# MORELS 2020 CHIT CHAT



## trahn008

It's early but it will be here before we know it! Happy Hunting!


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## Gibz

Took the smoke pole for a walk Saturday saw this tree and stopped to look around and could see a log with old chickens another with Turkey tail and another with some kind of polypore. Lots of tulip poplar. Definitely a place of interest for spring


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## theknowlesy

Nice find!


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## wade

Howdy Everyone... Wade here
i found a couple of Yalls old Threads that trahn008 had started last year.. they where lost in an old pile of spam.
they are back on here for you now


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## trahn008

You da man Wade!! Thanks... That 2019 growing thread was a cool one. going to give it a bump!


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## jdaniels313

Gibz said:


> View attachment 24040
> Took the smoke pole for a walk Saturday saw this tree and stopped to look around and could see a log with old chickens another with Turkey tail and another with some kind of polypore. Lots of tulip poplar. Definitely a place of interest for spring


Sounds like an interesting area! Nice muzzleloader too! (I have a .50 Hawken myself) I couldn't tell from the photo whether it's a flintlock or percussion rifle. Good to see others that love black powder too! Happy Shroomin'....


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## Gibz

jdaniels313 said:


> Sounds like an interesting area! Nice muzzleloader too! (I have a .50 Hawken myself) I couldn't tell from the photo whether it's a flintlock or percussion rifle. Good to see others that love black powder too! Happy Shroomin'....


JDaniels. Thanks. It’s a flintlock. It was a kit from a Cabellas many years ago to serve as a sanity project to get through January and February


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## redfred

So Phil thinks spring will be early this year... I hope he is right... I also heard on the news that the PETA people think Phil should be replace with a robot.... Now who in there right mind would think that a robot could predict the weather better then a ground hog....come on spring...


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## shroomsearcher

redfred said:


> So Phil thinks spring will be early this year... I hope he is right... I also heard on the news that the PETA people think Phil should be replace with a robot.... Now who in there right mind would think that a robot could predict the weather better then a ground hog....come on spring...


The PETA people, that's who! Being the gang of idiots they are, it doesn't surprise me!


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## beagleboy

This weather is really getting me anxious for spring. I remember that it was just about the same temperatures in Feb. of 1993, and the members who were in central pa remember what happened in the middle of march 1993. I don't remember how the morel season went that year.


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## redfred

beagleboy said:


> This weather is really getting me anxious for spring. I remember that it was just about the same temperatures in Feb. of 1993, and the members who were in central pa remember what happened in the middle of march 1993. I don't remember how the morel season went that year.


I could not tell you what the morel season was like in 1993 but I do know that groundhog is never right.. Spring will come when it wants to...


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## sb

*Beagleboy* -* Looks like PA got caught in the cross hairs in March of '93.*

Been'a real bad time to have been in the woods camping for early Morels. Ha!

*1993 Storm of the Century*
(according to Wikipedia)


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## beagleboy

Yes sb, it started on sat. morning and ended sun afternoon with 27 inches of snow and drifts at some spots that were over 10ft deep. Penn dot had a grader completely buried about 3 miles from my house. It got stuck sat night and by morning you couldn't see it. It was at a place that it always drifts bad.


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## beagleboy

I went to a couple of places that I found oysters earlier this winter and there were a lot of old ones. I don't know if they were the old ones that I left, but if they were they are a lot bigger. I took one from the second area that didn't look too bad and the center was white and solid, so I am going to peel the outer edge off and see what it tastes like.


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## beagleboy

redfred, he doesn't make the weather ,he just predicts it. But sometimes it is right and sometimes wrong. He hit it right in the movie. lol 
It is a really good boost to the economy in that little town and everyone has a good time. You know how it is getting cabin fever waiting for the mushrooms, so this gives everyone a chance to get out and party.


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## shroomsearcher

I find it amazing how sunny it usually is on Feb. 2! Going forward 6 weeks from that date puts you in mid-March, which is about when Winter starts really letting go. Think about it. It's a self fulfilling prophecy!

Still, after last year I wouldn't mind an early Spring this year.


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## beagleboy

this was my breakfast this morning with the oyster mushroom I kept yesterday. It had good flavor.


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## morelsxs

Gibz said:


> View attachment 24040
> Took the smoke pole for a walk Saturday saw this tree and stopped to look around and could see a log with old chickens another with Turkey tail and another with some kind of polypore. Lots of tulip poplar. Definitely a place of interest for spring


Hello all and a belated Happy New Year! Noticed what I know as "Princess Pine" in your photo. I'm curious as whether anyone has ever found morels among them. I find morels very close to where they are but never among them. Anyone?


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## morelsxs

beagleboy said:


> I went to a couple of places that I found oysters earlier this winter and there were a lot of old ones. I don't know if they were the old ones that I left, but if they were they are a lot bigger. I took one from the second area that didn't look too bad and the center was white and solid, so I am going to peel the outer edge off and see what it tastes like.
> View attachment 24430
> View attachment 24432
> View attachment 24434


Nice treat for this time of year!


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## morelsxs

beagleboy said:


> this was my breakfast this morning with the oyster mushroom I kept yesterday. It had good flavor.
> View attachment 24448


Yum; I told ya a nice treat!


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## wade

morelsxs said:


> Hello all and a belated Happy New Year! Noticed what I know as "Princess Pine" in your photo. I'm curious as whether anyone has ever found morels among them. I find morels very close to where they are but never among them. Anyone?


@morelsxs i likewise find Morels along the outside edges , but not out in the middle of a patch of pines, exception being when there is a dying elm or other typical host tree, out in the middle of pines..


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## wade

its on down in Georgia Yall..
on pastorj 's Thread
get ya 2 pair a boots and a Rain coat Ready !


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## beagleboy

Wade,that's 2 weeks earlier than last year for Georgia. I hope it doesn't come too early for us up here. If they start for a week and we get a heavy freeze for a few days it could be a real short season. That would be about the 3rd or 4th week in march for southwestern pa. Which in central pa would make it close to the middle of april.


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## wade

beagleboy said:


> Wade,that's 2 weeks earlier than last year for Georgia. I hope it doesn't come too early for us up here. If they start for a week and we get a heavy freeze for a few days it could be a real short season. That would be about the 3rd or 4th week in march for southwestern pa. Which in central pa would make it close to the middle of april.


yep i noticed that.. a lot can still change over the next 7 weeks...
i know we all hope it to come in just right
We are about to find out..


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## beagleboy

I took my 10 yr old grandson and the beagle for a 2 hr hike today to look for sheds. He found 2, left side with a y and a left side 4point. I wasn't much help because I was looking more in the tree tops to see if they were dead.  I will be going back to this area in late April -early May.


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## beagleboy

This tree was beside a ladder stand, It looks like they were keeping a record of bucks shot at this spot years ago. It must be a good spot my grandson found the 4point horn less than fifty yards away.


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## redfred

beagleboy said:


> I took my 10 yr old grandson and the beagle for a 2 hr hike today to look for sheds. He found 2, left side with a y and a left side 4point. I wasn't much help because I was looking more in the tree tops to see if they were dead.  I will be going back to this area in late April -early May.
> View attachment 24680
> View attachment 24682
> View attachment 24684


I can see why you want to go back. I’m not sure if you were babysitting because of schools off for Presidents‘ Day, scouting for morels, or training a future morel hunter but I would bet the house that one 10 year old had a great day...... best of luck and keep it up...


