cass county. good luck to all of you. and if you know any good spots around here let me know. Jason

Posey County, IN (New Harmony). From: john. My family and I found 4-3/4 pounds of black morels on Sunday April 14. I also found 5 grey sponge morels. I'm sure I could have found more if we had more time to look. We only spent about a half an hour looking. I'm sharing with my extented family because my husband is allergic and can't eat them. He picked about 18 on Monday April 8th.

morels. Tues. April 16, 2002. Beautiful day for a stroll in the woods. Found 60 morels in Owen co. Indiana. This should be a great year for Mushrooms. Harry and Danny

mushroom findings. Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 15:56:59 -0500. I want to let everyone in the southern Indiana neighborhood of orange county know that I have found 125+ grey, yellow and a few black mushrooms. I can't get enough!!! Can't wait to go out tomorrow, thanks alot for your site, Crystal

Mushrooms found!! Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 12:37:16 -0400. Northeast Indianapolis IN. Oh ya baby, let the games begin! Found 8 small yellows and a few still "brewing." The first ones are always the best tasting. It is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, then watch out - Spread the spores brothers and sisters of the sponge!!! Jerimae

around Spencer, IN. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 11:19:28 -0500. Last weeks 80 temps. really confused the woods. Found 20 fresh blacks and 15 fresh smaller yellows around the Spencer, IN area. N 39' 16.XX W 86' 45.XX pete

Indiana Moreles. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 20:16:10 -0500. From: Bryan. Found three pounds today near dead elm trees. montgomery county good luck all

From Ed B. April 20, 2002 found 34 3 to 5 inch yellow morels in northern Jennings Northwest Indiana Morels. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 21:23:11 -0500. Bass Lake Mike reporting, found mushrooms on south side of the hill. It seems like it is going to be a good season, we got alot of rain and temperatures are starting to stay steady. From the look of the plant growth in the surrounding areas it the season should be going in full force! The walleyes are also hitting, usually by the time the walleye start to hit, the morels are getting ready. Pictures will be better next time. More reports to come.county in south eastern IN.

Northwest Indiana Morels. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 21:23:11 -0500. Bass Lake Mike reporting, found mushrooms on south side of the hill. It seems like it is going to be a good season, we got alot of rain and temperatures are starting to stay steady. From the look of the plant growth in the surrounding areas it the season should be going in full force! The walleyes are also hitting, usually by the time the walleye start to hit, the morels are getting ready. Pictures will be better next time. More reports to come.

Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 22:00:34 -0500. hey everyone i found 15 -20 yellows in my friends yard today and my dad found 25 greys yesterday, i also went paintballing in a woods and found one spike, this all happened in cass county, Indiana. i think its going to be a good year. Jason

indiana greys. I took my kids out yesterday,4/20 and we found about ten small greys on a south facing hiilside. They were only 1" - 2" tall. We found them in the Salamonie State Forrest in Wabash county. It is a good place to go in north central Indiana as it is a very large forrest and there is room for everybody. Good luck to you. biggjimm

mushrooms. We found about 2 lbs. of small yellows and greys, Tues. 4-23-02 in Shelby County (Indiana) Just starting to come up here. Gerald & Jennifer

Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 11:25:47 -0500. From: Pamela. found 56 mushrooms friday the 19th. in jennings county, indiana :)

mushroom breakfast in IN. Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 11:35:12 -0500. From: Motorcycle Nut. My employee found approx. 100 small but fine grays on state-owned land near Huntington. He brought in his camp stove, a frying pan, the fixins', and a bag of 'shrooms to cook up for breakfast here at work. What a great employee! I hope you pay him well. I may try to hire him from you : )

IN. 'roomin report; Montgomery Co. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 19:18:29 -0500. From: ashwill. Yes! The morels are up! Been looking since the 16th , but really started finding them on the 22, a nice find of 75 yellows on one hill, all sizes. Hunted every day since , and each day we carry out a sack with some weight. Found 3 lbs. on the 26th, fresh beauties, with no bugs. And the flavor, ~ah, yum! Forest floor is covering quickly and some are really camouflaged, we don't mind crawling when we find a patch! After the rain this weekend, went out today and found three lbs. of perfect morels, so fresh. Lovin' the walks through the woods, the peace and tranquillity. Keep looking, they're gonna be poppin' up for awhile(and remember to use a mesh bag of some sort~spread the spores!) I luv this site, and reading reports from all the states, mushroomers have a passion!

get your sticks out. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 14:13:30 -0400. Howdy from northeast Indiana,Whitley county. I went out yesterday and found 75 greys and 8 yellows all under ash and elm trees .It was cold and very windy but productive never the less. That brings the total this year to about 125 finding the first half dozen on April 16, and a few here and there after that. I hear alot of reports of people finding them under sycamore trees, so I have been looking around them for 10 years now and still have yet to find one there , bummer....... happy shroomin to all , and to all a good harvest! D.Crow

southern IN. Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 19:52:55 -0500. From: pbrouse. The yellows are on their last leg in southern IN. Rog. & I found about 60 yellows yesterday around Coal City, IN; 20 were fresh and the rest were 3-4 days old. pete

LAPORTE IN SIGHTING. Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 14:28:59 -0500. Carey G., LaPorte, IN. I found these little guys on 4/27/02 in wooded area near dead elm. Hardly worth frying up! We have a farm market in our area and have been getting morels from Southern IN to sell at our market. Good thing because my husband would starve on this for dinner. I left one small one out there to see if it would grow. Went a day later it had shrunk down to nothing.

Yellow Giants. Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 13:28:49 -0500. From: Adam. The yellow giants are up in Fort Wayne, IN! May 4th I picked over 5 lbs of giants in less than 2 mins at the base of a big dead elm! This was the first fruiting the elm provided. The biggest roons were about 12" tall and 4-5" in diameter. Seems that the season will end early this year! I will send pics later! Good Luck!

sightings. Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 13:13:02 -0700. From: J. found 60 small grays and 5 large yellows n.w. in. may5 mushroombearcat

more found by McNut. Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 15:36:03 -0500. From: Motorcycle Nut. Following our Annual Family Mushroom Hunting Contest Weekend, I was free to go out and look about on our property in S.E. Kosciusko County (IN). I found 15 on 5/2, a mix of good-sized grays and yellows. I had to stop looking 'cause it was getting dark. Then last night (5/6) I went out and found another 15 before it got too dark. These were all yellows with one gray exception. I left two in the ground 'cause they were kinda gooey and rotten. Attached is a picture with a bottle for size reference. I've gotta take off work so I can get more than one hour hunting time.

the end? Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 10:29:54 -0500. From: Motorcycle Nut. My 8 yr. old son & I found 31 yellows and 2 grays last night on our property in S.E. Kosciusko County (IN). We left 18 in the ground as they were definitely past their prime. Undergrowth in the woods is extremely thick due to the abundance of rain in our area. We worked for every one we found. Could we be close to the end in N.E. Indiana?

what is morel? Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 07:40:00 -0700 (PDT) From: zana. Hi, I am from South America and live in the USA for a long time. I am interested in hunting for mushrooms and i have never been lucky to find a single one when i am looking. However, I have found a big one on my walking, right under a tree by the edge of the path I was walking. Also, interestingly, I found a big one right on the door steps of a friend's house. It seems they look for me, but don't want me to look for them. Give some hints for season and where they are in Northeast Indiana. Thanks, A lady from Brasil.

Subject: Morels Found. Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 16:00:08 -0500. From: Alan. Found 24 greys and 2 yellows in Chain O Lakes State Park in Northern Indiana on 5/10/02. The park was absolutely PACKED with mushroom hunters. All hunters would reply; "Its too early for Morels!" when asked if they were finding any... Next week the proper response will be; "Its too late for morels!" ;) After all, ya gotta keep them newbies guessing, otherwise they may find your patch! This coming weekend (5/18 and 5/19) looks to be excellent for big yellows in North Indiana.


Subject: soakin' wet but worth it. Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 08:45:32 -0500. From: Motorcycle Nut. I crawled around on my hands and knees on Mother's Day. It was raining. I was soaked. It was worth it. I found 50 big yellows on our property in S.E. Kosciusko County (IN), mostly in one spot.

OK I'm done. Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 10:57:06 -0500. I went out on 5/19 and found 5 big yellows pretty quickly. So I decided to give it one last effort. I went out on Monday and found 43, mostly large yellows. The weird thing was...not a dead elm in sight. Most of these were found on a sandy soil hill around a huge live cottonwood tree. There were some logs laying in the vicinity I had cut with the chain saw a couple of years ago. Could it have been an old elm? I'm not sure. I left several in the ground to spore 'cause they were too far gone to fry up. I'm convinced I'm done for the year...except I may look for some when I go to Minnesota at the end of the month. The grand total we found on our property in S.E. Kosciusko County (IN) this year was 203. That's 20 more than last year. Motorcycle Nut



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Iowa:

IA morels. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 21:38:37 -0500. Found 4 small grey morels (Morchella deliciosa) in Decatur County (south central), IA on Sunday, April 14. Timberhill

Iowa City Checks In. Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 15:22:42 -0500. Found three, the largest still smaller than my "pinky" fingernail, near Iowa City, Iowa. One more rain should get them poppin. Brad.

mushrooms marion cnty-iowa. after waiting a year, the mushrooms are finally back. we found about a dozen small grays on 4-15-02. went back the next day and found about 9 more and they were a little bigger. Went out 4-20-02 and found 28. We have a new mushroom dog this year as we had to put the other one down. this one might actually find us some. JTT-pella ia.

First findigs. From: Jlc. We found our first mushrooms on 04-17-02. We were in Johnson co. in Iowa. We found about 12 little grays. The biggest was about 3 inches. Keep finding them!!

Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 21:19:19 -0500. From: PENNY. Monroe,Iowa. Went out this morning and found 6 small grays. Rained last night and most of the morning, so things are really looking good. My 8yr old and I are heading down the Desmoines river weds in a canoe for 5 day PICK-O-RAMA! We just gotta git us sum a dem mushrooms, we just gotta!

Morels found. Found 130 mushrooms Friday (4/19/02), mostly yellow; 1 to 2 inches tall on middle to top part of south facing hill in southern Iowa. About 1 hour above Missouri boarder. Very fresh and hard to see, we actually laid on the ground to be able to see them!! Deb

Found in Iowa. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 17:26:00 EDT. Found morels northeastern Iowa near Waterloo . Joyce

Jasper county, Iowa-4-23-02. From: TRACY. 4-23-02 I finally found my first shroons of the year. Found 1 1/2 dozen 1 1/2" - 3" grays on south facing slop in southern Jasper Co., Iowa. Weather hasn't been really good here , had heat early with no rain and now finally started getting some rain but temperature dropped. At least I got a taste so far.

More Morels in Iowa. Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 20:30:16 -0500. Found 9 morels in Boone County, IA. Not so much far and few between, more a matter of a long way to a little area on a south facing slope. Also found my first gyromitra brunnea, actually, my first dozen. The largest was under 2" and the smallest was no more than 1/2". I follow the dead elm only sect of mushroom hunting, but the only dead elm I found had the gyromitras around it. These were all around the same type of tree, which was probably walnut, seeing how there were walnuts, acorns, and hickory nuts on the ground, and they weren't around oak or hickory trees. Its not as good as Illinois or Michigan here, but hopefully we'll still get a few before season is out. Kelsey

mushrooms. Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 12:04:01 -0500. From: Joe. Taylor County, Iowa we found over 200 morels 4/23/02. Big and small they are out!

Morels in Iowa. Found small Morels in Marion county on 4-16. Only 8 but they're out here! Update. Friday 4-19. Found a pint of various sized grey and yellows in Polk county IA. Jeff

Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 18:11:00 -0500. Iowa, JTTC Jeff,teri,tyler. Found nine little little ones about the size of a toe nail. jttc

iowa mushrooms. Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 00:39:58 EDT. Found over 200 grays from 1/2 inch to 3 inches tall in south central Iowa! all under dead red elms or soft maples. They are just starting to pop up. Looks like a bumper crop this year. Good luck Shrooming! Dave & Jane from Roland, Iowa

First Mushrooms we found this year. Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 00:36:21 EDT. Hi this is Jerry I'm from Nevada,Iowa. Went out today in the cold rain and it payed off! I go to South Central Iowa around the Red Rock Area. Found alot. Was there Saturday and there was none.But Wednesday today April 24 , 2002 We found.I'd say 50 to 75 real nice fresh ones.Ate them tonight and they were wonderful!!!!!!! I look forward to this time every year.Myself and about 5 other friends go together every year.We love it! We have so much fun.But the best part is always eating them after a long hard day of hunting.Have fun and good hunting. Happy Hunting and Good Luck this Year.

Jasper County Checks In. Date April 21 Sunday 2002.My buddy and I were down by the Des Moines river near Eddyville in south central IA. ,and found 14 small grays and 3 small yellows. Weve had a good growing shower, now we just need a few good days of warm sunshine.Jerry.

Marion county Iowa morels. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 21:16:09 -0500. From: krcox. 4/29/02 - Found a dozen different fungi on our trek around the Des Moines river valley near Swan and Runnels. Found 20 greys and yellows total, from 3/4" to 3" with effort. Finally got the moisture, now need the heat. My 'newbie' 'sroom partner had a successful hunt after first finding a chewed up Duncan butterfly yo-yo and seriously thought it was a mushroom albeit a very hard one. What do you do with these virgins? He's better now and hooked into the 'sroom zone. Watch out for the ticks cause their waiting for you.

Found Morels. From: David. Found Morels in Blackhawk Co. Ia.--North of Raymond Ia. 3 small grays growing on a South facing hill--found by sloughing elm. We need more days in the 60's- 70's and nights no less than 40's. But they have arrived. Won't be long now. 4/29/02'. Need more insects and other pest before the season really takes off. Good luck to everybody. Hope your mushroom bags are chock full. Morel Morales

Headed to Southwest Iowa Sunday the 28th. Got sidetracked on the way, stopped in some woods, found 88 in a couple hours, showed up late to our planned hunt an hour further south. Hunted Cass County amongst some perfect elms, but appearantly further south hasn't had enough sun, in a group of 6, I found the only morel, the tiniest little gray on a south facing slope under dead elms and small pines. Went back to the spot where we found the 88, with an hour before sundown, we walked out with 330+, making the daily total of 420+ morels. More than I've ever found in a year I think, but very small, left a couple dozen because they would have absolutely no taste, no yellows at all, and only on south and west facing slopes. Maybe a late season, or maybe the mushrooms don't know that its season yet. Either way, it looks like its going to be a great year. And now I have a record to beat when the yellows pop up. Kelsey

From: JFO. April 27, 28 2002 Burlington, IA. 6-7 LB this weekend. Decent yellows and small grays. We walked a lot these did not come easy. The under growth will be a factor this year. We have the moisture now we need heat. 1 hr. south IA MO boarder reporting great success on river islands.