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## redfred

beagleboy said:


> This tree was beside a ladder stand, It looks like they were keeping a record of bucks shot at this spot years ago. It must be a good spot my grandson found the 4point horn less than fifty yards away.
> View attachment 24686


Morel poacher count ????


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## beagleboy

redfred said:


> Morel poacher count ????


I hope not, because there might be one more slash on the tree come spring.


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## beagleboy

redfred, if you click on the picture right above the letters AF, it will show you a picture that was cut into the bark showing a buck head. it doesn't show up real well at normal size.


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## shroomsearcher

Yep! That one side makes it look like a nice 8 point!


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## Rippers2

In SWPA, I’ve only once found yellows in March... 2012. First week of April in 2010. The norm in my areas is 3rd/4th week April. 

This could easily be another March morel year... though it depends on weather staying mild. Current forecasts say colder than normal March... we’ll see.

Happy 2020 season to all!


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## Rippers2

beagleboy said:


> This weather is really getting me anxious for spring. I remember that it was just about the same temperatures in Feb. of 1993, and the members who were in central pa remember what happened in the middle of march 1993. I don't remember how the morel season went that year.


I was just discussing that with a friend. Weather models are moving toward a set up favorable to March blizzard in the NE US. Lots can change by then. 
I do recall thinking winter was over just before the blizzard of 93 hit.


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## wade

beagleboy said:


> I took my 10 yr old grandson and the beagle for a 2 hr hike today to look for sheds. He found 2, left side with a y and a left side 4point. I wasn't much help because I was looking more in the tree tops to see if they were dead.  I will be going back to this area in late April -early May.
> View attachment 24680
> View attachment 24682
> 
> those are Beautiful Woods. wher are you near... @beagleboy


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## beagleboy

wade,that was in Snyder co. pa. I hunt Snyder and Mifflin co most often.


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## beagleboy

Get the permethrin out. I thought that 32 degrees would be cold enough to keep the ticks away, so I didn't spray today. I picked 2 off my pants. They were moving pretty slow.


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## redfred

beagleboy said:


> Get the permethrin out. I thought that 32 degrees would be cold enough to keep the ticks away, so I didn't spray today. I picked 2 off my pants. They were moving pretty slow.


It seems to me around this time last year you found ticks.... Now I’ve heard of some guys being “chick magnets “ but “ tick magnets” you can keep that title all to yourself.... I do believe in the permethrin, I didn’t find one tick on me last year...


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## wade

Them Damm TICKS.. i just don't see the need for them.. other than to scare some people from even going into the Woods.
you know what i mean, they help keep it so less people go into the woods..
therefore helps preserve and protect 
the Woods/ Forests


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## beagleboy

Today I saw a good sign of spring, a groundhog opened up his burrow.


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## beagleboy

I also found 3 large ash trees that were still living. Its been quite a few years since that I saw any. I haven't had any luck finding morels around dead ones, but used to find them around live ones. This area has both. I did spray today, no ticks.


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## wade

Now All of us ...Knowing that any prediction is just a Guess.. coupled with information and Our past seasons to compare it to...
Still i Feel compelled to post that...
from what i see and am Feeling is !!!
This looks like the Making of a Very Normal Season for Everyone of Us
from South and all the Way Northward
as Our Progression Pop Pop Pops.
but we just don't Really know, do we
as for what is Certain;
*The Mystery and Our Love of the Hunt
Will Always Be....
and in My Head and Heart I'm again and always, Waiting, Watching and Scouting and Hoping and Hunting & Hunting & Hunting, BELIEVEING and Knowing that one of these Seasons We Will all find Ourselves...
Out There Standing right in the middle of the Biggest Popping FLUSH of Morels and Fungi
that any of Us alive today have Ever seen..
" The Hundred Year Hunt "
" The Hundred Year Hunt "
" The Hundred Year Hunt "
i Remember My Great Grandad talking about it when i was just a Boy...
There were So.. So Many Morels its all They ate for Months... Any a Place They would step in the woods..
Morels Were Everywhere...
i Believe and am sure this Same ..
" Hundred Year Hunt "
will happen again in Our Time....
i Expect it.. i Have a Love for it..
" I Won't Know if I Don't Go "
So i keep Hunting....


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## beagleboy

I went out today in the rain to look at an area that is supposed to have ramps in the spring







. It looks like it might be a spot for morels too.


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## wade

yep.. that looks good out there


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## beagleboy

I was out checking a tip on an area with a lot of elms today. The elms were there but the soil and lay of the land doesn't look too promising. Did find this fish skeleton, any ideas on what kind it might be. I have never saw one with flat serrated bones like this had.


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## wade

beagleboy said:


> I was out checking a tip on an area with a lot of elms today. The elms were there but the soil and lay of the land doesn't look too promising. Did find this fish skeleton, any ideas on what kind it might be. I have never saw one with flat serrated bones like this had.
> View attachment 25108


Wow that is very interesting


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## beagleboy

Actually none of the bones looked like fish bones except for the tailbone. The way they were laying there it looked to be over 2ft long. It was about 100ft from shore.


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## wade

beagleboy said:


> Actually none of the bones looked like fish bones except for the tailbone. The way they were laying there it looked to be over 2ft long. It was about 100ft from shore.


I think @morelsxs will know what it is or was


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## shroomsearcher

beagleboy said:


> Actually none of the bones looked like fish bones except for the tailbone. The way they were laying there it looked to be over 2ft long. It was about 100ft from shore.


I have to agree. None of the fish I've ever caught had a "tail bone". The spine ended at the tail. The "ribs" of the tail were cartilage with membrane between.


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## Tool fan

I’m thinking maybe not a fish


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## wade

Tool fan said:


> I’m thinking maybe not a fish


we will figure it out eventually 
im sure @morelsxs will know


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## wade

Howdy John @JohnS42
and to any New Folks on here 
We Welcome you to Enjoy and be Happy 
so..if you will go or have now gone back a few years and begin reading forward till present..
you be finding yourself self..
as if you are almost out there living and learning and exploring and enjoying right beside all of us Awesome Caracters..
Woodsman Outdoorsman Naturalist
self Reliant Last of the Frontiersmen..
its an Everything Read...
a Novel, a Poem, a Love story,
an Adventure, a Hunters log, and a Drama
a Comedy, a Documentary..
its Also a Family with a Love for the Hunt
its a Legacy..and its More.. its Anything and its Everything..
and any Questions that anyone has are already Answered in all our Pages and Postings Past...
After Reading You Should Feel Good..
You Will Know Us..
just all Good Good.. And Win Win
So John ...Read Read... Enjoy Enjoy
then Come back and Join in with us
and then Ask Questions..
Many of Us have Hunted, Hundreds and Hundreds again of Miles Loving looking Enjoying Learning.. Finding Morels and Other Fungi... and we are all good Friendly Folks here...
and We will Help You John..
Still i think Yourself putting in the Efforts Reading up to date Local and in near by States
is of the First and Most Help with Benefits you can gain in No other way.
go back John.. go back a few years
and Read who we are and where we've been .. Then Join in With us Now..
@JohnS42
Thank You Sir
from Wade..


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## steelernation

There are bones with ball joints on the ends. Fish don't have joints, so that is one clue. Those also aren't 'tail bones', but rather they look to be shoulder bones. There is also a mammal vertebrae in there. Those serrated bones are strange, though. They remind me of the underside plates of a turtle shell, and that might explain the joint serrations and that odd 'spur' at the ends. Perhaps you have two creatures there??? Just my early day, not-on-site guess...


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## jashroomer

I agree with Steelernation (as a Colts fan didn't think i'd ever say that) after looking on line it's probably a what's left of a turtle.


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## shroomsearcher

steelernation said:


> There are bones with ball joints on the ends. Fish don't have joints, so that is one clue. Those also aren't 'tail bones', but rather they look to be shoulder bones. There is also a mammal vertebrae in there. Those serrated bones are strange, though. They remind me of the underside plates of a turtle shell, and that might explain the joint serrations and that odd 'spur' at the ends. Perhaps you have two creatures there??? Just my early day, not-on-site guess...


Beat me to it! I went back and looked at the pic again, and thought the "tail bone" could be the scapulae of some smaller critter. And when some critter dies or gets killed in the wild, the bones get scattered all over by all kinds of other critters, including mice, and other rodents, that like to nibble on the bones for calcium.


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## beagleboy

Thanks for the replies. I thought maybe a turtle at first but I looked for a shell and couldn't find one. Some people collect turtle shells so maybe someone took the shell.


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## beagleboy

steelernation said:


> There are bones with ball joints on the ends. Fish don't have joints, so that is one clue. Those also aren't 'tail bones', but rather they look to be shoulder bones. There is also a mammal vertebrae in there. Those serrated bones are strange, though. They remind me of the underside plates of a turtle shell, and that might explain the joint serrations and that odd 'spur' at the ends. Perhaps you have two creatures there??? Just my early day, not-on-site guess...


Maybe I found the missing link, my claim to fame.


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## beagleboy

Just checked the soil temp map for my area, the 5 day avg. was 40.9. I know we need about 15 degrees yet for morels but does anyone know at what temp the ramps start.


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## wade

beagleboy said:


> Just checked the soil temp map for my area, the 5 day avg. was 40.9. I know we need about 15 degrees yet for morels but does anyone know at what temp the ramps start.


i do not know..but i do want to know
can anyone tell us...Thank You


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## beagleboy

Today I went for a couple mile hike in an area that is above where I have found yellows before. There are plenty of tulip poplars and an oak that looks just like another oak that I find hens in the fall. Maybe I can find that motherload of blacks this year. Last year the yellows came earlier for me so I didn't get to look for blacks very much.


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## beagleboy

I took the beagle for a walk today and took a few ground temp readings in a spot that I hunt morels. The first picture is the bottom of the ridge, the second is the top. It is a little warmer at the top but I have never found any morels on top of this ridge. We have a while to go ,last year the first one I found was on the 24th of april and the ground temp. was 58 degrees. They were small greys. This is showing only low 40s.


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## swpa

Beagle,
Nice to see you again electronically as well as the usual helpful crowd. How deep are you measuring temp? I am looking at my log, and I generally find first flush at 52-55 at 6-8 inches with probe.


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## beagleboy

swpa said:


> Beagle,
> Nice to see you again electronically as well as the usual helpful crowd. How deep are you measuring temp? I am looking at my log, and I generally find first flush at 52-55 at 6-8 inches with probe.


I go down about 4" most of the time. Are your first ones blacks, they are supposed to be a little earlier, I have had trouble finding blacks so far. The few that I have found are just in the area that I find yellows and that hasn't been very many .


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## swpa

Yes. And my black morel trend was declining until three years ago when for some reason it began to bounce back. I do not find the early morels in the same places as the later ones but that might simply be specific to my sites. With only a few declining elm sites, everything I hunt is poplar-related.
I expect to find the first flushes this year in the third or fourth week of March given the weather this month, but never know. In 13 or 14, I think, and I don't have the log from those years in front of me now, my earliest find was March 7, not yet worth harvesting but that's only a day or two from flush.


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## shroomsearcher

beagleboy said:


> I go down about 4" most of the time. Are your first ones blacks, they are supposed to be a little earlier, I have had trouble finding blacks so far. The few that I have found are just in the area that I find yellows and that hasn't been very many .


Same here! I once read, I think it was on these boards, that to find blacks successfully you have to forget everything you know, or think you know, about yellows! 



swpa said:


> Yes. And my black morel trend was declining until three years ago when for some reason it began to bounce back. I do not find the early morels in the same places as the later ones but that might simply be specific to my sites. With only a few declining elm sites, everything I hunt is poplar-related.
> I expect to find the first flushes this year in the third or fourth week of March given the weather this month, but never know. In 13 or 14, I think, and I don't have the log from those years in front of me now, my earliest find was March 7, not yet worth harvesting but that's only a day or two from flush.


A few years back I went to a morel seminar give by John Maybrier. During the seminar he sent around a baggie of dried blacks. OMG, what a smell! So spicy! I asked him what he looks for to find blacks, and he said a "popple woods". Well, we don't have a lot of those up here in NE Ohio. We have an isolated copse here and there. Maybrier lives in Michigan, and I don't doubt that he can find a popple woods up there. Once you get far enough up in there, Michigan starts looking a whole lot like Canada! No more hardwoods, it's all poplar and jack pine. 

The thing is, according to the OH Division of Forestry, there is no such thing as true poplar in this state. What many call poplar is actually Aspen. We have both Bigtooth and Dogtooth Aspen here. So, I still have no idea what to do. I just go out and wander around, earlier than I think is right for yellows, and hope that I maybe stumble into something! Hardly an organized way to go about it!


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## beagleboy

shroomsearcher said:


> Same here! I once read, I think it was on these boards, that to find blacks successfully you have to forget everything you know, or think you know, about yellows!
> 
> 
> 
> A few years back I went to a morel seminar give by John Maybrier. During the seminar he sent around a baggie of dried blacks. OMG, what a smell! So spicy! I asked him what he looks for to find blacks, and he said a "popple woods". Well, we don't have a lot of those up here in NE Ohio. We have an isolated copse here and there. Maybrier lives in Michigan, and I don't doubt that he can find a popple woods up there. Once you get far enough up in there, Michigan starts looking a whole lot like Canada! No more hardwoods, it's all poplar and jack pine.
> 
> The thing is, according to the OH Division of Forestry, there is no such thing as true poplar in this state. What many call poplar is actually Aspen. We have both Bigtooth and Dogtooth Aspen here. So, I still have no idea what to do. I just go out and wander around, earlier than I think is right for yellows, and hope that I maybe stumble into something! Hardly an organized way to go about it!


The trees that we call tulip poplar in my area aren't true poplars either, they are in the magnolia family. A friend of mine finds his blacks at a very large black cherry tree, I look at every one I come to but all I have found around them so far has been yellows.


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## swpa

Well I think we still have tulip or yellow poplar here but, based on this discussion, I am not certain. Regardless, the older stands will be harvested soon as it seems to be a wood that is desirable now for facade work. In the past, timberers left them as they were a soft hardwood hence the large stands of mature trees around hear. Everything changes, but one thing that won't is the elusiveness of morels.