Iowa Morels. Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 10:18:26 -0700 (PDT). Near Council Bluffs, found nice bunches of little greys and good sized yellows under cottonwoods and in the open forest floor. About 60 altogether in 3 hours. All were fresh. Some warm weather might help. Matt

mushrooms. Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 11:25:45 EDT. iowa--in se polk county-4-27-02. found 320 morels, average height 1 1/2 inchs. john

Their here!! On April 30th, found 130 small gray morels in Bremer County, Iowa.!!! Was a blast. Ranging from 1/2 " to 2 1/2" size. Sure were pretty. Lar and family.

Central Iowa Morels. Date: Thu, 02 May 2002 12:35:55 -0500. I live in rural Altoona, Iowa (Polk Co.). I am recuperating from open-heart surgery in January and find that tromping in the timber and reaping a harvest of morels along the way sure does boost my physical well-being. I was not going to let a heart attack keep me from my favorite spring activity of shrooming. So far, I have found several very nice greys. They are very fresh and quite tasty. I am attaching a photo of one of them that I took on 5-01-02. I'm just waiting for warmer weather and those big yellows will start popping through. Altoona, Iowa Grandma

225 in iowa. Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 23:12:29 -0500. From: lysafred. Found 65 peckerhead morels and 160 yellow and greys on may 2, 2002, 5 miles south of Prairie City. Mostly near dying Oaks.

Brian-monroe,ia May 3rd. My 8yr old and I just got back from a 7 day mushroom hunt in my canoe. started at ottumwa(DesMoines river) and finished at Canton,Mo.(mississippi river). Found some nice patches first few days, then it really slacked off and found none on last few days. I believe the cold weather we've been having really set them back. hopefully they will come on strong with the warm weather predicted for next week. To kelsey, who believes that the small grays have no flavor, I would be more than glad to trade you some yellows pound for pound for those tasteless lil grays!

Morel Finds. Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 20:00:55 -0500. Found 16 morels and 20 1/2 free morels(peckerheads). Blackhawk Co. North of Raymond Ia. Need some warm temps. What else can I say. Morel Morales

SIGHTINGS. Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 22:30:24 EDT. This is Jerry from Nevada,Iowa again.Oh man they are out good this year.Went and found several 100's behind a wooded Rest Area in Ankeny,Iowa.Who would have thought?This is so fun this year and one of my most productive so easy to find this year.Out of 33 years of hunting Morels in Iowa.It's a family tradition to go out with friends and family every year.Happy Hunting!!!!!!!!

morel sightings and catalog request. Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 06:50:21 -0500. From: Garry. Hello, Polk county, Iowa. Since 4/29 I have found 349 nice sized morels, weighing around 12#. This has definitely been on of my better years. We need some more rain though as the ground is getting dry. I found about 20 4-5" yellows today, but the heat and sun from yesterday had taken its toll. I was fortunate enough though to find enough fresh ones to satisfy me for today. I hope everyone else is faring as well.

this made up for getting blanked last year. Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 21:41:12 -0500. Hello. I went out this last Sunday (Cinco de Mayo) in Council Bluffs, Iowa for my first hunt this season. I usually hunt out in Warren County Iowa, but havn't been able to get out there this season yet. Found two good sized lovelies near an old dead stump about a foot away from a small wash out. I saw other varieties (nonedible) from afar and headed straight over. Saw the big ones instantly mixed in with some tall green grass. Found a few others (all by the same stump)that were good sized. Ran into some considerate hunters who stopped by, said hi, told me a few places to try, and moved on. Nice etiquette. Thanks fellas. Went back on Monday and found an average sized one in a different spot. I can't be sure, but I think I got a picture of a yeti that same day. He may be related to me, he has my eyes. Tom. Omaha, NE.

First Morel of the season. Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 15:02:48 -0500. My girlfriend and I went out Sunday afternoon and found the first of the season. On the Missouri River near Sioux City IA. Sandy soil heats up earlier. We got about two dozen, some large grays and some common yellows also. Kaye and L.T. We still need more rain.

morel sighting. Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 10:55:07 -0700 (PDT). Northeast Iowa, Decorah area. Found five tiny grays on south side of bluff. Need one or two weeks for the yellows depending on the weather. Watch the may apples, when they bloom it should be an indicator that the yellows are ready for the pickin. Lance

Subject: IA Morels. Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 16:22:24 -0500. My girl friend and I went out this past Sunday, May 12, 2002. We located 11 lbs. of Grays and some Yellows near Little Sioux, IA. We were happy campers. Their out there!!!! L.T. & Kaye

Quittin' time. Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 23:14:27 -0500. Well, its about quittin' time in southern Iowa. I still found grays, but they were left over from early season and pretty dry, and a lot of the yellows were bad already, even on north facing slopes. Went through picked over areas, managed 10-15 lbs, I suppose. A record for me, although a truckload came out of the same areas earlier, plus dozens of other pickers went through there. If it wasn't a 2 hour drive to a timber that held more than a bucket full to start with, maybe it would be a bit better for me. Found a couple pounds as I waited for my tire to get fixed just to drive down there, so a nice indication. To Brian, by no flavor I mean that they were the size of a pinhead, only found because they were in clumps. Yes, I seriously found multiple mushrooms the size of a pinhead, a pound of those would be thousands. I really like the flavor of the grays, although they're plenty of work... I've hung up my sack for the year, even though there's still a few to be had here in northern Iowa, still got my second or third round of poison ivy between my fingers and behind my knees. Where's the jewelweed? I've been drying the morels, using a mixture of sunshine and dehydrator, gets rid of bugs and dries at night, too, I think its about the best way. A great year, over all, found my first half-frees, my first falses (gyromitra brunnea), my greatest quantity and greatest weight (and they were at different times), with all of the trimmings, maybe next year I'll have my first home grown morels. Good luck for those of you still in season, and for those of you already looking at next year...stay out of the spots I pretend to have permission on ;). Kelsey




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Kansas:

Sightings Southeastern Kansas. Date:Sun, 31 Mar 2002 13:58:03 -0600. Kansas Reporting In! Saturday, March 30 2002 we found 4 gray Morels in Southeastern Kansas, same place we made our first find last year. Conditions here are dry, a good rain would help. ... kent

sighting KS. Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 18:49:35 -0500. 4-10-02 Jackson County Kansas, Found 4 small tans-all would fit on a silver dollar. 75 degrees and more rain(needed) tonight. We had ought to be set. Paul U. Holton, Ks

first shroom. Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 21:31:52 -0500. I live in Wyandotte County, Ks. I went hunting at 8:00 a.m. this morning - 4/13/02. I told myself before I started walking that I wasn't coming home until I found some shrooms. Finally at 2:15 p.m. I found a grey morel. This mushroom was on top of a south facing creek bank. The temp. has still been a little cool at night but that is supposed to change starting tonight. I will be back at it again tomorrow because I'm hungry. Scott A.

Kansas Morels Found. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 08:37:09 -0500. April 13, 2002. Found 15 small black/grey morels in southeastern Kansas. Covered a lot of ground! Plenty of moisture in the ground, now we need heat for them to really start popping. Going back again on Sunday (4/14/02). Happy hunting!! Wolfie...

Morels. From teams in Southeastern Kansas.... Josh found 4 morels on April 11, 2002, York found 30 on April 12, 2002. David's and Kent's team found 13 nice yellow morels April 13, 2002. Out in the country for who ask. We have checked many patches... Not a good year in Southeastern Kansas, we need rain and heat. Northeastern Oklahoma reported a pair of Morels April 10th, 2002. ... Kent

Morels Found in Kansas. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 17:21:04 -0500. Morels found in Southeastern Kansas. 4/14/02. Found 9 small black/grey. Much drier than yesterday. Good rain and sun and they will be popping. Good luck! Wolfie

Morels up in Kansas City. Found one yellow on Sunday April 14th at approximately 4:00 p.m. in elm debris. Lost my good old mushroom knife that day too. Will have to go back and look for it, and more shrooms!! Really dry out, but warmth is there. Timber Troll

Morel report. Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 00:05:27 -0500. Matthew. Found 1 white morel today. North of Kansas City, south of the Platte River. Next to a 4-wheel drive trail, on a hilltop. Nuff said. Showers today, more expected tonight. Happy huntin

Finally!!!!! Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 07:59:20 -0500. I was beginning to think this season was a bust. I have gone out about 10 times since late march and found nothing. I mean nothing, not even "toadstools". On Sunday, went out and found some promising looking woods but, as we all know, promising and productive are not the same. I did see some "toadstools" and have noticed my quarry seems to show up soon after they arrive. Went to a known bed on Tuesday and found about 25 yellows. Many had been there for a while, starting to dry out or breakdown. Left the "bad" ones to spore. Took home the good ones, 12-15. The season is two weeks later this year. Think it's due to the late cold snap and lack of rain. Happy hunting all!! reporting from South central KS. Doug

morels around Lawrence, Ks. Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 11:13:55 -0500. From: Brian. Found 2 4-5" morels along south facing Kansas river bank. First of the year for me, same date as last year, but different location. Also found some Coprinus micaceus, which I added into my mushroom pasta last night. Had the morels for dessert! Could use more rain.

Thursday, April 19, Manhattan, Kansas area. Found a little over a pound (68) in about an hour. Was awful dry until the rain last night, but now its turned cold again. Most fresh. D and MAW

Jefferson County, Kansas. Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 19:46:10 EDT. Well, it weren't the motherload, but Dad, brother Cory & I found 45 this afternoon. It's been very dry and windy over the last week but had a pretty good storm over night. We found the majority of the little buggers around elm trees on western facing slopes. Mostly yellerns but a few grayuns. Looks like things are just getting ready to really pop. Dave S

morels Kansas. April 14, 2002 We found about two dozen morels (yellows) in the same hot spot we found them last year. Good area, we hope to find a bunch more this weekend. In the Augusta area. Keith

morels found. Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 06:57:08 -0600. From: Tim & Jamie. Small greys found in Leavenworth kansas last week.

East Central Kansas Morels. Linn County, found my first morels last Sat.4-13-02 two blacks and three or four grays. Today 4-20-02 I looked in the same places and got another mixed bag! North eastern slope of coal dumps for the blacks and between two coal humps for the grays and the yellows that I found today. The grays last week were smallish but the yellows today were of superior size and I'm sure flavor. (Got to wait for "momma" to get home from work) Somebodys got to pay the bills!! Scotsman

Morel sightings. From April 16 through April 20 we have found around 400 Morels in Southeastern Kansas. We had the much needed rain Friday and Saturday. Monday through Wednesday of this next week should be good. This has not been a great season. kent

More Morels in Southeastern Kansas. Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2002. Found 100+ in Southeastern

Kansas. Most were whites and giants. Some were soft and dissolving, probably about 5 days old. Some very fresh. Has good rain mid week. One more week to go in the south! Heading north this week! Good luck! Wolfie

Morels. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 15:44:52 -0500. I have been fortunate enough over the last three days to find enough to make it until next season. I found about 100 nice yellow morels on sunday. I didn't have my camera that day. I checked the same spots on monday and tuesday and did quite well again. Here are some pictures from monday and tuesday. All of these were found on ridges above the kansas river in kansas city, ks. S. Allen. Kansas City, Ks.

kansas sightings... Sunday, April 20th. Started walking the middle branch of the Wakarusa river early that morning. Was just about to call it quits when I nearly stepped on a large yellow. Thirty minutes latter I had found 38!! They were on a north facing slope about 20 yards from the river bed. Brandon

Reportin In 2002. Southeastern Kansas, Took the day off Sunday but managed to road spot 4 yellows anyway. Hunting after 5:00pm, Monday, April 22 we found 17 whites and yellows. Tonight ... Tuesday, April 23 we found 62 whites and yellows, some nice fresh ones. While typing I gave a small tick a water burial... if the water don't get him the garbage disposal will .. checkin for more ticks and headin to the shower ... kent

sightings. Topeka, KS. I found one firday 4-19-02 near clinton lake then 3 on 4-20 the found about 40 in 20 min. in the same place today 4-23. they will be out good this week. Jay G.

Jefferson Co. Kansas. Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 15:10:02 EDT. Cory and I found another 35 very nice morels last evening. A lot of rain on Saturday really helped. Heading back up there in a few minutes. Still predominantly found on west facing sloops. Dave S.

Jefferson Co., KS. Well, I headed back up there Monday evening and found only eight but Dad, Cory and I did 34 Wednesday, April 24th, afternoon and evening and worked hard for 34. They're there this year but we're having to work our butts off for them. We found about a darned good handful back at the truck. Time to quit -- whooping and hollering. The woods are getting pretty thick, so just a few more hunts in us. Dave S.

Date: April 23, Fort Riley, Ks found over 5 pounds along the river. One mushroom weighed a half pound and was 9 inches tall. Lots of rain and found several of the big yellows. Think the bottom will soon be done and will need to move to the hills. MAW

kansas hunting... From: Brandon. Alright guys and gals! Lace up your hiking boots and grab some bags! Our elusive friend is popping up all over the place now. Found 42 more on 04/24 along the Wakarusa river between Auburn and Wakarusa. Undergrowth is really starting to spring up too so you'll have to look close. The yellows I found though were all of nice proportion and moist as can be. This find brings my total on the season to 126! Not bad considering I was skunked last year. That's all for now. Happy hunting!

Sightings. April 21,2002 Topeka, KS found 15 yellow morels in a moderately wooded area on a creek bank after a 2" rain. They were more in a grassy area than a leafy one. Praying to the Gods of Fungi to soon find more before the ticks get too bad. :) Liz S.