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## redfred

swpa said:


> Well I think we still have tulip or yellow poplar here but, based on this discussion, I am not certain. Regardless, the older stands will be harvested soon as it seems to be a wood that is desirable now for facade work. In the past, timberers left them as they were a soft hardwood hence the large stands of mature trees around hear. Everything changes, but one thing that won't is the elusiveness of morels.


 Whats in a name????? do we know the trees we find morels under?? It's been awhile but they would use poplar in plywood also a secondary wood in furniture. I've also hear the term (poor mans walnut) for it's use. On another note..... I would personally like to apologize to Phil, Spring just may be early this year.... Good luck to all


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## beagleboy

shroomsearcher, I should have said each area of the country has different names for the same thing. As far as popple goes I think it is what in my area is called Quaking aspen and we have another true poplar tree that is called big tooth aspen, the eastern cottonwood is also a true poplar tree. As far as I know cottonwoods do not grow in my area. I have yet to find any morels under any aspen trees. Since I saw on the New York forum that for some people the big tooth aspen is their go to tree for blacks I look under every one I come to, I have yet to find any under one. I think that trees that produce in one area of the country might not in another area. In some southern states they find a lot under hickory, yet I have a lot of hickory around here and have never found under them. Last year I even found one under a maple tree. So I guess like redfred said look for them under the trees that produce in your area and also keep looking down when walking between those trees you never know what you might find. Sorry for rambling on so much.


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## DanCB

Check it out: https://fantasticfungi.com/connect/


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## pedro

Mushroom expert.com reviews the various type of trees with photos of the tree base and leaves and national distribution


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## trahn008

I really noticed today on my ride home from work the grass is starting to green up. I think I'm ready, might have to pick up a new pair of sneakers for the season, but that should be it. Happy Hunting!


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## trahn008

shroomsearcher said:


> to find blacks successfully you have to forget everything you know, or think you know, about yellows!


 BINGO!


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## trahn008

Hard transitions and soft transitions with yellow poplar tree's AROUND= Black Morels


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## shroomsearcher

beagleboy said:


> shroomsearcher, I should have said each area of the country has different names for the same thing. As far as popple goes I think it is what in my area is called Quaking aspen and we have another true poplar tree that is called big tooth aspen, the eastern cottonwood is also a true poplar tree. As far as I know cottonwoods do not grow in my area. I have yet to find any morels under any aspen trees. Since I saw on the New York forum that for some people the big tooth aspen is their go to tree for blacks I look under every one I come to, I have yet to find any under one. I think that trees that produce in one area of the country might not in another area. In some southern states they find a lot under hickory, yet I have a lot of hickory around here and have never found under them. Last year I even found one under a maple tree. So I guess like redfred said look for them under the trees that produce in your area and also keep looking down when walking between those trees you never know what you might find. Sorry for rambling on so much.


No problem. My info comes from the Ohio Div. of Forestry, where they claim that NO true poplars grow in Ohio. There are the Quaking and Bigtooth Aspen, which resemble poplars. The Eastern Cottonwood, which has leaves that look like poplar leaves, but the tree looks nothing like one. I found an enormous specimen where I hunt. I've never seen a California Redwood or Sequoia, so this is the largest tree I have ever laid eyes on! And I have found morels near it, but not on a consistent basis. 

They claim the same status for the "tulip poplar" which they call Tulip Tree. Not a true poplar, actually a member of the Magnolia family! You know how picky taxonomic nomenclature can be. "If the stem does not enter the basal margin of the leaf at this precise angle, then it cannot be", you know what I'm saying!


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## swpa

Well I look for stands of trees that are pool cue straight, grow in well drained forest, have tulip shaped seed pods that frequently catch the eye of the forager, have mixed cherry, oak, ash, and elm, often have grapevines, good leaf cover, rockiness, and limited human traffic. There might be some mayapples, spice weed, ferns, wild asparagus, false morels, old man of the woods, and an abandoned apple orchard nearby.
But first I look for the trees evidently 'formally known as' tulip poplars here in the lower left part of pa. For those interested, that habitat had been productive for over 35 years regardless of the scientific taxonomy and nomenclature. You will have as much or as little luck picking morels with a PhD as you will with a CDL. That's my experience, and it is expressed with all due humility as along time forager who has found 6,000 in a season and 60 the next.


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## beagleboy

shroomsearcher said:


> No problem. My info comes from the Ohio Div. of Forestry, where they claim that NO true poplars grow in Ohio. There are the Quaking and Bigtooth Aspen, which resemble poplars. The Eastern Cottonwood, which has leaves that look like poplar leaves, but the tree looks nothing like one. I found an enormous specimen where I hunt. I've never seen a California Redwood or Sequoia, so this is the largest tree I have ever laid eyes on! And I have found morels near it, but not on a consistent basis.
> 
> They claim the same status for the "tulip poplar" which they call Tulip Tree. Not a true poplar, actually a member of the Magnolia family! You know how picky taxonomic nomenclature can be. "If the stem does not enter the basal margin of the leaf at this precise angle, then it cannot be", you know what I'm saying!


Scroomsearcher , I misunderstood your question. I thought you wanted to know what type of trees they might have been finding them under. A friend of mine moved to this area from michigan and we hunted rabbits together he called quaking aspen stands popple. My mistake.


----------



## shroomsearcher

Hey beagle, you're not wrong at all. I called them poplar for a long time until I looked at the Div. of Forestry website. Now I know better. And I also know that we don't have big Aspen woods anywhere around here! Just an isolated copse here and there. Don't know how many of them would be worth looking at.


----------



## redfred

swpa said:


> Well I look for stands of trees that are pool cue straight, grow in well drained forest, have tulip shaped seed pods that frequently catch the eye of the forager, have mixed cherry, oak, ash, and elm, often have grapevines, good leaf cover, rockiness, and limited human traffic. There might be some mayapples, spice weed, ferns, wild asparagus, false morels, old man of the woods, and an abandoned apple orchard nearby.
> But first I look for the trees evidently 'formally known as' tulip poplars here in the lower left part of pa. For those interested, that habitat had been productive for over 35 years regardless of the scientific taxonomy and nomenclature. You will have as much or as little luck picking morels with a PhD as you will with a CDL. That's my experience, and it is expressed with all due humility as along time forager who has found 6,000 in a season and 60 the next.


 I think I’m going to call everything a shade tree as long as I’m standing under it and the sun is shining.... SWPA, it sounds like we are looking for the same type of areas... I could add in those areas I may find in the lower canopy dogwood,redbud or beach.. mix in with the “formally known as tulip poplars” I would add to the list mulberry, box elder ,sassafras and maple most of these tend to be on the edges.. The only tree that seems to stop morels in the poplars for me is the oak. I’ve had good results under grapevine too.


----------



## beagleboy

I took a hike today in an area in Mifflin co. that has ramps.The first picture was taken about 100yds deep in the woods, the second picture was taken on the edge of the same woods. Both temps were about the same but there were a few ramps just starting to show on the edge, but nothing back in the woods. I think that there must have been enough sun the last few days that the more open areas ground temp was higher.


----------



## swpa

Thanks Fred. Right on. Stay healthy.


----------



## swpa

beagleboy said:


> I took a hike today in an area in Mifflin co. that has ramps.The first picture was taken about 100yds deep in the woods, the second picture was taken on the edge of the same woods. Both temps were about the same but there were a few ramps just starting to show on the edge, but nothing back in the woods. I think that there must have been enough sun the last few days that the more open areas ground temp was higher.
> View attachment 25628
> View attachment 25626


----------



## swpa

I noticed ramps starting yesterday. Great sight. They will spark up Thursday and Friday with warm temps and rain. Eating ramps will help with social distancing.


----------



## shroomsearcher

beagleboy said:


> I took a hike today in an area in Mifflin co. that has ramps.The first picture was taken about 100yds deep in the woods, the second picture was taken on the edge of the same woods. Both temps were about the same but there were a few ramps just starting to show on the edge, but nothing back in the woods. I think that there must have been enough sun the last few days that the more open areas ground temp was higher.
> View attachment 25628
> View attachment 25626


This past weekend, we had the rarity of two cloudless, sunny days here in NE Ohio. In the early afternoon of the second day, I took a temp reading in the middle of my back yard which had been in full sun all day. I got 45-46*, so we have a way to go. 



swpa said:


> I noticed ramps starting yesterday. Great sight. They will spark up Thursday and Friday with warm temps and rain. Eating ramps will help with social distancing.


My ramp spot is in a creek bottom. Cool down in there, so they're usually a little later. Although, I did find some growing up top, right beside the road last year. Only problem is this is in a county metropark where, supposedly, no hunting or gathering is supposed to happen. Yeah, right! I know this place gets gathered like crazy! We can always spot each other and trade knowing looks. But I can't be a total scofflaw and pick right out in the open.


----------



## swpa

Careful. They are prolific. Find another patch or ask for permission to dig some up, transplant them at home. Never had a fail and in fact have had them grow by accident by disposing of cut off roots.


----------



## morelsxs

Thought I'd share that 1st day of trout is changin' here in PA due to the c-virus. You'll have to copy and paste this and put www. in front of it for the link to work. It doesn't allow me to do it -- considers it SPAM. 

ydr.com/story/news/local/2020/03/17/coronavirus-pa-2020-trout-season-changes-opener-stocking/5066732002/


----------



## swpa

XS, very grateful that you posted this.


----------



## shroomsearcher

swpa said:


> Careful. They are prolific. Find another patch or ask for permission to dig some up, transplant them at home. Never had a fail and in fact have had them grow by accident by disposing of cut off roots.


Prolific? Tell me about it! They grow as far, and beyond, as the eye can see. From the spot where I actually gather, to where they grow alongside the road, it's a good 1/2 to 3/4 mile! I could haul a wheelbarrow full of them out of there every day for a month, and not really put a dent in them! 

But, the park board wants to treat it like a pristine wilderness, which it absolutely is not! Heck, there's a golf course across the road! I think they ought to offer courses in wild gathering, but what do I know?


----------



## morelsxs

swpa said:


> XS, very grateful that you posted this.


Most welcome SWPA. Came across it by chance. Saw on the Illinois board that DNR was closing all state parks and activities because of the CV. Caused me some alarm so I went to see what PA was up to. Luckily, the only thing I found was the date change for 1st day.


----------



## wade

I Will Hunt..!

We Will Hunt..!

I Will Hunt..!

We Will Hunt..!

We Will Hunt..!

We Will Hunt..!

I Will Hunt..!

and to Anyone and Everyone ..

You Should Already Know Better ..

** So Don't Even Try to Stop Me **

Get Your Stealth On Yall !!


----------



## beagleboy

I saw on another site where someone was supposed to have found some in berks co. He had pictures but no verifying date. I took a hike for a couple of hours on a south facing slope today, it looks too early yet. This little guy was soaking the sun up though.


----------



## beagleboy

This elm has been a good producer the last few years, now this winter the last of the bark fell off. I hope it still will have some this year.


----------



## steelernation

In years past, when I found morels, once the bark was off like that, I never found morels again. Back when I used to find morels. In years past...


----------



## wade

beagleboy said:


> This elm has been a good producer the last few years, now this winter the last of the bark fell off. I hope it still will have some this year.
> View attachment 25974
> View attachment 25976


i have an elm so very similar and it has never stoped producing big Morels ..
could be good for years more


----------



## steelernation

Wade - and that is the mystery of the #%@$-ed things!


----------



## wade

steelernation said:


> Wade - and that is the mystery of the #%@$-ed things!


and 
We do Love The Mystery part of Our Hunt
Don't We.
What an Absolutely Wonderful time..


----------



## steelernation

To be honest, I've had it with morels. I had a number of areas that either stopped producing suddenly or are getting overpicked. Luckily, I am a birder too, so I can usually ramp up a huge list while failing with morels. That, and picking ramps


----------



## trahn008

Out on the quad today and almost got into a fight! Good to see a bird that has been in decline.


----------



## swpa

trahn
SPECTACULAR pic with the water in the background and what looks like a white birch tree next to the hen. Really amazing, lifetime site, and thanks for sharing.


----------



## Gibz

No pictures, but a buddy of mine found 14 in his yard in Westmoreland county today. He gets some there every year and is always happy to tell me. I may have to take a ride down off the mountain next week


----------



## swpa

Trahn008,
Re-looking at your pic it looks like a cockbird, looks like unbroken dark tail markings. It's always hard to tell. Was it drumming or protecting eggs? Either way, just an amazing picture.


----------



## Inthewild

swpa said:


> Trahn008,
> Re-looking at your pic it looks like a cockbird, looks like unbroken dark tail markings. It's always hard to tell. Was it drumming or protecting eggs? Either way, just an amazing picture.


@swpa,

FYI.. I think you should place a @ sign before their handle, that way they get notified directly. Thought I would help as I sit in Wisconsin waiting, waiting and waiting for our time. Best of luck! @trahn008


----------



## swpa

Inthewild said:


> @swpa,
> 
> FYI.. I think you should place a @ sign before their handle, that way they get notified directly. Thought I would help as I sit in Wisconsin waiting, waiting and waiting for our time. Best of luck! @trahn008


@trahn008,
I did not know that.


----------



## swpa

@Trahn, I did not know that.


----------



## wade

swpa said:


> @Trahn, I did not know that.


yep.. it notifies them that you have mentioned them in a posting


----------



## swpa

wade said:


> yep.. it notifies them that you have mentioned them in a posting


Duly noted and appreciated.


----------



## pchunter1231

If this virus thing keeps going for another month or so keeping people from working and going to school, i think there will be a lot more competition looking for mushrooms this spring. Early bird will have to get the morel and not the worm lol. Happy hunting


----------



## trahn008

@swpa, yes a cockbird.


----------



## trahn008

Cleaned out the dehydrator this morning and found a trumpet!


----------



## steelernation

pchunter1231 said:


> If this virus thing keeps going for another month or so keeping people from working and going to school, i think there will be a lot more competition looking for mushrooms this spring. Early bird will have to get the morel and not the worm lol. Happy hunting


Oh yeah, I NEEDED more competition...at least I have plenty of ramp spots


----------



## shroomsearcher

swpa said:


> Trahn008,
> Re-looking at your pic it looks like a cockbird, looks like unbroken dark tail markings. It's always hard to tell. Was it drumming or protecting eggs? Either way, just an amazing picture.