Mushrooms in Clay County, Kansas. Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 15:23:48 -0700. A dark and dismal day, cool northly breeze on May 1found us searching the banks of the Republican River near Morganville, Kansas. We found between 40 and 50 but none were fresh. Maybe a week old. The cool temps of the last few days have hampered what was proving to be a nice finish to the season. Maybe they will return for one last hoorah next week as it warms up. Bil S. and Lynd T.

Morels found. Southeastern Kansas tonight's hunt April 29, 2002. We only hit two spots, one was new and turned out zero, other turned out 23 nice size whites, yellows and fresh, some giants too, plus we left three or four oldies. Tuesday and Wednesday could be great in areas where rain hit. We are finding singles and doubles through the woods or road spottin. Has not been a great year for the "Patch Finders Award" Partner with shroom stick seems to have better luck....he has braggin rights this year, anyway! Plus he had the "Road Spotters Award" bout 2 weeks ago. ... kent

Southeastern Kansas. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 11:47:58 -0500. Southeastern Kansas. We found 10 white Morels Thursday, April 25. Lots of rain Friday night and Saturday. Sunday around 10 were found... some nice and fresh. Kent

Jefferson County, KS. Monday the 22nd, I only found eight. Worth 16 halves for a side dish with our evening meal, however. On Wednesday, Dad, Cory and I spent quite a while in the woods and brought home 34. Yesterday, Saturday the 27th, I hit the MOTHERLOAD. I salt soaked 96 mushrooms, 73 of which I found in one spot. Darned-near had to sharpen my mushroom knife after that. Today, about 50 between us, but Cory headed home with the lion's share. We walked a spot that we grew up hunting back in the 70's. It was fun to walk back through the woods with Dad blazing the trail! We're thinking that the Mother spot will yield again on about Wednesday. Happy huntin'. We're enjoying the heck out of this.

sightings (corrected). Found about 80 4-27-02 around Scranton Ks. in Osage co. in the rain then went today 5-3-02 just south of Topeka and only found about twelve in 30 min. but I filled up an 8 pound empty ice bag, with a behemoth that was 12" long 13" around and weighed 12 oz. biggest one I've ever found. Jay C.





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Kentucky:

Morels in South Central KY. Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 19:21:39 -0500. From: Joyce B. Friend at work has reported finding her first morel ("a yellow one") of 2002 a day or two ago in her yard. We are a few miles from TN in South Central KY.

progress report. Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 15:49:21 -0800 (PST) From: LWT. report from Butler county,KY. Found about 30 black morels today. Still about 4 days early. Still cold at night and cool days. The mayapples are barely unfurled. When that happens and the trout lillies bloom and the trillium bloom then it's time!!! Today was great though and I'll have a fine mess tonight!

Morel Hunting. Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 13:15:26 -0500 (Central Standard Time) From: Kim & Darrell. Hello! I just wanted to share a couple pics with you of a "hickory chicken" I found today in Butler Co. Ky. I am a Butler Co. native and have enjoyed finding these "miracles" for 25 years now. This is turning out to be a pretty good year so far for them. This shroom was found today 04-12-02 beside my home at the edge of the woods. (Along with a dozen others) We are getting a lot of rain and conditions seem great for hunting this year, and they are just beginning to pop up everywhere! Happy Hunting!



morel finds. Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 12:20:02 -0700. From: shawn. A friend and I headed south from SE Indiana to SW Kentucky. We found 130 greys 4-11-02 along a creekside among poplars, ash, black cherry. Made the long drive worth it. Heres some pics of what we found.



Shrooms found in Northern Kentucky. Went out Friday 4-12-02 evening in my favorite hunting woods and found three gray. They were as big as your little finger nail. Pretty disappointed but didn't get skunked. This week should be much better as the nights have warmed up as well as the days. Going back out after work tonight. This spot is located in Northern Kentucky that's all I can say. I'm sure you understand why. Good Luck and Keep Hunting. Judy

Morels in Northern Kentucky. Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 15:30:34 -0400. Went out again Monday evening in Northern Ky. after work and I am happy to say that I found 25 black/grey morels. They are still very small. I am beginning to wonder what is up with the size that most people are finding. Hopefully, they will get bigger as the weather gets better. Going back out tonight will keep you posted..Good Luck and Happy Hunting--Shroomingrandma (Judy)

Morels in Estill County, KY. Found the first 2 black morels on Friday 4-12-02 in Estill County, KY. Found them on the south side of a hill around some old Poplar trees. I went back on 4-13 and found 1 more black. They were all about three inch tall caps. We then went to a higher mountain, about 1200-1400 Ft. elevation, and found 23 more morels. 13 were dark gray and light gray small morels. They were about two inches tall. One cap was only the size of a dime. The other 10 were pretty good size blacks. 4-14 found 8 blacks. I am sending a picture of the two biggest. One was 7 inches tall and the other was 5.5 inches. 4-15 found 2 blacks. 4-16 We hit the jackpot, 63 in two hours! The next day 4-17 found 48 at the same spot. Some luck huh. On 4-20 we found 11 more. Good luck hunting! Darrell S.



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Manitoba:

morels in Manitoba. Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 19:18:37 -0700. Just wanted to report that I found a small black morel in Manitoba, Canada this Monday, north of Winnipeg. It's been a late spring and this 1" little guy barely had the top of it's cap above the leaf litter. Stuart S.




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Maryland:

morels. From: J. morel report from new market, md Found 3 white morels today . april 4.2002

Morels in Maryland. Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 20:15:08 -0400. I found 4 large Morchella esculenta in the fall line area of Maryland's Potomac shore, April 7, 2002. Under tulip poplar with Virginia bluebells in abundance. Brooks

Maryland morels. Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 09:00:50 -0700 (PDT). April 9, I found three dozen around Baltimore County under some Elms. They were near strip malls in deserted woodlots. Michael

MD: 4/13/02. Walked about 10 miles near stream banks around Baltimore and Washington, but did not find any morels. The vegetation seemed lush and they should be in season. Jay P.

Subject: Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 18:37:08 -0700 (PDT). From: j. Bill in MD- Found 6 greys and one yellow, scattered along a stream in very rich soil, near various types of dead or dying trees. Outside of Baltimore, MD. One grey was too small to pick. The others were a good size - 2 - 2 1/2" - but drying out, so we got there just in time. Even picked the one near a fox carcass to give you an idea of how desparate we are (will let you know if it tastes more piquant ;-q). Hopefully this is just the beginning, but may need to perform some sort of ceremony to release the rains.

Bill & Julia in MD. 20 April: Same location as last time (near Baltimore, MD), only further up a SE facing hillside. 150 yellows 2-5 inches. Some were bigger but had gotten moldy. Will go back in a few days.

Bill & Julia in MD. 21 April, 2002. Same spot (near Bal'more, MD hon!): 25, another spot on top of a ridge about a mile away: 80+. The second spot looks even better than the first, lots of small ones (2-3"), and tiny ones that we will check on next weekend. Same type of trees and undergrowth. Would write more, but Bill has just walked in with a plate full of golden fried delights. Hooray! Good luck to everyone.

Subject: 27 April 2002. Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 22:09:20 -0400. From: B & J In MD: "What does a sudden temperature drop do to morels?" Answer: Nothing good. Returned to a spot that looked very good last week. It was good. This is the first time we have seen morels (blacks yellows, even a couple of half-frees) EVERYWHERE we looked (and Bill is from Northern, IN). Picked about 200. BUT, and this is the tragic part, for every one we picked, we left at least five that were too dry and/or frost burned. Basically the larger the morel, (and the higher above the protection of leaves?) the more likely it was to be damaged in some way. Left a LOT of 4"+ ones. So, apparently they will continue to grow in cold weather, but it isn't good for them. Heading out again tomorrow (5 May). Sorry this posting is late, was something wrong with the link to the site last week?

Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 10:04:44 -0500. From: Andrew. Hello from Annapolis Maryland. With a two and a half year old and her five week old sister occupying any and all time, I was resigned after a few short, unsuccessful hunts this year, to having been "skunked." That said, this past weekend (April 27, 28) in the midst of long soaking rains went out looking for Oyster mushrooms and while we (my two and a half year old and I) found some beauties, the real yelps came from the discovery of large Morels under a Forsythia bed, near Poplar trees, wherein among the Forsytia were matted leaves and the Morels. This sent me into the Poplar ladden woods where I found additional (smaller) Morels scattered among the leaves. All in - about two dozen or so which coupled with the Oyster mushrooms made a very happy evening.

Excellent day today! (April 29,2002) Found 57 grays in Allegany County,MD. Found them under poplar and an old apple tree. The weather has really gotten cold there. It was spitting snow while I was there picking. Hopefully, it warms up for the big yellow ones. I'm hoping they'll be up next week when I go back. Cory F

May 5, 2002. Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 21:43:19 -0400. Bill & Julia in MD -Whew! 5 lbs of morels including one 7 1/2" monster mushroom (sorry, we are too wiped out to do a count). Same place outside Baltimore, MD. Could not walk for more than a few minutes without finding a few. Finally had to leave because it got dark. About half are going to Bill's mother in No. Indiana, where they are just starting to find half-frees. Guess I know what we'll be doing NEXT weekend. Good Luck everyone.







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Maine: No reports yet.



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Massachusetts:

Subject: report. Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 10:46:47 -0400. From: Martin. Yesterday, May 16, I found 14 beautiful yellows in the leaf litter around an old, mostly dead apple tree. Largest was more than 6" tall. This may not be a big deal to you folks in other areas where morels are abundant, but it was particularly satisfying for me, after many, many fruitless forays. I live in the Connecticut River Valley area of western MA. Morels grow around here, but "common" or "abundant" are not words that apply, to the best of my knowledge. This was, by far, the most I've ever found. I might not have found them at all, if I hadn't bent down to look at some "witches butter", Tremella mesenterica growing on a fallen branch. I'm 6'2" and found most of the morels while on my hands and knees. Those of you who are shorter in stature definitely have the edge on us tall folks when it comes to morels!

Massachusetts sighting. Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 11:53:37 -0400. From: John. Location: West of Boston, MA, between Rt 128 and I-495. Date 4 May - 3 mushrooms (1x 2 inches tall, 2x 1inch) found under a lilac hedge Date 19 May - 2 mushrooms (2x1 inch tall) found under same lilac hedge First time I have found Morels in Massachusetts. I wasn't really looking, just stumbled across them.



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Michigan:

MOREL'S in MICHIGAN!! Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 23:51:22 -0400. Two days ago we had snow on the ground and now we have found the FIRST morel of the season for us. it was small and white. seemed very FRESH. didn't pick it but will check on it in the future. we live in MID-MICHIGAN near FLINT. weather forecast is lookin perfect for SHROOMS. nothing beats away the Cabin Fever like the arrival of MOREL'S. good luck to my fellow shroomers. THAT IS ALL FOR NOW, scottfree It would be interesting if you didn't harvest them and the cold didn't get to them because I think they are black morels. The black morels are actually pink when they first emerge from the soil. Sorry I can't post a bigger picture, but since I carve morels, I am a student of the different pit and ridge patterns. It would make sense that they would be black ones this early in the season too. The top one looks like it might have gotten frostbit so it may not grow upward any more, but could expand laterally. The bottom one is a little blurred and it's hard to tell but it could be a m. deliciosa.



baby shroons. Hi ! My name is Jolynn an I'm proud to tell you that up here in northern lower Michigan, I have found 8 baby shroons on 4/13/02. I 'am a very serious shrooner and known for finding many in my surrounding area's. If you would like to a picture of one of my baby's go to my web page, which is the link down below or go to www.leroymi.com. Keep on shrooning Jo. Craig

a few more!!! Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 19:00:50 -0400. for the past few days we have searched and searched but have only found a few more FRESH morels. the only thing i can say is "SOON THEY WILL BE A POPPIN' " we checked a few new spots but have only found them in our "USUAL" spot. curious if these are a different kind of MOREL? they apear to be very light in color but they don't turn dark. but with the weather warmin up and the flowers starting to bloom, our minds are definetly consumed by the "ELUSIVE MOREL" good luck to my fellow shroomers, SCOTTFREE!

Michigan finds so far... From: Nathan. They are finally up.!.!.! I am in Wexford county Michigan and have found 9 blacks so far. Too dry here and getting too cold at night again. Hopefully we'll get more rain in the next few days. It's getting too cold at night here again too. Good luck. P.S. This report was delayed 3 days. I found the first one on the 15th.

mushroom sightings. Found one black morel here in Niles on 4/13/2002. Found 13 more on 4/18/2002. Weather has been too dry. Storms have been passing up this area of southwestern lower Michigan. Mike

MICHIGAN REPORT - 2002. On Wednesday, April 18, a group of people found approximately 30 total black morels about 5 miles north of Lapeer. Most were around 2" in height. Diane

Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 01:06:46 -0400. Hi, This is April from Southeast Michigan. I found 8 black ones Tuesday evening, I was only out for half an hour.

Morel Mushrooms. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 13:22:11 -0700. Hi There, Just wanted to let you all know, my husband and I have been finding mushrooms for about 2 weeks now in lower Michigan. Not a ton of them yet due to the strange weather we've been having, but they are out. Happy Hunting, The Bruce's

season. Have to report my experience this past weekend. I'm live in SE MI. but went to SW Ohio for family reasons this past weekend. Went out 2/20/02 all day. Went to several of my favorite spots. The first spot I went to, didn't even see a sign of a mushroom. Seems like the ground was too saturated. At the next spot, found around 20 very small greys. The third spot, found only about 10 spikes. Finally, at the fourth spot, found 50+ nice yellows, some of them 8" or so and had fallen over by their own weight. Afterwards, I visited another of one of my favorite spots but didn't see a sign of a mushroom. This area also seemed way too wet. Some of the areas seemed like the season was still too early. Hard to tell with the strange swings in temperature that we've been experiencing. You just have to be in the right area at the right time(and be the first there). Anyhow, still haven't seen anything yet in MI., I'm sure the good season will be ready here soon because everything is turning green very fast. Marty in MI.

Morels. Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 12:42:56 -0400. From: Nancy. I live in southern Michigan about 40 minutes south of Grand Rapids. We have found very few morels as of yet. The early morel which we call caps are up but not very plentiful. Have found 1 true black 1, 2 grey yesterday and couple of elephant ears. We need some warm nights in our area to get them popping.

sightings. Greetings from Benzie County, in Northern Lower Michigan!! My husband and I have found Morels in Wexford co. for the last week or so and today, 4-25-02, we found over 3 pounds in Manistee county. They're out there, ya just gotta know where to look! Happy Hunting! W & K


Morels in Michigan. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 23:24:18 -0500. From: Nside. we saw a few in the area of Manistee, Mi. but quite small, so very anxious to go again soon. After the warm weather we've been having, it's suppost to turn cold again, so may have to wait awhile. Have always wondered if morels just pop up, and that's it, or if they continue to grow..........well, I'm soooo pleased to read the article written by Tom Nauman, on Mushroom Hunting, and he had documented that they do, indeed grow. Yeah!!

Mushrooms Popping & Growing. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 16:23:47 -0400. Greetings Neighbors! The Keiser family is reporting in from Hillsdale County, Michigan, where they are up, growing, and growing even more. With our annual Great Mushroom Hunt scheduled for Saturday, May 4, the 80 or so white and grey morels that we have found on various side hills has been very encouraging. We have let them grow, for the most part, and they vary in size from the "just popped" to about 4" tall. Cloudy, moist weather with a high of 65 degrees is predicted for us until Thursday and then warmer. If this holds true, the 2,700 acres of the Lost Nation State Game area should be just busting with the little morsels by the weekend. I have attached a copy of the "Festival Poster" for your own information. Maybe you'd like to join us sometime. Best Regards, bjk (aka. the mushroom queen)

Morels in Northern MI. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 11:49:48 -0400. Found 8 morels in Wexford County on Saturday 4/27/02. Seemed to be a bit early and too cold. One nice beefsteak too.

sighting/picking. Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 11:56:59 -0400. From: Aaron. 120 small Morels. Washtenaw County, Mich. 4/25/02 YUM!

beefsteaks. Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 12:42:13 -0700 (PDT). From: Ken. 2 beefsteaks, Keewenah Peninsula, Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Northside of cut in bare ground middle of peninsula m-38. flurries wet and 40's

found my first of the year. Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 00:53:01 EDT. this is dennis niles michigan found my first 8 on 5/1/02 not very big but all golden good luck

Subject: sightings. Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 10:23:02 -0400. Morel fever is alive and well near the tri-county areas of Jackson, Calhoun and Branch Co. Michigan. My best friend found a nice handful of med-large size "blond" morels yesterday - we're headed for the woods this morning - can almost hear them popping up! oh - and another friend who is a firefighter was overseeing the flushing of a fire hydrant on Wednesday - looked over in the ditch and spotted half dozen beauties! Morel's rock! JustJen

Whites have been found!!! Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 21:11:54 -0700. Yesterday (may 14th 2002) was rather a good day for us. We live in Wexford county (michigan). We found 284 white morel mushrooms! I think this is the best we have ever done for whites. We managed to find them all within two hours and we stayed till it got dark and couldnt see anymore.We returned today to the same location and we found another 80 or so.The black morels are almost done now and we are hoping it will be a good year for the yellows like it has been for every thing else. Good luck to everyone!!!! Kirk and Nichole

Report from Boyne City: 05/21/02. Our good friend, Roger Thurow, became the National Grand Champion for the second time (he also won in '93) by finding 218. Most were "caps" otherwise known as verpa bohemica. Not true morels but they count for the contest. From what the hunters reported, whites are probably a week away yet (there were snow flurries on Sunday morning)





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Minnesota:

Minnesota posting. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 23:26:02 -0500. Dakota County was 94 degrees Monday, 91degrees Tuesday with nice warm evenings. Had snow 2 weeks ago and rain since so moisture is perfect. Couldn't wait- went to my favorite early season woods last nite and not a sign..but not far off. If this weather holds I wouldn't be surprised to find some gray morels by the weekend. Good hunting.Digger

Subject: minnesota mushrooms. There finally here. Found 3 small greys on Thursday May 16 along Scott/Dakota county border (South of Twin Cities). Went out Friday found 4 greys and 2 yellows - very small and hard to see. Finding them in the grass in prickley ash close to a dead elm that has consistantly produced the last several years. Now is the time for around here. I would expect a short season as my diary tells me we should be peaking right now. Digger

Subject: Sightings 2002- MN - Date: Sat, 18 May 2002 10:49:41 -0400 (EDT). From: Mr. Oysterhead. My wife and I found 63 morels between Thur & Friday (May 16 -17) at our favorite spot in Blue Earth County - Minnesota,,, both blondes and the darker ones. It has been dry here, but as soon as we get a little rain and a hot day to follow - these mushrooms will be everywhere!

Subject: SouthWest MN Morels. Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 20:15:16 -0500. Dawn in Southern MN here to report that I found a Few dozen Greys and a lot more to pick. They're were alot of little ones I left to grow. The season for us here has finally arrived! Smiles, Dawn

Subject: mushrooms. may8,2002went 2 different spots in goodhue county minnesota found 3 very small morels lots of rain here fot the last week very cool mid 50s may 11 looked again morels did not grow much at all had to get down onhands and knees to pull weeds and leaves to expose should be killer when we see sun and warm temps yum yum. savey dog

Mushroom. Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 12:31:30 -0500. From: Mike H.,,,, Master of mushrooms, We just had our state mushroom contest (Minnesota) it was a bit cold & wet but we had a blast great turn-out, I found 2-3 lbs today both dark & light morels some were found around dead oaks, 5-13-02

hunting. Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 22:06:03 -0500. Found 7 small blacks today--5-22-02, looks like just starting. Clearwater Co. MN. Dave W

Minnesota: Sat, 8 Jun 2002 04:45:40 -0500. June 7, 2002 Minneapolis, Mn.-Picked 2 1/8 lbs of plump yellows 50 mi. north of the Cities. Saw another 50-60 all dried out.Soperman.



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Mississippi:

Tom, went to Mississippi last week and found nothing,,, went today 4/16 in your back yard and found nothing. looked at t-bird also, nothing. The 4" soil temp maps show that the hot spot for the last four days and nights has been mason and cass counties, guess I will head down there tomorrow if we don't get the rain tonight. later dave m



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Missouri:

Subject: Red Morel Sighted. Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 21:26:42 EST. I found my first red morel of the season today. It was a baby, fit into the palm of my hand and there was only one. But it is a sign, the real ones are coming! Mushroom Annie from Central Missouri.

morel sightings. Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 15:00:23 -0500. They've finally arrived!! Found about a dozen fresh black morels on April 7 in Cape Girardeau county. They should be coming up well this week. I've got a nifty little jingle for selling those mushroom walking sticks. It goes something like this:Mushrooms high, Mushrooms low, Grab your stick, and off we go! This was a contribution from one of my Zoology students. Happy hunting! Mark Thanks Mark. The jingle has possibilities. Will we owe royalties to anyone? ; )

yellow morels in Cass County Mo. Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 18:42:00 -0500. Date: Monday April 8th. It's been warm enough but too dry.I thought today when it started raining, maybe it would be good. I went to a "good" spot at lunch with everyone calling me crazy .Came back with 1 yellow morel (Morchella Esculenta). Got soaked ,but found the first of the season .The next couple weeks should be fun. It has rained since last night and gonna be in the 60's tomorrow and 70 thru the weekend ????????GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY HUNTING!!!!! Tom in Creighton

first morel/Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 23:16:31 -0500. hi tom mark p here from kansas city. recieved my new shroom sacks i ordered from you today. had to go try them out it has been raining here for two days. sure enough i found two dozen little grays. they're here in missouri had too let you know. hope you have a good season.

Another update. Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 20:31:29 -0500. Today Wed. the 10th my boy and I went out to another "good" spot found 3 very small greys. Sat. should be great. We'll let you know. Tom in Creighton

morel report for missouri. Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 21:40:37 EDT. Well after about 2 hours in the woods i came home with one lone 2 inch gray morel. After a 1 1/2 hour drive south from Independence and two hours in the woods its not much to show for my effort. WE NEED MORE RAIN. the woods were dry and the water levels were way down in the strip pits I hunt. I think next week will be the week that things start gettin MAGICAL. Seems like things are about a week late this year. Good luck to all my fellow shroomers. Rickwieser.

FirstMorel. Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 23:28:08 -0500. Hey, they're up! Wizard here from Valles Mines Missouri in St. Francois County. I found our first Morel of the season today 4/10/2002. I've been hitting 4 hot spots for a week (I'm quite anxious.) The ground is still a little cold but the rain two days ago and warm temps for three days brought up one little gray about 1" tall. Happy Hunting! Ken and Tracy R.

Morels. Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 09:25:58 -0500. Found 2 pale white morels 20 minutes ago. I had to rake through the leaves with my fingers. Both mushrooms would fit on a dime so I didn't search any further, I just wanted confirmation that they're here. There is rain and temps up to 80 in the forcast this weekend so they shoud get up above the leaves next week. I covered the ones I found back up and marked them with a stick, and will check in two more days. The ground is very moist under the leaf cover and warm to the touch. Tom E., Blythedale Mo.

mushroom find. Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 22:00:25 EDT. Found 10 very small grey mushrooms this morning in St. Louis county. They were very hard to find and looked like they just came up. Largest one wasn't even 1/2 inch. All were found in mossy areas. Shouldn't be long till the big ones are up with this nice weather. Scott and Pete I'm assuming that's in Missouri. If I'm wrong, let me know

Sat morel hunting. Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 20:37:40 -0700. My husband and friend of his went hunting today and found about a dozen small morels. So we think if the rain will let up and the sun come out there will soon be a good supply of them for all. Deal's southwest Missouri, Ozarks.

Missouri. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 08:07:19 -0700. Went out last night in Cass county. No morels, but 11 red beefsteaks in 20 minutes. Ground is wet, and expecting 80 degree temps. Should be good very soon. James

morels. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 21:18:37 -0500. found some real beauties today, around 30 small to medium white morels hoping for the biggens real soon...... downpour debi...central mo

Morels. Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 13:05:16 -0500. From: Richard. We found our first morels of the season... We looked for several hours and only found 12 small greys... In the afternoon we went fishing and right next to the boat dock at Pomme De Terre Lake we found 30 yellow morels! We were hunting near Pomme De Terre Lake in Hickory County, Missouri.

MORELS. Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 22:01:25 EDT. I found 50 greys and yellows on April 15 in Platte County MO. Need rain bad. Tim

Morels Anyone? Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 23:04:29 -0500. I see that a few people in MO have found a few, however I am still on the hunt. I have been out checking multiple spots every day since April 1st (where I find them every year) and have not found one single morel yet. We have had a little rain and it's been plenty warm, but with no leaves on, the ground gets really dry in no time. Hoping for more rain this week. Some good rain and they should be all over! Good Luck Shroomers! Farmer Jack

Vernon Co., Mo. Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 12:17:17 -0500. Found 18 yesterday afternoon.. We need a warm rain.. Will go back this afternoon... Bill

Mid Missouri morels. Hello: I found about 2 lbs yesterday(4/ 15/ 02) along the ridges of the Mo. river. Question, they were all small, should I have left them for another day's growth or do they grow all they are going to the first night they pop up? I was told they only grow at night and that by daylight they are as big as they will get. Is this true? Thanks, John.

Missouri Morels. Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 20:55:33 -0700. From: Andy. Found 25-30 morels in Reynolds County today. All were yellow's and some of them were quite large. Good moisture and ground temp. Another warm day and rain showers should really make them pop up in abundance.

Mid Missouri morels. Hello: I found about 2 lbs yesterday(4/ 15/ 02) along the ridges of the Mo. river. Question, they were all small, should I have left them for another day's growth or do they grow all they are going to the first night they pop up? I was told they only grow at night and that by daylight they are as big as they will get. Is this true? Thanks, John.

Missouri Morels. Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 23:11:42 -0500. Matthew from Kansas City,MO. Found 22 whites and small greys today, one hour Southeast of Gladstone, on Public land. Very dry. Rain expected this weekend. Probably won't look again until the rains. Still a little early.

Missouri Morels. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 22:45:28 -0500. Matthew from Kansas City, MO. Found 24 yellows and greys Friday, 68 whites, yellows, and greys on Saturday. Family obligations on Sunday. All near Greenwood, MO. Heavy rains this weekend. Will be back out early tomorrow. Turkey season gets into full swing tomorrow, so watch where you hunt!

Morel sighting. We live in Ozark Co. in south central Missouri. We have just this day discoverd morels on our property. We have picked about half a doz. for dinner. April, 20, 2002, while walking in the woods during the rain, we spotted the morels growing on a mixed leaf mold of mostly oak in our hardwood forest with a sprinkling of cedar. They were near the banks of our creek. This is our first experience with morels. Sincerely, Colleen, Tecumseh, MO.

missouri morels. april 19th in the vicinity of lees summit missouri. i found 14 gray morels one of which was about3 inces tall the rest were smaller. i had missed them by a day maybe but they were still good enough to take. had some torrential storms move through the area last night as well just as i was worried about the dry weather so its gonna get good!! thanks michael. fast pfc kc

found morels. Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 23:29:24 EDT. From: Rick. Found a large grocery bag full to the top(about 15 lbs) about 75 miles south of kansas city. went after the rain. all fresh a beautiful biggest was 8 inches tall. found around elm trees its time to hit the woods if you want to sit down to a morel dinner.

Morel Heaven. Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 11:10:49 -0500. My Grandparents live near Osceola, Mo. They found 3 gallons of morels around the 19th or so. That is at least a "passel" or two. :) The Mayapples are over 1 ft. tall there. More rain is on the way this weekend, and I am going down all next week to join in the fun. Hopefully the crappie will be biting too!!! Red

Missouri. Went out Sat the 20th. found 33 grays and yellows in one patch in 45 minutes. Walked 3 hours in afternoon found 3. James from KC

Lincoln county Missouri red morels... I found the first black of the season Friday 4-12 on a southern slope. We had a very unusual encounter (Sunday 4-21) with nearly 35 lbs. of grapefruit sized red morels all around one dead tree, it appeared to have been hit by lightning. Mid. Mo. Bruce... Sincerely, Bruce Bruce, remember -if they're reddish, you could be deadish. See Michael Kuo's website. http://nt2.advant.com/kuocgi2/morels/cardinal.html

Morels Found. Scott from KC, MO. We have went 3 times since Sunday 4/21/02 and have found approx. 100. Some greys a couple blacks, mostly early yellows. All these were found in the Northland in KC, mostly Gladstone to KCI airport area. If it rains this weekend like they say there will be plenty. Good luck to all.