I was thinking the same thing. Looks like a rooster in full breeding plumage. Great pic!


----------



## beagleboy

Found a few oysters and some devils cups. The oysters weren't prime but still should be able to use them. One thing about finding them this time of year they aren't buggy.


----------



## MiLilWinmil

Just saying hello. I've been following this thread for over a month now and finally decided to join. What can I say, I'm not one to dive in head first lol. But hello everyone. I'm from the central PA region and have been closely monitoring should temps and prospecting new places. Cant wait to get out a little more and start hunting for all manor of mushrooms


----------



## muff1nm4n17

Hi everyone I’m back again their poppin yellows in Oklahoma already our should be starting anytime here can wait leeks just poppin up here got a couple with leaves already and welcome @MiLilWinmil glad to have you in here


----------



## muff1nm4n17

Leeks/ramps


----------



## beagleboy

Welcome MiLilWinmil, I'm from the center of the state too. The people on this site are very helpful. Also if you have any questions or anything to add just dive right in. I know I have been helped a lot over the last few years and hoped I helped some too.


----------



## beagleboy

I was in this area about a week ago and it was all brown, now it looks like its got some life. Getting close to time. Maybe next week.


----------



## beagleboy

I checked over a hundred tulip poplar trees of different sizes today on top of a ridge. I checked the soil temp and it was in the mid 50's. I only found some mica caps and some scarlet elf cups. Still trying to find an area for blacks.


----------



## sb

wade said:


> yep.. it notifies them that you have mentioned them in a posting


Hey, Thanks Wade. I just learned something new and helpful.


----------



## wade

sb said:


> Hey, Thanks Wade. I just learned something new and helpful.


@sb no problem Bro


----------



## MiLilWinmil

beagleboy said:


> I checked over a hundred tulip poplar trees of different sizes today on top of a ridge. I checked the soil temp and it was in the mid 50's. I only found some mica caps and some scarlet elf cups. Still trying to find an area for blacks.
> View attachment 27372
> View attachment 27374


You're doing better than I am. I checked my chicken logs I inoculated last year, they were still sleeping. It looks like the only thing willing to brave its face was skunk cabbage, and the tiniest little pinky sizes may apples peeking through. No fiddle heads, the tea berries are still dormant. It must still be to chilly in my area. The Great Morel (dot) com shows a couple sightings near me but I think I'm still a week or two out.


----------



## MoonRabbit

I really feel like tomorrow is going to be the golden day.


----------



## beagleboy

I have been hunting for a spot for black morels, I found some in this area of Snyder co today. It looked a little early, but they were up.


----------



## Swampy16

Hi everyone ! I’m new to the forum and new to mushroom hunting. I plan on wandering the woods of north Jersey tomorrow and also looking while trout fishing Saturday. I haven’t found any yet, I just started last week. I’m an avid hunter so I know lots of places to look. This is looking like a fun offseason hobby.


----------



## MiLilWinmil

Swampy16 said:


> Hi everyone ! I’m new to the forum and new to mushroom hunting. I plan on wandering the woods of north Jersey tomorrow and also looking while trout fishing Saturday. I haven’t found any yet, I just started last week. I’m an avid hunter so I know lots of places to look. This is looking like a fun offseason hobby.


Welcome! Mushroom hunting is a great all season hobby. Even when its cold and snowy I like to take the time to read up in my books. That way when the season's warm up and I'm out horseback riding, hiking, or just spending time out in the woods I can identify what I find and I know where to look. Happy hunting to you!!


----------



## trahn008

Welcome Swampy16, mushroom hunting is a great year round hobby. It has a learning curve but can be a rewarding hobby. We pick mushrooms all year long, if you have any questions just ask. Happy Hunting!


----------



## Fluke216

hey Beagle was there certain trees you found them around there. Where I live looks similar mostly hardwood have not had any luck though. Thanks


----------



## Swampy16

Well I beat it hard today and nothing. I walked 9 miles.


----------



## morelsxs

beagleboy said:


> I have been hunting for a spot for black morels, I found some in this area of Snyder co today. It looked a little early, but they were up.


Way to start the season!


----------



## trahn008

Fluke216 said:


> hey Beagle was there certain trees you found them around there. Where I live looks similar mostly hardwood have not had any luck though. Thanks


 Fluke, if your looking for blacks you need to be looking around yellow poplar trees ( tulip poplar). Happy Hunting!


----------



## beagleboy

Fluke216 said:


> hey Beagle was there certain trees you found them around there. Where I live looks similar mostly hardwood have not had any luck though. Thanks


They were all within 10ft of tulip poplar, which was the primary tree in this area. I checked 50 plus trees and found them around 3. I am hoping to return in about a week, maybe more of the trees will be producing then.


----------



## Fluke216

beagleboy said:


> They were all within 10ft of tulip poplar, which was the primary tree in this area. I checked 50 plus trees and found them around 3. I am hoping to return in about a week, maybe more of the trees will be producing then.


Ok thanks for the info


----------



## Fluke216

trahn008 said:


> Fluke, if your looking for blacks you need to be looking around yellow poplar trees ( tulip poplar). Happy Hunting![/QUOTE
> Ok I was looking around mostly black cherry some tulips trees I’ll try to find a cluster thanks


----------



## Rippers2

Morels are up in Allegheny County... south of Pitt. Happy Hunting!


----------



## Fluke216

I’ve been walking a few hours few days in a row looking at tulip poplars no luck yet. I’ve haven’t seen any other mushrooms either except some old birch poly pore and 2 tiny lbms.


----------



## beagleboy

Fluke216 said:


> I’ve been walking a few hours few days in a row looking at tulip poplars no luck yet. I’ve haven’t seen any other mushrooms either except some old birch poly pore and 2 tiny lbms.


Fluke, I have checked probably 300+ poplar trees in the last 2 weeks and found them under 3. The thing about morels is the soil has to be the right temp, right type, and right moisture so even if you didn't find any at the time you looked doesn't mean they aren't there. I have been looking for a good early black morel spot for a few years now and hope this one will be it. I have numerous yellow spots but the blacks have been just incidental finds over the years. trahn posted some pictures of habitat last year and I have been looking for areas that look similar. The area that I found these in this year I checked last year, but my timing must have been off.


----------



## Fluke216

beagleboy said:


> Fluke, I have checked probably 300+ poplar trees in the last 2 weeks and found them under 3. The thing about morels is the soil has to be the right temp, right type, and right moisture so even if you didn't find any at the time you looked doesn't mean they aren't there. I have been looking for a good early black morel spot for a few years now and hope this one will be it. I have numerous yellow spots but the blacks have been just incidental finds over the years. trahn posted some pictures of habitat last year and I have been looking for areas that look similar. The area that I found these in this year I checked last year, but my timing must have been off.


Yea I’m going to check back again in a few days. Any secrets on what to look for in a good yellow spot? Thanks again for the info


----------



## beagleboy

Most of the yellows I find are around dead elm and very old living apple with some damage. The best thing is to go back and review last years chit chat thread we discussed a lot of this at that time.


----------



## Swampy16

Any chance Trahn could post those pics again? I know of so many tulip and sycamores it’s insane. I’ll keep checking back. I found a bunch of ramps near some sycamores yesterday. I know they have nothing to do with them but they were quite the treat.