Mushrooms Still Popping. Lees Summit Missouri. April 27, 2002 Have found several of the big yellow morels over the past week. We are getting more rain today and expect more yellows will pop over the next couple of days. Because of the under growth they are harder to see and many are growing under the big trees and tree limbs that fell during the ice storm here in January. See more people hunting mushrooms than ever before. Chester : Lees Summit, MO








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Montana:

mushroom sightings. Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 20:39:29 -0600. We're here in the Bitterroot Valley in Montana and just spent 3 hours picking 38 lbs. of morels in the burn areas. Lots of greys! Lisa. This report is here because it arrived after the Sightings Page closed last year

Subject: morel season about over. Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 20:49:47 -0600. We thought we wouldn't even have a season in spite of last year's forest fire above town...but a commercial buyer was hanging around for weeks so if he wouldn't give up, neither would we. The last week of May, our neighbor called and said he found a few small ones. (we had been taking turns checking out the mountain every 3 to 4 days for what seemed like weeks...since mid April) Anyway, it turned into one of the best picks ever, partially due to meeting a "mushroom researcher" who told us about spore bags. We could tell they worked as the areas where we used them, regrew after rains and cool weather, whereas the places where we saw commercial pickers using plastic buckets were good for one picking only. During our half dozen or so forays, we saw several mule deer groups and one BIG black bear running straight for us until I yelled. I guess I scared him!!! Anyway, we had a great time...came home black ourselves from all the ash but was well worth the effort ...alot dried, sauteed and frozen and frozen whole and we're still eating. If the rain keeps up this weekend and the days stay cool, we might go up one last time, Monday. "Rooning" has gotten into our blood; will look for them wherever life takes from here on out. Thanks for the website with all the info . Don and Catherine , Plains, Montana

Picking the Moose Fire Burn in Montana: Sun, 9 Jun 2002 11:40:18 -0500. Just got back from eight days of camping and picking morels in the burn area of Flathead National Forest near Columbia Falls, Montana. One word, Incredible! I'd never picked a burn area, it was like finding golf balls on a driving range. After the first day I wouldn't bend over to pick anything less than two inches or so. The three of us netted 100lbs and could have picked plenty more. If you ever get the chance it's worth it. Brad >From Iowa.



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Nebraska:

Date: 04/17/02 My wife and her girlfriend found about three dozen small greys today. We are about 30 miles north of Omaha Ne. Buster

Morels in Nebraska! Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 19:21:18 EDT. I just found 65 small greys on the south bank of the Platte river in eastern Nebraska! Welcome to the hunt. Monkey Boy

More morels. Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 20:47:01 EDT. went back to the same spot with friends and found another 20 or so. Looks like the weather is turning agianst us at the worst possible time. South bank of the Platte river has been good to me though. Monkey Boy

Morels in Omaha, Nebraska. Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 23:00:23 -0500. They are here in Omaha!!! Found mine on a south-facing slope, near the Missouri River. They are really, really small. I only picked about a half a dozen - but saw at least another 100 that had just popped - and that was in a 20 foot span along the slope. Many were so small that they looked like the top of a Q-Tip. It's raining right now and you can bet that I'll be back out there tomorrow. Hopefully, no one else will spot them before they become bite-size. :-) Pat

FINALLY. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 15:09:26 -0500. Just returned from being out of town to find out that we had a little rain while I was gone. It has been extremely dry here in SW Nebraska. I went out this afternoon and didn't find any in my favorite spots. Ended up finding three all in the same general area when I was almost ready to give up. Dont know if more rain would help or not - found in wooded area in sandy soil, Republican River Valley. I can see why they are having luck in North Eastern Kansas - very wet and green! Nathan SW Nebr



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New Hampshire: No reports yet.



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New Jesey:

morels in nj. From: Justina. date: April 20th. Yellow and very nice. Found 30 under one tree . I dont know what kind of tree it was but the bark was peeling off. I was trout fishing with my husband and I just happened to look down and saw this one morel and that was the end of me fishing went morel hunting instead. Picked 41 all together.( NJ we count morels instead of weighing them.) the location 30 miles north west of NY city.

NJ morels. Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 17:38:20 -0400. From: Ginger. NJ Morels -- found about 20 grey and yellow morels today (4/28/02) in our woods. Also found some Half-frees, I think, because I haven't cut them open yet to see. We are in the west central portion of NJ, about 1/2 mile from the Delaware River.

morels nj. Date: Thu, 9 May 2002 19:50:56 EDT. From: Justina. seek and you shall find!! this has been the best year ever for morel picking in NJ. ( at least for me) my husband and i went camping over the weekend May 4th and 5th and found the campsite had morels coming up everywhere. We had fresh trout he caught watercress I picked and Fresh morels, who could ask for more. The trees I pick by were oak, poplar and elm. good hunting to all.





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New York:

morel sightings. The morels have appeared here in NY - Westchester county, I picked 14 blacks last Wednesday and just (4/18/02) found 24 yellows which were fully developed and even starting to dry out. hopefully we'll get more rain soon! I'm a little surprised at this since the Ramps (wild leeks) are still only about 3" high and the fiddlehead ferns and jack-in-the-pulpits are barely through the leaves. Looks like it's gonna be a great year. -- Happy Hunting --One Hellava' morchella Fella-Chris

morels in the Catskills - near Kingston, NY. Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 06:51:17 -0500. From: LauraL. At last! My favorite little patch in the Catskills forest did not let me down. Checked out one of my lucky spots today and gathered up about two dozen plump yellow morels. What beauties! Many 4 -5 inches tall. Not even hit yet by the slugs, bugs or time. Perfect! I checked out another usual spot and only found two -- so I'm not sure if I missed them or they simply haven't made their annual appearance yet. Though I did come across one false morel there. (Question: do false morels appear earlier or later than the yellows?)

Syracuse NY. Date: Sat, 18 May 2002 23:10:50 -0400. Great find! 5-18-02 Found about 75 yellows all around ash trees here in Syracuse NY!(none in my old faithful apple orchard!)Only took about an hour! I've had my eyes open for weeks, and found a few here and there, but they've just exploded after all the rain we've had! Happy hunting! DANh




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North Carolina: No reports yet.



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North Dakota: No reports yet.



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Ohio:

morels in Ohio. Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 13:01:50 -0500. From: Debra. Ohio morels. Date: Monday, 1st of April 2002 12:49 EST. My fiancé, Mike, just returned home from his first mushroom trip of the year. We are pleased to report that, despite the lack of warm temperatures, he was successful. He found 8 small grays in one of his favorite patches in Highland County. We look forward to going back out in a couple of days.

Southwest Ohio. Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 12:23:07 -0500. The one I have been waiting for all year---It arrived---Found April 5,2002 - only 1 1/4 in. but it was beautiful. Now if the snow will go away - sun come out - they will appear. Happy picking, Rob

Report - Ohio - 4/7/2002. Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 06:32:09 -0700 (PDT) First morels of the season for us in Tar Hollow State Forest (Chillicothe, Ohio) on 4/7/2002. First my son found two tiny new black morels, about 1" high, how he spotted these I have no idea. I think he willed them to appear. Then he found 3 larger blacks, same area. Grand total of 5 for him, zero for me. Looked to me like they were just getting up through the leaves, at least in the area we were hunting. Warm week coming up, maybe next weekend (4/13) will be prime for blacks in Southern Ohio? Dave

Ohio Black Morels - April 9. Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 12:44:36 -0700 (PDT). From: My dad found a good sized (3.5 inches tall) Black Morel today! The first of the year for anybody I know. We usually find the first one within a day or two of April 1st... so it's a week late so far (we've been looking since March 30... grin). Also, we found it in a spot where we usually only find "Spikes"... Happy Hunting to everyone! Perry. Dayton, Ohio

NE Ohio Morels! Date: April 14, 2002. Found 22 black/grey morels! Looked like they may have just popped up! With all this rain and warm weather this may be a great year!!!! Can't wait to get back out there!! Lynda in NE Ohio

NE Ohio , there back! Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 22:01:12 -0400. I was out for about an hour and found 15 blacks looks like time to get the train a rollin! Hey Linda, are you finding any on the south or west? i'm finding more on the west banks of the hills? Are you anywhere near the valley? happy picking, larry

Ohio Morels. From: chad. I found seventeen yellow morels on 4/17/2002 somewhere in Clermont County, Ohio. They were under a dead elm tree in a creek bottom. They're resting comfortably in my fridge, now.

morals. Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 13:33:14 EDT. From: Lewis. found several black greys in one area southeastern ohio gallia county

first one. From: Marty. found my first morel(Black about 2.5 inches tall) today just north of Columbus Ohio 4/18/2002

From: Kym. morels in west central ohio. i found one small grey 4-12-02 in clark co. some freinds found a couple blacks one week later on 18th in the same area and i found another grey and two yellows in a different locaction in clark co. won't be long for some good numbers.

Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 20:44:09 EDT Columbiana county, Ohio I found 2 small, 2" tall beautiful grays today. By the time I got them home and fried them up there wasn't much left, but they sure were delicious! Good luck to all from Rob

Morel locations-southwest ohio. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 13:09:10 EDT. From: Darbie. My fiance and his friends went out mushroom hunting yesterday and found about 8-9 fairly good sizes grey to yellowish morels in Greene County, and looking forward to finding more today and the rest of the week.

covington oh. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 14:08:32 EDT. From: NASKICKERS found two grays monday we have had sun and rain heard of few people finding blacks and grays

Morels in Dayton, Ohio. Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 18:29:27 EDT. From: Lexy. Report from suburbs of Dayton, Ohio - SW Ohio. Have hunted several woods with no luck. Went to old favorite spot (that construction has torn up) yesterday in the pouring rain. Finally found some whoppers :0) Found about four 4-5" blacks and four 4-5" Yellows. Also found about 20 more 1-2" yellows. No grays or spikes? Also found a huge patch of spikes the other day growing in grass between the sidewalk and road, hehe. Hope the luck is just starting.....

Ohio report. Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 13:33:35 -0400. From: Christian. Got about 15 in s/w ohio on 4/20 between Reily and Oxford on my dad's farm. Only got 3 in the woods but found a dozen out in the open around the pond. I live in (Central) Florida and would like to know if Morels grow there as well. Man they are sure tasty!

First Morels Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 10:25:53 -0700 (PDT). Hello! I was walking through the wooded area of my horses' pasture and found these weird looking mushrooms. I thought I saw someone with them and came in the house to look them up and sure enough...Yellow Morels! I found a small patch of them on a hill side next to alot of fallen and dead trees. I picked, cleaned and soaked them and will try them tonight for the first time. I live near Cambridge, (southeast)Ohio, and it was about 45 degrees out today. The Morels were about 2 to 4" each. Did I pick them too soon? I have more to read and learn. Kim

ohio morels. Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 16:06:03 -0400. From: Todd. Have found about 20 pounds of whites and jumbo yellows. Not too many of the black or horrsetails this year. I think they are about to be over in my area.

more morel in west central ohio. went back out this time in champaing county to my favorite area. glad to say i came home with 80+grey and 20+yellow. its a couple of weeks later than last year when i started finding good numbers and the ground cover is making it rough but theres still nothing i'd rather be doing. good hunting to all. PIPELAYER 4-23-02

first sightings. Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 18:19:11 -0400. The mushrooms are up here in northwest Ohio near Toledo.... found over 100 mixed black and white all good size... April 29, 2002. CHoffman

Ohio Morels. May 4th and 5th - We've gathered 50-60 yellows and a few half-frees this weekend, most of them found near elms. Size 1-1/2" to 5". It's prime time here in N.E. Ohio. Morels over linguini + good friends = SPRING! Sandy's Scouts.

ohio yellow morels. Date: 05 May 2002 13:25:45 -0500. From: tckellough. This is my first year morel hunting. I started a week ago, and today May 4th 2002, I found 5 med and good sized yellow/gray morels and 2 smaller ones hidding. They all were found on the western side of the same large area. No black morels though. I am in Ross County but much closer to the highlan area!

Morels in SE Ohio. Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 11:20:23 EDT. I went out yesterday and found about 50 morels in the East Liverpool area. Most were found in bunches of three or four. I saw some posts about people finding them in North East Ohio. I'm curious to know where since I live in that area.

MORELS!! Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 21:08:32 -0400. Hello! I am brand new to this morel obsession, and I'm afraid I've jumped in a few weeks too late (?) We found a 1/4" black morel a couple weeks ago, but so far nothing else. We live in Southern Ohio near Cambridge. We have acres and acres of hills with creek bottoms, dead trees, you name it - we got it! We've found other types - polypores, etc. but just the one morel. We haven't even got to taste any yet, but are getting "plum" tired of hearing everyone say how delicious they are! Have you heard if anyone has found any this late in the season, or will we just have to wait it out until next year? Thanks for any information you might have. Julie D.

Big Yellows. Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 19:18:57 -0700 (PDT). From: tim. Huron County Ohio to date have found 253 big yellows and only have been out twice My brother has found over 400 yellow,Gray and blacks. Todays Yellows looked kind of old but still hearing of people finding fresh ones.