----------



## beagleboy

Swampy16 said:


> Any chance Trahn could post those pics again? I know of so many tulip and sycamores it’s insane. I’ll keep checking back. I found a bunch of ramps near some sycamores yesterday. I know they have nothing to do with them but they were quite the treat.


Swampy, I looked up the posts and I had made a mistake, it was in the Pennsylvania, page 3, morels 2018, page 4, posts #71 and #72. The pictures are still there.


----------



## Swampy16

I found the pics, thanks Beagle. Being a die hard Grouse hunter I know tens of thousands of acres very well, some like the back of my hand. I’m excited about the search. I know my trees fairly well but can’t nail down the elm even looking online at them. Are you a rabbit hunter?


----------



## beagleboy

I still do a little rabbit hunting. Years ago I was into beagle field trails big time but now just a little hunting, fishing, and mushrooming. I guess I lost my competitive spirit and enjoying a little of everything since I retired.


----------



## ChurryStreet

I believe I mat have looked under very poplar tree in Berks County and come up with nothing. I did however find 5 grays under an apple tree while next to a well traveled public path. I'm still having trouble identifying elms, especially dead ones. 

I have two questions. First, if i continue to look everyday under poplar trees will I eventually stumble across morels, or would I have seen them by now? Second, where am I likely to see elms? Will they be amongst other hardwoods? Deep in the forest? Near water? Will I see many together?

Any answers would be helpful, This is my second year and I have an abundance of time due to being temporarily laid off so I was hoping to use this opportunity to find a few goods spots. I would assume I have about 40 hours of searching so far. Trying to not give up.


----------



## trahn008

Not many elms left in Berks anymore. Look for ash and apple for the yellows. Poplar is my target tree for blacks, hunt the area’s where there is a transition by the tree’s. The blacks in the finds thread that my boys are holding came from Berks today. Happy Hunting!


----------



## Fluke216

Any specific type of apple tree. I looked in Berks today didn’t find anything though. Was trying to find an elm didn’t find any though. Ended up losing my dog for an hour. So anyway. Found these that was it.


----------



## trahn008

Any and all apple tree's.


----------



## steelernation

Fluke, those look like Inky Caps.


----------



## ChurryStreet

trahn008 said:


> Not many elms left in Berks anymore. Look for ash and apple for the yellows. Poplar is my target tree for blacks, hunt the area’s where there is a transition by the tree’s. The blacks in the finds thread that my boys are holding came from Berks today. Happy Hunting!


Thanks Trahn, I'll keep looking. When you say transitions do you mean poplars that are the edge of a wooded area? I'm also glad to know I'm not losing my mind with elm trees. I have only positively identified two and the]y are both living.


----------



## Fluke216

steelernation said:


> Fluke, those look like Inky Caps.


Yea I think mica caps. Went out again looking at poplars still nothing though maybe I need to spend more time looking at each one. Could be missing them.


----------



## beagleboy

WOW! Went to go for a hike today and what a change in my area. I new it was going to be cold but didn't expect it to be like deer season, wind blowing snowflakes and the leaves around. Cut my hike short.


----------



## trahn008

ChurryStreet said:


> Thanks Trahn, I'll keep looking. When you say transitions do you mean poplars that are the edge of a wooded area? I'm also glad to know I'm not losing my mind with elm trees. I have only positively identified two and the]y are both living.


 Yes Churry, ,I very rarely go from tree to tree, I TARGET all edges that have poplar, Happy Hunting!


----------



## trahn008

beagleboy said:


> WOW! Went to go for a hike today and what a change in my area. I new it was going to be cold but didn't expect it to be like deer season, wind blowing snowflakes and the leaves around. Cut my hike short.


 Beagle, LOL. Was plugging shitake logs in a snow storm. First for everything! Happy Hunting!


----------



## Swampy16

trahn008 said:


> Beagle, LOL. Was plugging shitake logs in a snow storm. First for everything! Happy Hunting!


Can you elaborate on that?


----------



## Tink

ChurryStreet said:


> I believe I mat have looked under very poplar tree in Berks County and come up with nothing. I did however find 5 grays under an apple tree while next to a well traveled public path. I'm still having trouble identifying elms, especially dead ones.
> 
> I have two questions. First, if i continue to look everyday under poplar trees will I eventually stumble across morels, or would I have seen them by now? Second, where am I likely to see elms? Will they be amongst other hardwoods? Deep in the forest? Near water? Will I see many together?
> 
> Any answers would be helpful, This is my second year and I have an abundance of time due to being temporarily laid off so I was hoping to use this opportunity to find a few goods spots. I would assume I have about 40 hours of searching so far. Trying to not give up.


----------



## Tink

I did the same today in Lebanon County walked over 5 miles searching poplar trees and after hundreds of poplars.....nothing....I have no luck with poplar trees.tomorrow is another day. Was some interesting weather sun/snow squall/windy/then sun again.


----------



## trahn008

Swampy16 said:


> Can you elaborate on that?


----------



## Swampy16

trahn008 said:


> View attachment 28834
> View attachment 28836


How long til you see a return on that?


----------



## trahn008

Swampy16 said:


> How long til you see a return on that?


 I should get a flush on these logs in the fall. Happy Hunting!


----------



## Swampy16

I finally got lucky today ! I found three like this and two of the half morels or half free. I forget the name now. Also got about 3 lbs of ramps and a limit of trout. It was a good day. I couldn’t believe my eyes, they were right at the base of a poplar on the edge of a hay field. How do I soak them ? Salt water ? What’s the best way to cook them for a first timer?


----------



## trahn008

Swampy, Congrats! Cut them in half and check for critters, then just wash them off and fry in some butter with some salt and pepper. This is the best way to see if you like them or not. Also only eat a small amount your first time, see how your body reacts to them. Happy Hunting!


----------



## Swampy16

So i have 5 small ones. That would likely be a small amount? Someone said soak them for 4 minutes in hot salt water also. Sound right? I’ll put them in the fridge in a ziplock overnight for tomorrow nights trout dinner, with ramps which I got about 3 pounds of today. Thanks and I’ll report back tomorrow night. I plan on looking again all day.


----------



## trahn008

Swampy you could soak in salt water if you like, but I never do. I just rinse them quick in cold water. Cook the 1/2 free's (Pecker Heads) separate from the yellows. I think the peckers have a different taste than other morels. Happy Hunting!


----------



## Swampy16

Here’s a couple more I found yesterday. Hoping for some ID. One looked like a Death Cap. Likely wasn’t but could be?


----------



## Swampy16

Never posted that last reply from last night until just now. Today I found one morel and they are delicious btw. Here are some pics of some interesting stuff I found today plus my one and only morel.


----------



## MiLilWinmil

Swampy16 said:


> Here’s a couple more I found yesterday. Hoping for some ID. One looked like a Death Cap. Likely wasn’t but could be?


Not a death capin my opinion. Pictures 2 and 3 are the same mushroom and looks to be dryads saddles/pheasant back, "Cerioporus squamosus." I found a couple myself today in the same state. Must have come out early this year I the nice weather then died up in the snow and ice. Its a polypore and when identified correctly, and knowledgeably, can be harvested to eat. It smells like watermelon when you cut it. Delicious.


----------



## Rippers2

If the predicted weather pattern holds, this will be a year for Giant yellows!