Sighting Ohio Hocking Co. Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 15:53:32 -0400. Dear Mushroom God or Goddess. Sunday April 28 2002 7:00 Am Hocking Co. OHIO . This was the first time we have had a chance to hunt for 02. We have had weird weather and didn't know what to expect . The first ones we found were Blacks (2"4") and appeared to have suffered from abnormal environmental conditions. The next grouping we found were indeed yellows 12 or 13 , 3"to 5" tall and appeared slightly weathered as well. Our initial conclusion was this was the tail end of an early year. To our surprise the best was to come last . On our way out to the main trail we found our last bunch . All of these were yellows 5 or 6 and looked quite fresh and ranged from 4" to 8" . All of the above Blacks and Yellows were found in Hocking Co. Ohio. Thanks for the Post. JJP

Subject: Sighting Ohio Hocking Co. Dear Mushroom God or Goddess. Sunday April 28 2002 7:00 Am Hocking Co. OHIO . This was the first time we have had a chance to hunt for 02. We have had weird weather and didn't know what to expect . The first ones we found were Blacks (2"4") and appeared to have suffered from abnormal environmental conditions. The next grouping we found were indeed yellows 12 or 13 , 3"to 5" tall and appeared slightly weathered as well. Our initial conclusion was this was the tail end of an early year. To our surprise the best was to come last . On our way out to the main trail we found our last bunch . All of these were yellows 5 or 6 and looked quite fresh and ranged from 4" to 8" . All of the above Blacks and Yellows were found in Hocking Co. Ohio Thanks for the Post. JJP

Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 02:15:21 -0700 (PDT). My first successful hunt on Sunday, April 28 produced mostly half frees and one gray. The next hunt produced mostly small grays. The last hunt produced some nicely matured yellows. I am hoping for possibly one or two more hunting days befor the season ends. Can anyone offer thier opinion as to whether there should be more productive days left? I am in the Lorain County area. Aleta

(no subject) Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 03:50:23 EDT. I found a morel 2 days ago that weighs almost 1/2 pound and is 9 3/4" long in Ohio, is this any kind of record? thank you, John. The largest true morel I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot!) was found by Larry Graham near Alton, IL during the 1997 season, The monster measured 13 inches and weighed 1 lb. 4.4 oz. (20.4 oz.) I've heard the largest ever found was in Germany and weighed 3 lbs. But I've never been able to verify the claim.







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Oklahoma:

Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 10:48:47 -0600. Rodney P. , Vice President of the "NMMHA" picked his first morels of the season (small gray's) this morning Oklahoma/Texas area. Its been cold but they have had the moisture. Hope to have more reports this afternoon. Have a Great season. Judy

siting in OK. Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 09:38:21 EST. Found an even dozen, very small, in a favorite spot in okmulgee county, oklahoma. The season seems to finally have begun. S.D.

Oklahoma Morels. Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 16:59:22 EST. I have been out three times here in the Oklahoma City area, and last night was my first successful hunt of the season. The moisture level is quite good in the surrounding woods, although we could always use more moisture around here. The temperatures have been up and down a lot, with daytime temperatures in the 50's and 60's, and the nights in the 30's and low 40's. I found 16 grays yesterday, small and fresh. The season is just now beginning here it would seem, it's approximately a week late this year. These are places where I find many big yellows, but the grays are just now coming up. So, with rain predicted in the forecast for the weekend, and with temperatures ranging in the 70's, the yellows aren't far behind now. Good luck to all! Let the mushroom games begin! Buckeyesgk

more morels in oklahoma, 4-7-02. Date: Sun, 07 Apr 2002 18:26:20 -0500. Dear morel sightings folks, A buddy and I went out today (intrepid in a heavy downpour!) and found ~3 dozen little gray morels in Pontotoc County Oklahoma. All were collected around very large old juniper (eastern red cedar) trees. Not a bad start! Pickings will improve this week after the rain and warming trend. Good luck to all other shroomheads out there. Julian H. Norman, Ok.

Oklahoma sightings... Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 07:08:27 -0500. From: Kugrad. Temps made it into the upper 70s yesterday (4/1/2002) so I had to go take a look. I found 6 morels (4 yellow, 2 grey) in about a half an hour. Had to leave, but I am going back today! Found them in Broken Arrow (suburb of Tulsa).

Mushrooms in Southeastern Oklahoma. Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 15:02:49 -0700. Today I found 12 yellows in a wooded area in Durant, Oklahoma. Bil S

First and last. Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 10:58:44 -0500. OKC ­ April 10, 2002. I found ONE in a creek bottom on some land by the Television towers. I looked but could not find any more. This one appeared to have come up after the rain on Sunday, the 7th. Very tough looking as I had to crawl through a lot of vines but this one was on a small game trail. Last year I found three dozen here but I think I'm skunked now. Evidently, the redbuds must be a good sign of the season? Bill S.

Mushroom sightings. Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 18:04:35 EDT. Since the rain (2.5 inches) last weekend here in central Oklahoma, and the warmer temperatures, the mushrooms are up BIG TIME! Tuesday, the 9th, I found 145 fresh grays and yellows. Last night, the 10th. I found 315 yellows and some grays. They weighed 10 lbs. This is the best year yet for morels in central Oklahoma that I've experienced. Buckeyesgk

Oklahoma sighting. Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 11:42:57 -0500. From: Jimmy C. Central Oklahoma. I agree with the previous poster this could be the best season ever in this area. Today 4/13/02 was the first day in the woods for me this season and I picked a few medium grays but close to 100 yellows all about the size of your hand. What makes this amazing is I was only out there for about 15 minutes because of the heavy rain. I can't wait for it to stop raining so I can hit my good spots. Next week should be a killer.....Luck All.

oklahoma. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 18:16:45 -0500. From: Timothy. found over 150 in Osage county on the 13th.

Nice Find in Central Oklahoma. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 19:36:09 -0700. After church today, two of us hunted almost two hours on the South Canadian near Minco, OK. We found 165 yellows and greys deep in the timber. Very warm day following lots of rain. More tomorrow from another location. Bil S. & Lynd T.

morels in Tulsa. Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 21:13:39 +0900. Found 18 med. to large esculenta in south Tulsa yesterday and about the same today. They were on abandoned gravel paths in hilly woods and in grass on south facing clearings. I haven't had any luck in central or north Tulsa so far, despite excelent conditions. Dean M.--Tulsa, Ok.

Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 17:24:15 EDT. Howdy,My name is Bob, I live in Amber,Okla, I have picked about 400 mushrooms so far,the last week has been real good here, I hope if we get some more rain

Mushroom finds 4/18 & 19. Ahead of an impending Thunderstorm, we found six nice size yellows, but we were a little too late. High temps and dry winds had taken their toll. Yesterday we found seven that were a day fresher and salvagable. Found them all along Stillwater and Cow Creeks near Stillwater, Oklahoma. The rain this weekend may bring another round for Oklahoma. Bil S. and Monty S.

tulsa crop continues. Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 12:15:20 +0900. From: dean. still finding them around tulsa... yesterday found several drying bigfoots in south tulsa. but later, i found several fresh still light colored esculente in nw tulsa. so i guess its not over yet. wonder if its too late for rains and cooler temps this weekend to trigger another crop next week. hope so.

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 21:38:37 +0900. Still finding a few around Tulsa...a 6" bigfoot at lake Keystone Sunday April 21, and today a fresh looking smaller one today in S. Tulsa. Looks like things are on the decline here, but cool weather may preserve those that were passed over last week. dean M. Tulsa.







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Ontario, Canada:

Some Tips? Date: Thu, 09 May 2002 17:33:54 -0400. Hello, I'm a 15 year old who lives in Lyndhurst, Ontario, Canada (about 35km north of Kingston). I have began an interest in mycology and it seems it's about time for the black and white morels. I've found some of the verpa species (early morel) but they look quite unappetizing so I ignored those. Anyway, the good ones should start comming out any day now because of the wet/humid weather we've been having. I was wondering if perhaps, you could tell me any secret spots or habitats for this mushroom. It would be greatly appreciated! ~ Cain

Sighting. Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 18:34:49 -0400. Ontario Canada Midwestern Ontario, Bruce County 10 small to medium Black Morel this afternoon that were not there on Saturday. Going for a good walk in the morning for the first pick. We had snow last week and frost on Friday, temps are perfect now. Steve

Subject: Finding. Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 23:12:12 -0400. From: lsdunn. Found 11 morals 1 hour drive from my house. Well worth the trip! They Come up in the same place every year and are very abundant. We got there after plenty of people already picked the spot over.Then found 2 more(Bush Morels) when we went for a walk in the bush behind our local park.Just like finding Treasure...........May 14 2002

Subject: Scored Again. Date: Sat, 18 May 2002 00:00:06 -0400. From: lsdunn. Hello again from Ontario. Went out this morning with my wife and daughter to morel hunt. I insisted that we look around the pines for a while and we did but no luck.my wife is also an old pro at morel hunting,(since child hood with her family) and she insisted on looking around a pound (about the size of a small lake). so we proceeded and to my shear delight I heard the sounds " I Found One!" Now I'm alittle older than she but I Ran like a Jack Rabbit to the area she was searching. Big Sandy Hill with one tree on top Poplar and small 1 foot pine.She stated that when she was young she would always find this particular fern looking weed near morel sites. I looked with her for about ten minutes and decided to head toward the pines again when I heard her shout again. On the same hill she found a mess of morels. We quickly went over every inch of that hill and plan to visit it next year on our morel hunt. Needles to say she went on to find to more morels that day. Score Wife -14 , Me - 0. But still the day before was a score for me . So now I listen and look where she does. Tommorow we are going out again to even the score. Will keep you informed. By the way the morals were very tasty, for she also knows how to prepare and cook them. What a TREASURE.......the wifes not that bad either...LOL





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Oregon:

Morel find Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 15:42:56 -0800. Found 8 small black morels, barely showing up. 10 miles south of Portland, Oregon. Around Cottonwood trees in a sandy area in a river valley. 3 hours of hiking but still well worth the walk. I can hardly wait for some more rain! (Not a popular phrase in the Pacific Northwest). Roxanna

Morel sighting in Oregon. Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 02:16:30 EDT. Hi, I justed wanted to let you know that over the last two weeks, I've picked several pounds of beautiful blonde morels in Southern Oregon. They were found in the Madrones and Manzanita on south facing slopes in the foothills of the Rogue Valley. Thanks for posting! Josh

sigtning. Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 09:29:12 -0700. Found a few pounds of blacks here (this last week) in S. Oregon, exactly where Josh said! Thanks! Joe



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Pennsylvania:

Found Morels in PA! Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 14:52:01 -0400. Hi, Saw that there was no sightings posted for PA yet, but they are here! I found about 15 today in Western PA, Westmoreland County. (About 50 miles east of Pittsburgh) They were all in one general area, near the bottom of a south facing hill, with some green moss in the area. Thanks, Andy.

Mushroom sightings. Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 18:11:13 -0700. From: Shamey. We picked our first morels March 31 and have been picking them ever since. We are 50 miles east of Pittsburgh Pa.

Morels in PA and NJ. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 22:16:23 -0400. Made our first trip into the woods last Friday, 4/12. Collected 64 black morels and 2 half-frees. That's the best opening day that I've had here in Northeast PA. I attribute this good luck to the fact that the temperatures did not fall into the 20s right after our last rainfall. Typically, spring rains in this area are accompanied by the passage of a cold front. When the ground freezes at the time that the morels are just about ready to pop out, that's bad news for us shroomers. On Sunday, 4/14, we went back to our local spot and got another 55 blacks. On Saturday, I tried my luck in New Jersey, about 80 miles east of our locale. I found only 10 black morels. There has been a prolonged and severe drought in NJ for the past year or so. Even though Northern Jersey has picked up near normal rainfall during the past 6 weeks or so, I guess that the forest is still recovering from the prolonged dryness. Usually, I do better in NJ than here in PA. Dave and Karen in PA

Reporting from Pa. Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 20:52:10 -0400. From: rrbum. Southeast Pennsylvania- Central Delaware County... After a week or so of exploring new territory with no luck, decided to check a known patch. Found 32 keepers and a few that I decided to leave to do their thing. Some were kinda small, but they were showing signs of aging so I took them. Thank you for running such a cool website.

sighting. Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 21:44:16 -0400. Hi, Found my first morels in Delaware county. Picked a dozen today near some dying ash trees. They went well with the fresh rainbow trout caught on sunday. Good luck to everyone. Bob

morels. found 26 morels thurs.April 11th growing right on the burm of the road,also found 36 growing along Raystown Lake on April 12th! This is a little earlier than usual.Happy hunting!!!Bruce Huntingdon Co. Pa

Morels in Central Pa. Report for Sightings Page. From: SPUD. I spotted my first morel today (Monday April 15th) here in Central Pennslyvania. It was a small tan (Yellow) barely an inch tall.It was near an Elm tree. Other trees growing in the area are old Apple and Crabapple trees, some Dogwoods, Walnut and even a few Cedar. The soil here is perfect for Morels very rich in Limestone and lots of Yellow Clay. I find Blacks in the hills usually around Ash, Tulip(poplar) and Maple and Ironwood trees. Happy Hunting.

PA morels. Went out Sunday, April 13, and found seven blacks, all about 3 inches tall. They were in my favorite black morel spot - an old abandoned campsite with a fire pit (15 miles east of Pittsburgh). Hopefully the wet spring will continue and the yellows should be popping up soon. Good luck 'shroomers. Maugli

Morel's spotted in Lawrence County, PA. I found 28, 3-4 inch yellows and 1 small black today, April 18, under a dead elm tree with the bark just starting to fall off. They were mixed in with Mayapple's. The location, Western Lawrence County, about 50 miles Northwest of Pittsburgh, PA. Bob in PA

BLACK MORELS. We live dead center of Pa. On 4/15/02 found 25 black, various sizes but was impressed with 1 large shroom about 6 inches tall and 3 inches across, 4/16/02 found 12 black, all are nice size 1 to 3 inches, 4/17/02 only 4 black, the soil is very dark in color and lots of crabapple trees, if we could get to them before the deer, we would probably find alot more. HAPPY HUNTING (TONY & KRISTIE)

Pennsylvania. From: Jeep. My daughter and I were out today (April 20) and found nearly 2 dozen morels. This is the first bunch located in this immediate area. All were found on the north side of a heavily wooded hill. The season is just starting for us here in Greene County.

morel bonanza ! Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 22:12:01 -0400. Well the morels are out and in large numbers and sizes ! Since April 12, 2002 I have been blessed to find a total of 220 morels. The rain and warmer than normal temperatures have made them burst out of the ground. The next few weeks should produce many more ! Thank GOD for the treasure HE has provided ! Timothy, Aleppo,PA

Large Yellow Morels! Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 15:58:59 -0400. Hello this is my report for today from Southwestern PA. Today was the mother of all days. I went to a spot that I have never picked before. After 10 minutes of looking I was blown away by a 3 inch yellow morel which had been knocked over by a deer. After that one they seem to be right there. At first i thought it was a dream, but 80 morels later and a full hour of picking it was real. The tallest stood 6 inches tall. Good luck to all. Will be back out this weekend. More rain is coming! George Harris

MORELS. From: Cory. Found 14 yellows and grays in Somerset County, Pennsylvania on April 28,2002. They were under ash trees. It rained all night so the woods was extremely sloppy but does that really bother mushroom hunters? None that I know of. Get out your boots!

morel mushrooms. Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 22:43:35 EDT. From: Sniper. me and my son were hunting morel mushrooms on 5/04/02 for the very first time. we found yellow and on black morels. we only found a total of six. we were walking up a draw and found them when we almost got to the top of the draw. the terrain was in open hard woods. we found them in butler county, pa. we will be out again this week looking for more. good luck to you shroomers.

Pennsylvania Morels. Went out yesterday, May 5, and found 7 big yellows. They were in good

condition considering the cold, frosty nights we had. This week should be ideal, with warm nights and rain showers predicted. I have found that the morels peak around Mother's Day here in Northwestern Pennsylvania. We are about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh, in Butler County.....Bet

morels in Delaware co., PA. Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 08:08:00 -0400. We found 4 itty-bitty yellow morels and 1 half-free in Delaware Co., PA, after scouring Southern New Jersey with no luck. But we're psyched, because it's our first find ever! Scott & Pete

mushrooms. Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 00:52:15 -0400. saturday may 18,2002. i picked a baseball cap full of yellow or half morels in potter county in PA. Tom P.







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Saskatchewan, Canada: No reports yet.



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South Carolina:

Report ! South Carolina. Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 19:55:05 -0500. I found six little gray morels today 3-31-02 to the east of Fort Mill in Indian Land. Looks like the start of a great season! .....CraigReport ! South Carolina. Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 19:55:05 -0500. I found six little gray morels today 3-31-02 to the east of Fort Mill in Indian Land. Looks like the start of a great season! Craig

Morel Harvest. Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 07:00:41 -0500. Hi, Have found about 45-50 pounds of Morels in Central South Carolina so far this year. Tim



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South Dakota:

Subject: Sightings. Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 17:13:22 -0500. Went out a week and half ago in South Eastern South Dakota and zeroed out. Last Tues. evening and Wed. morning picked about 6 lbs. Had some rain over the last weekend which seemed to be the key. I hunt next to Missouri River bottoms and have never had any luck on wooded sections(cottonwood) of the actual River Bottom. I have to get into the wooded breaks for any luck. Have noticed that if I get a sheltered canopy with a mix of hardwoods, a few red cedars and a few dead trees seems to be a good spot to look. Found a bunch of blacks just coming up in an area that was evidently planted to Ponderosa or Scotch Pine many (25+?)years ago. Mushrooms were coming up amongst the needles. Used to live in NE South Dakota but never had any luck. Have noticed in past people from SE N.Dakota have posted successful hunts. Just curious to know what kind of environment they find them in up there. Please post. KJ.

Subject: S.D. Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 16:24:15 -0500. Sunday 12, 2002, my girl and I located 3 lbs. near the river at Jefferson S.D. mostly grays some yellows. L.T. & Kaye

Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 08:12:22 -0500. From: Nelson S. Hunted on 5/17 in southern South Dakota, Two people picked over 90 lbs. in 3.5 hours

RE: S.D. Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 17:50:40 -0500. Greetings: Took a day off Monday, May 20, 2002, went to Elk Point, S.D. picked about 10 lbs. mostly large based late season morels, the yellows were aging but were good sized also. Some had 4" to 6" tops. Looks like the season is coming to a close no fresh little ones to be found. L.T. & Kaye. Might head to upper MI to keep the season going.



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Tennessee:

Michigan Message Board. Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 11:01:13 EST. From: Seipton. There was a report on a Michigan Board that the Morels are up in Central Tennessee.

Subject: morels in Norris. Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 09:40:37 -0500. A group of TVA biologists are always trying to find the first morels of the season near Norris Dam. I was out of town and a colleague found seven small ones on March 7. We also got a lot of rain and warm temperatures! Best of luck this year! Chris

Sightings,TN. Hello, Fellow shroomers starting to warm up here in East Tennessee. I've been looking for the Morels,a few times in the last 2 weeks. Early this week on March 16, 2002 i went to one of my best Patches found 8 blacks, and 1 yellow.All found around Norris TN. They ranged in size of about 2 to 4 inches for the blacks,while the yellow was just breaking through the leaf litter.If the wheather holds,next week should be prime time for the blacks. Looking forward to the best season of the year!!! Happy huntin, and GOOD LUCK!!! Scott

sightings of morels. Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 20:17:22 EST. just wanted to let you know that I found morels in TN...on March 21....found around 50...mostly tans/brown. Thanks so very much. Red

Morels up in TN. Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 07:09:13 -0600. Hello, I just wanted to let you know that I've been shrooming again. On Thursday it was very cold 36* with snow flurries. I found 45 tans popping their little heads through the leaf litter. It has rained here for the past few days...so, the season should begin picking up. I'll keep you posted...happy hunting. Red

Morels Found Athens, Tn. Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 10:09:30 EST. Last Thursday before heading to Il. checked my favorite spots and found one. Rechecked same areas yesterday Tues. 2 April and found roughly 65. Mostly were greys under cedar trees. Many were popping up through obvious wash out trenches from the flooding rain. Has anyone tried using a Blacklight at night to see greys that are known to be in an area. Too embarrassed to elaborate!! Breck

TN Shrooms. Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 13:01:38 -0400. From: Thomas B. First time in three weekends of looking and the mushrooms are just now popping near Chattanooga. Found 11 in a 30 minute search of one of my favorite areas. Maybe find some more this afternoon.

Tennessee sighting. Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 18:42:53 EDT. Tennessee-Maury County - We went to our favorite area in middle Tennessee to look on Saturday, and found about 8 small tan morels. Should be getting good in the next couple of weeks. C and J

Morels in Tennessee. Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 21:32:01 EDT. Myself, my significant other and a friend of hers found about 50, mostly blacks and a few whites in southern middle Tennessee on Saturday April 6. Looks like the next couple of weeks will be good. Richard P.S. I forgot to tell of the 6 foot rattlesnake I also found on our expedition for morels. Richard in Tennessee

tenn. shrooms. Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 11:21:57 -0500 (EST) I'm going to visit my daughter on 4-20, just West of nashville, tenn. and was hoping someone could advise on where I can hunt in that area. Thank's, Bob-O

more sightings in Tennessee. Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 20:51:33 EDT. Found 70 today, mostly small greys and some yellows. Most importantly, no rattlesnakes today. Richard in Tennessee





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Texas:

Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 15:58:19 -0600. From: AA Employee. We found Morels on March 27 in North Central Texas at a couple of areas that had produced in the past. Since they were small we waited till the 30th to harvest them. Several hot spots from last year have not produced yet, possibly because of the colder spring we are experiencing. Most of the Morels were located around an old Pecan tree with several Cedar trees in close proximity. If the rains continue, the hunting should be good for the next couple of weeks.

morels in TX. Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 07:03:20 -0500. From: Tara. We found our first morel of the season today in northeast TX. It was a tiny grey, all by itself. We searched the woods and only found the one. If it rains this weekend as predicted they should be popping up within the next week!

Chef Dave Finds Morels in Bosque County. Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 23:33:09 -0500. Again, around Lake Whitney, on the fringes of the beautiful Hill Country of Texas. P, and L. and I found about a pound of lovely morels on a two-hour foray. It's late this year. Last year, we found the first ones on March 8 and gathered them by the bushel. But it has been colder this year, and dry too. Four previous trips to Lake Whitney in March were fruitless (although the burgers at Holly's are okey-doke -- but not as good as the food was at the late Dam Restaurant, which has, alas, closed due to the aging of the owners). But the downpours of the last two weeks and some warming weather have given us some wonderful morels, mostly small (leading us to believe that the season has been delayed entirely and that there will be more). We had a wonderful meal tonight with the catch of the day. Veal scallops, dredged in flour and sautéed in English butter and olive oil, then removed from the pan and the morels, some shallots, garlic chives, and parsley sautéed until tender and then drenched with heavy cream -- the veal put back into the sauce and warmed back up. Life around here is pretty damn good.



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Utah:

Found morels in Utah. Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 17:42:17 +0100. On 19 May I found 30 morels in the Davis County (near Layton, Utah) area. 10 of them were yellow (esculenta) and the rest were black (elata). Most of the blacks were between 3 and 5 inches tall. Not too bad. I've been here a few years and thought the only morels that grew here were the semilibra (horse tails), which I've been finding in fair abundance since the beginning of May this year and also found the last 3 years. It seems (at least around here) that the horse tails come up first, followed by the blacks and yellows. I'm originally from Indiana (where we are pretty proud of our morels) and these in Utah are every bit as good to find, look at and eat. It also seems that the season here is a little later than in the Midwest. Tim S. from Layton Utah.



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Vermont:

Subject: Vermont sighting. Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 18:16:05 -0400. Three yellows found at about 1000' elevation west of Route 7 in Rutland County, VT on May 11 under white pines. T and G

Subject: Report from Southwestern Vermont. Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 13:58:23 -0400. From: Lisa. I found about 15 small morels on May 8th in a couple of areas that had produced in the past. Surprising to find any, because the weather has been unusually dry through the winter into the early spring. However, several days of rain last week apparently worked some magic, and since there is more rain in the long-range forecast, we can hope that this is just the beginning of the harvest.



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Virginia:

Morels in Tidewater, VA: Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2002 23:12:25 -0500. From Jack P. For Jody, I live in Poquoson, and haven't seen a morel since I was a kid in Ohio (a long time ago!) I don't expect you to tell me where you've gotten them, but I would appreciate the approximate range, in miles from Newport News or Hampton. I've looked around Yorktown, but I've never seen a single one.

Subject: For Jack P in Poquoson VA from Jody. Date:Sun, 10 Mar 2002 10:34:49 +0900 Greetings! Unfortunately I am no longer in Virginia. Good old Uncle Sam decided it was time for me to go visit the wonderful land of South Korea. But hey, you do what you have to. As for the Morels, I have given over my favorite little spot to an individual that was stationed at Langley AFB with me. He is still in the area and we have already had some chat about the season. It would be up to him to divulge the honey hole. I can tell you I kind of came on the spot by accident. You know how morel hunters are about giving away their spot. However, I can tell you that Poplar trees, Pine trees and even Oak groves have produced many treats. I usually start finding them around St. Patrick's day, so get ready. Your season is about to start. Check out some of the last year inputs and you can get the individuals name. I don't want to give it for his personal reasons. You can figure who it is though. Hope I have helped a little. Believe me I will be searching the forest here in Korea and will post any findings. The climate is like southern Indiana. The approximate range in miles from Poquoson, is about 15 miles. Best of luck and good shrooming.

morels in VA, 3-30-02. From Glenn D. 19 lovely tan morels found today just west of Richmond, VA. 200 or so from same spot last year on April 13. Forecast rain over the next few days should have them poppin!

From Virginia: Made my first finds on the Virginia peninsula 29 March. We are way behind on rain so it has made for a late (and slow) start. All finds were of the black variety, and the morsels in the attached picture came out of the woods an hour ago. Clay B. Hampton, VA



report from Va. Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 23:27:13 -0500. Hello all just back from a trip to my usual stomping grounds. We that is the 3 of us picked 6 doz. nice blackish brown morels. Location yeah everyone wants that. Lets say we were out side in the hills of Lexington Va area. Some were small and some were fully grown. Weather is almost ready nights are a little cold. Rain is on the way and more will be popping. Next update in 3 weeks when I go again. Look for my reports from Pa. hope to have them popping here soon. George H.

Virginia Sightings. Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 15:46:49 -0400. Son and I searched the usual locations yesterday for about an hour. Came upon 2 small tans just breaching the leaf litter. With rain for the weekend and temps. in 70's, here we go! Location near Wytheville in the mountains. Happy hunting to all. Smith Boys

April 13th. Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 17:24:40 EDT. Found two dozen fully grown black morels near Elkton Virginia. All were located in sparse grass in and near wild blackberry bushes. Oaks nearby. Dan K.

VA: 4/14/02. Found 10 yellow morels in the vicinity of Front Royal, VA. All were in one group on the south side of a hill, and most were less than 2 inches. I did not find any in my favorite spots (which are not on south-facing slopes). Some may apples and some bloodroot are up, but very few trillium are up. Hopefully temps in the 80's this week will get them sprouting all over. Jay P.

Biguns. James here, near Peaks of Otter in Virginia. April 15.2002. Found several large, over 8in,white morels. Only 1 black so far.

Shroom Hunting. April 18, 7:00AM Stopped at a couple areas on the way home from work this morning, Found approximately 2Lbs of yellows and greys located in northern Virginia outside of Washington DC. Still hot and dry, looking for some rain today or tomorrow. Hoping to find More. The Shroomster

morels. Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 09:33:29 EDT. hunted morels on saturday near front royal va, weather was warm and cloudy, fould about 5 dozen but they were still fairly small, next two days should be prime, jim j

Virginia Sightings. Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 07:08:34 -0400. They're here, a week or so early. Son and I spotted 39 in an hour and could have had many more. Nearly all gray, with a few half-frees. Yup, mayapples are just up and the poplar blossoms are falling. We're in the SW Virginia mountains near Wytheville. Best is yet to come! Smith Boys

report for VA. 4/21/02. Walked in the rain this weekend and found 230 morels in the hills of the northern Shenandoah region of VA. The heat wave really brought them out this week - last weekend I found only 10 in the same area. They were mostly 2-4 inches, with a few up to 5 inches. Most were yellow/tan/gray except for 2 blacks and one half-free morel. I did not find many at higher elevations or on the shady sides of the hills where I've found them before, and the ones I did find in those cooler areas were small. They should become more plentiful in the cooler spots by next weekend, especially with all of the rain. Jay P.

Morels. From: David. Wednesday April 24, 2002, found about 10 on Wolf Creek Mountain in Giles County Virginia about half way up the mountain on the northern facing Lope about 4 miles from Narrows, Virginia. Found some of the Yellow Morels about 2 to 3 inches. Last Wednesday on April 17th found one half free morel same area but near apple trees. They are late coming this year as the nights have been cool. It is suppose to rain this weekend and be warmer next week. Will look for them again when turkey hunting this weekend. Ramps are plentiful. Fiddleheads are ripe. Just waiting for the Morels to peep out.

Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 04:14:03 EDT. went to usual spot near front royal, va yesterday and they were everywhere, picked 2 gallons in jusy over an hour, with the rain and warm weather today it should get eben better, jimj



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Washington:

morel in wa state. Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 17:23:56 -0800. found ten or so gray morels last week , barely coming up though the leafs!!! patty from tacoma washington

morels. Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 20:24:25 EDT. We went out yesterday the 6th of April here in Mt. Vernon, Washington and found a few. Some of them had been frost bitten because of the strange weather we had last week, but they are coming up. You don't find them when your sitting on the couch watching the boob tube. They tasted mighty fine breaded and fryed up in butter. My brother was lucky because his kitchen was the closest from our site and we were wet and cold. He had a fire and a cocktail waiting for us with the hopes of knowing we are diehard mushroom hounds. This is from big haired Joe and LuLu

morel! April 14 found 1 grey in cle elum, wa. found a few pounds of verpa. (no bugs due to the cool weather) It's raining and lots of snow in the mtns, hope it's a good year for washington!!!

Morels in WA. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 20:00:18 -0700. From: David & Susanne. Found one black and one white morel in a riverbottom near Yakima yesterday (4/23). The season seems to be starting a little late here - we started searching near Chelan, WA on Monday but fund only bullnoses (and one old but still tasty sparrasis). Guess we will have to go back next month! We were able to get reports from the Naches and Chelan districts in the Wenatchee forest of places that burned in 2001, and the Okanogan forest has them posted on line. David and Susanne in Olympia

morel find. From: Kathleen. Went out for the first time 4-21-02, found about 2 pounds good black morels and lots of verpa bohemica east of CleElum and west of Ellensberg along the river and along road side going to be a great year as we are getting a late spring.

Spokane: Mon, 3 Jun 2002 14:12:02 -0700. From: Becker Buick. morels in spokane, june 02, 2002. Two black morels found in city limits, one quite large, still on the lookout outside of town.



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West Virginia:

Sighting report from WV. Central WV, near Flatwoods: Checked our regular patch March 20, found 4 of the tall black morels (elata). It had been raining for two days, and they were bleached to a pale tan, but definately elata. It's been cold since then, so we're not expecting the big crop until next week. We find them always in a patch of black locust and poison ivy mixed with red oak, about the same time the last daffodils bloom here and usually pick 4-600 in a season, without coming close to gathering all of them. ~Jess

Found Morels in WV. Southern West Virginia March 30 2002. Wenting out to look for molly moochers today found one small one, it's been raining here and expecting more. So hopefully by next weekend they'll be up good. Anita

Hi fellow shroomers. First morels of the season found yesterday,march 29. Charleston W.V. Five very small blacks. They were in a grassy spot. Hope with a few days of rain and warm weather they will be out in the woods. Happy hunting! Nelle, if you are reading this they should be waiting for you when you get home. Nancy

Morel Sighting. Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 19:43:14 -0000. WEST VIRGINA - Mineral County. On March 30, 2002, I picked my first 13 morels (very small black ones) of the season. Sandy

findings report. Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 15:31:06 -0500. From: pbm. Hello morel mania,I was pleased to find your e-mail for reporting finds in my state of West Virginia. I find this very intersting and helpful. My wife and I found our first black morels today 4/06/02. It was a little chilly out but the forcast is calling for a warming trend early this next week. Hopefully we will have a nice flush this year, We are located in the north west area of the state,Tyler Co. Good luck to all and have a safe and bountiful season. ENJOY!!!

more morels found Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 16:04:10 -0700 (PDT). southern wv (boone co.) 4-8-02 have been out hunting the last few days and have found a total of 30 some moochers, calling for rain and alot warmer temps, so get ready fellow moocher hunters. anita

more morels in Tyler Co. WV. Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 20:06:29 -0500. From: pbm. we've had a nice rain the last couple of days, and now we have a panfull of greys, tans, and blacks! We found 40+ today, most of them about an inch tall. the black ones are bigger. We also saw a few half frees. this is great mushroom weather we're having, not like last year when it got too hot too fast.

Weat Virginia sightings. Picking were slim in the usual spots in Kanawha Co. Timbering has eliminated many old patches and concentrated hunters into the same areas. I took my family to the farm of a friend in northern Kan Co 4/18/02 and we literally picked a bushel, all varieties. The black ones ranged up to 8" tall and there were many 6" ones. We ate, shared, dried and froze like the newly rich. My advice - get off the public lands and cultivate a friendship with a landowner. Bruce P. , WV

West Virginia Sightings!. Found 9 whites and left 3 more to grow in Taylor County,WV on Monday.(April 22, 2002) All were under old fall downs on the southern facing slopes. Not much size to them but hopefully a few more days and they'll really start popping! The weather is supposed to cool off this week but hopefully not to much. I'll keep you posted. Cory F.

more morels. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 23:03:30 -0400. Found 14 more yellows and whites in Taylor county, WV today. They where on the southeastern slope under ash trees and old fall downs. 3 to 3 1/2 inches. Didn't have enough time to cover the whole area but I'll be back! They're poppin' now! Woo Hooooo!! Good Luck and get out there soon. Cory F

Tyler Co. W.V. Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 12:12:58 -0500. everything seems to be going great. Plenty of morels, found around 200 today while turkey hunting. Going back out this afternoon then heading to Elkins for the ramp festival. Might find some morels in the mountains,Tucker and Randolph counties. I will report in i I have any luck. good luck and happy hunting. Pam and Buddy



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Wisconsin:

Morels up in WI!! Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 10:32:39 -0500. Tom - Jason here. Morels are beginning to sprout here in SW Wisconsin! I went out this morning (April 14) and found 1 very small morel. The morel was still white in color. It will be approximately 10 days until one can start picking here on South facing slopes. We are guessing the week of May 6 for peak season. Happy Hunting To All....

1st morel. Found a few small ones April 23. They were on a south facing bluff in southern Rock County Wisconsin. Good Luck, Tim

WI morels. Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 07:36:06 -0500. From: Al Started finding black morels in Green County, Wi. South facing hillsides, high elevations.

Wisconsin Morels. Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 07:28:45 -0500. Well, I'm happy to report that Jason and I are starting to pick morels today. The unbearable "preseason" lasted 17 days this year (time from when the first morel is spotted until they get big enough to even consider picking). Brett

morels found. While weed trimming on May 1st, I noticed a small morel growing in our yard. Dropping the weedwhacker I proceeded to find another 36 mushrooms ranging from 1" to 4", black to yellow, all on the south side of a small hill in S.W.Wisconsin in Grant county. Fred

morels. Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 09:04:19 -0500. Only looked for half an hour and found about a hundred grays, one yellow. hilltops, under dead elms. don't forget your bugspray, ticks are active. green county wisconsin. bruce

morels, Sauk Co. Wisconsin. Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 21:13:34 -0500. We have been out every other day for two weeks. Today found. 1) 3 Blacks along the Wisconsin River. 2) 2 Blacks medium high South slope. 3) 5 Nice Yellows top, North to South slope. Chris

Morels in WI. Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 09:14:48 -0500. From: kim s. We found 45 yellow morels in Iowa County, WI yesterday. Most of them were 4" from stem to stern. They were found in the tall grass on the edge of the woods. Not a dead elm to be found.........

Subject: Big Yellows. Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 21:11:35 -0500. On May 18th.,,,Found about 20 big yellows, the Mother Load in the Rockford area. All around a Sycamore tree . Went back the following week May 25th. in the rain and found one 10 inches.Both weeks required a hard four hour search. I also checked the area next to I-90 in Schaumburg and found three older big yellows about 6 to eight inches long. I believe this is the end of the season in this area.North of Baraboo and upper Wis. should be coming in strong now...Bill from Streamwood.



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Wyoming: No reports yet.



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No State/Province/Country Mentioned:

morel report. Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 15:26:42 -0700. found 4 blacks (1/2"-2") on the 11th ..... the 13th found 45 blacks (2"-4") and 16 half- frees ...... take care and have a great season .... Gary

Another good day. Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 21:54:20 -0700. Searched several locations unsuccessfully today and ended up back in the same sight as yesterday, on the S. Canadian north of Minco. Today we found 135 greys and yellows. Smaller than yesterdays. They were in the grassy areas around the ceder trees. Battered and fryed with a little salt and ketchup made a wonderful treat tonight. Kansas next week. See you all at the Ill. State championship in Magnolia. Bil S.

shrooms. Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 22:45:34 -0500. Got 71 today in Fairview Heights. Mostly yellas on south and east facing hills; Larry

Morel Sighting 4\14\02. Found 15 "Browns" in Moultrie county on 4\14\02. Hit another usual spot that always produces blacks and didn't find a one. Dan

Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 08:35:10 -0500. From: Audrey. Started finding them the other day. FOund 8. It rained last nite so going shrooming this weekend!!

Morels in Sevier County. Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 15:10:38 -0400. I found five blacks last week on a ridge of hardwoods last week. By this time I usually have found 100-200, but the weather warmed a lot (near 80) with no rain. They may come on with this week's rain. Good Hunting. Chris

morels. From: jim. Let it be known that the shrooms are up. Went saturday, 4 / 20 02 and found 200+ nice yellows and white shrooms. The time has come to get serious. GOOD LUCK.

100 morels. Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 12:30:22 EDT. Brought home 100 morels yesterday, and what ever my friend found. Black ones, gray ones and yellow. Hope to go back tomarrow if it rains tonight. I think we found our first one on 4-3-02. Happy hunting to all. Mary @ Carroll Co.

Morels. From: Randy and Marsha. Hi, We just went out and found 42 greys and a few more blacks alot are growing straight out of moss patches anywhere in size from 1/8 in to 3"in.isn't life great!!!!!!! 4/19/02 Montgomery co.On my way back out.

mushrooms. Went out after work on 04/19/02 to one of my lucky spots west of Indy and found 7 grays and 3 yellows. Although I had hoped for more I am pleased to have a small meal. I am praying for more rain and cooler temps as it has been in the 80's all week. gonna try again on Sunday or Monday happy hunting. UKlemm

findings. Saturday, April 20, walked woods all day, found about 100 grays (1-3 inches) no yellows yet. Windy day, found only in calm areas in woods and soil with no or very little cover, NE and SE slopes. J. R.

Found. East Central, found 6 Yellows 1 gray 4/23 just one small patch for now. Mike

Dewitt county 102 small grays found 4/20/02 Looks to be a good year but a late one. Happy Hunting. Bryan

Dupage County Morels. Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 13:31:31 -0500. Hit all the hot spots this past weekend and came home with lots of air in the hunt sacks. This season is either a little late or my hot spots have stopped producing. Looks like I'll need to use soap and water on the lenses and head out again this afternoon. Bill W

Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 18:14:25 -0500. From: limberlost. found 4 yellow and 6 small gray's saterday april 27 in dekalb county. All under elm's in sandy soil. Ive looked every day for a week and these are the first i've found. We need warm weather now.

A good after work hunt 04-24-02. Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 20:35:21 -0400. From: HUNTER. Found these just 2 miles from work north of town tonight LOL WOOHOOO eat your hearts out all

Ground. Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 21:38:13 -0500. Finding lots of mushrooms this year and they sure are really nice and tasty. Larry never stopped by, heard him on the radio, he sure can tell a s_____tory. I have access to 400 acres of private ground. If you know of anyone who would like to come to pike county next April for a weekend of mushroom hunting. Please give them my number. Thanks looking forward to see you. Your Friend, Conel. ONE LOYAL FRIEND IS WORTH TEN THOUSAND RELATIVES. FRIENDS ARE THE FAMILY WE CHOOSE WITH OUR HEARTS.

more morels found. Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 22:06:49 -0500. i found around 200 small morels and about 10 large yellows they are really coming up all over and with more rain in the forecast im going out again tomorow brandon in marseilles

News flash more morels! Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 23:04:53 -0400. Hello again! Back from picking today 5 new spots were uncovered by the 2 of us today. Yes all within 2 miles of the site last week. Today we picked 63 large yellow and Grays. The tallest of these was 8 inches. Photo's to be viewed as soon as I get them back. It seems like where ever we looked we found 3-5 and sometimes 10-12 in an area. Sometimes more. Hope everyone is having fun and if you go out to your spot and they are gone sorry I got to them first. but judging the size of these no one knew they were there at all. George

Dissapointed in Mesick. Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 22:18:20 -0700. From: Michael. My wife, I and my mother journeyed northward to our favorite mushroom hunting grounds. The place: Mesick. The dissapointment: Huge! There were so many people in the woods you would have thought they were getting paid for looking for those morels! But , almost all bags were empty. Those that did have a few mushrooms said that they didn't get them anywhere in that vicinity. Locals said it has been cold with heavy frost every single night. Everything on the forest floor looked like the dead of winter. nothing much was growing and the trees had yet to bud. I don't know if we wil go back yet for a couple of weeks.

Morels in Montgomery Co.! 4-26-'o2 They're up! After several strolls through the woods, with no luck...Finally findin' the elusive morel! 3 lbs. of fresh greys, along with several nice yellows. 75 on one hill! Talk about happy! Kind of a weird season, got to hot to soon but, with the rain last weekend, they're poppin' up in all my favorite spots! Found a pound this evening in less than 30 minutes! Gonna take a walk in the woods tomorrow, It's pickin' time. This season will last till around the 15th of May, I am sure of it, I don't mind crawlin' on my knees through the dense forest floor when I can fill my mesh sack with those big 'uns! Keep looking Hoosiers, they're out there~~~and Have Fun!(Remember to use a potatoe bag, or an onion sack...gotta let the spores fall.)~~~~~~~~~~~~Colleen:-)

Subject: mushrooms. Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 08:18:59 -0700. went to my spot in dakota county today found 30 morells tops are starting to get just a little hard and crusty some were complety dried up but they were good eating strange year strange weather. savey dog

morel sightings: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 19:56:42 EST. My wife, Sassy, and I found 29 morels today. Same basic spot as last time. I had left one morel from 3 days ago, to make sure my wife would find at least one. I was surprised to see how much it grew; it at least doubled in size. It is still early, I have not seen any centipedes yet. Usually centipedes are out when it is prime time. Thanks Glenn D.