----------



## Swampy16

MiLilWinmil said:


> Not a death capin my opinion. Pictures 2 and 3 are the same mushroom and looks to be dryads saddles/pheasant back, "Cerioporus squamosus." I found a couple myself today in the same state. Must have come out early this year I the nice weather then died up in the snow and ice. Its a polypore and when identified correctly, and knowledgeably, can be harvested to eat. It smells like watermelon when you cut it. Delicious.


Ok, I thought they were Turkey tails.


----------



## MiLilWinmil

Swampy16 said:


> Ok, I thought they were Turkey tails.


The Second post you posted with the two logs laying on their sides, that was more likely to be Turkey tail. Turkey tail is a parchment type fungus that is thin and leathery. Tho there are a ton of different colors and varieties that all have very similar descriptions.


----------



## DanCB

When I don't find enough to cook I dry them on chopsticks.


----------



## Swampy16

Found this today


DanCB said:


> When I don't find enough to cook I dry them on chopsticks.
> View attachment 29322


you can do that? You don’t need a food dehydrator?


----------



## Swampy16

I found this today just screwing around with my wife on a short walk. Pheasant back?


----------



## beagleboy

Swampy16 said:


> View attachment 29324
> I found this today just screwing around with my wife on a short walk. Pheasant back?


It looks like one, most tender on the outer edges unless very young. They taste like fried squash to me which isn't my favorite veggie.


----------



## redtop

beagleboy said:


> It looks like one, most tender on the outer edges unless very young. They taste like fried squash to me which isn't my favorite veggie.


i'll second that beagleboy. I come across them sometime by the bushel but I don't pick what I don't like.


----------



## DanCB

I use a dehydrator for oysters if I find a bunch of them. Morels can be dried without one.


----------



## MiLilWinmil

Swampy16 said:


> View attachment 29324
> I found this today just screwing around with my wife on a short walk. Pheasant back?


Yes it is. Peel off the skin and the pores on the bottom. I find it tastes like scrambled eggs when it's fried with butter. But in oil it does have a sweeter squash like flavor. But what's really nice about that mushroom is, it grows back for years, grows really large, and can be ground up into ravioli filling


----------



## Fluke216

Finally found one small one and another small one at the same spot the next day. Not a real good place under an apple tree close to a road. Anyway has anyone ever found any by field elms?


----------



## Ridge runner Rick

Ok, here goes...
Long time lurker, first time poster. I’m from Halifax, Upper Dauphin county.
In the past 3 weeks I’ve checked hundreds of poplar trees in Clark’s, Stony and Fishing Creek valleys. I have not found anything. Is it because the valley’s are cooler and they haven’t started yet? Haven’t found any elm trees either. Do they even exist in this area? Going again tomorrow. Maybe I will eventually trip over one. (LOL)
Thanks for your help!


----------



## Swampy16

Ridge runner Rick said:


> Ok, here goes...
> Long time lurker, first time poster. I’m from Halifax, Upper Dauphin county.
> In the past 3 weeks I’ve checked hundreds of poplar trees in Clark’s, Stony and Fishing Creek valleys. I have not found anything. Is it because the valley’s are cooler and they haven’t started yet? Haven’t found any elm trees either. Do they even exist in this area? Going again tomorrow. Maybe I will eventually trip over one. (LOL)
> Thanks for your help!


I’m a complete noob at mushrooms but one thing I do know is check south facing slopes.


----------



## Ridge runner Rick

Swampy16 said:


> I’m a complete noob at mushrooms but one thing I do know is check south facing slopes.


Thanks,
I’ve been on the south side of the mountains from bottom to top. Put in 6.5 miles today. Have seen may apple’s and fiddleheads. No morels though. It’s public land( game lands). Maybe somebody has been in there before me? Haven’t given up yet. The plus side is, I’m getting in plenty of exercise for turkey season


----------



## MiLilWinmil

Ridge runner Rick said:


> Thanks,
> I’ve been on the south side of the mountains from bottom to top. Put in 6.5 miles today. Have seen may apple’s and fiddleheads. No morels though. It’s public land( game lands). Maybe somebody has been in there before me? Haven’t given up yet. The plus side is, I’m getting in plenty of exercise for turkey season


One of the first things I learned was to look for dead elms. Ones that are shedding their bark in big sheets. If someone was there before you, the hollow stems will leave a noticeable base that you will see in the ground. Like cooked pasta, a rigatoni or a tortellini stuck to the ground. I personally have never found them under poplar or anything other than dead elms and apple trees. I'm west of you a little, in the mountains of central PA. The valleys here tend to stay cooler longer. I only ever have luck in areas where the sun can shine nearly all day. I've been advised to shy away from parks and public lands only bc they get picked over so readily. I fortunately had someone willing to take me out once and show me what to look for. It really did help. Reading books is nice but having someone show you was key for me. But other than the trees to look for, I learned to always look in the grass or green ground cover around the trees. Sometimes that gets over looked. Last piece of advice I can offer is this: your central vision area is where you see patterns, so seeing a morel out of the peripheral is less likely. So train your eyes to look for the pattern by looking at tons of pictures of them online. Also- welcome fellow "long time lurker, new subscriber." lol. (That was me too)


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## trahn008

RRR, not many elm in those area's. I don't feel like typing, I hiked about 1/4 mile today, but read back on some of the older posts. All the answers you will ever need are in them older posts. Happy Hunting!


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## Swampy16

I know my trees fairly well but still can’t identify an Elm.


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## MiLilWinmil

Swampy16 said:


> I know my trees fairly well but still can’t identify an Elm.


They have a very distinct shape. Instead of a central trunk with branches sticking off to the sides, every trunk/branch Y's off. Look for the leaves in summer, and try to member where they are. The leaves are close to ash, but they noticeably distinguishable. Google images of the trees to learn the shape, that's my first ID check from afar. Good luck!


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## DanCB

We all have specific trees, plants and terrain we look for when hunting morels. I got to wondering if there are specific things we avoid. Thoughts?


----------



## MoonRabbit

DanCB said:


> We all have specific trees, plants and terrain we look for when hunting morels. I got to wondering if there are specific things we avoid. Thoughts?


A lot of people around here will pick close to the railroad tracks. But I avoid them because they spray in those areas.

I was told before black walnut trees can inhibit growth of nearly everything including morels. But I do know a patch of woods with plenty of walnuts that grow half frees.


----------



## DanCB

MoonRabbit said:


> A lot of people around here will pick close to the railroad tracks. But I avoid them because they spray in those areas.
> 
> I was told before black walnut trees can inhibit growth of nearly everything including morels. But I do know a patch of woods with plenty of walnuts that grow half frees.


Ditto: RR tracks.


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## Swampy16

MoonRabbit said:


> A lot of people around here will pick close to the railroad tracks. But I avoid them because they spray in those areas.
> 
> I was told before black walnut trees can inhibit growth of nearly everything including morels. But I do know a patch of woods with plenty of walnuts that grow half frees.


I can turn in any direction here without walking into a walnut tree.


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## steelernation

It's not just the spray along RR tracks. The chemicals from the operation of trains, creosote from the ties and more can bio-accumulate in morels, and those go into your system if you eat them, and nothing good comes from that. Same thing with mushrooms along highly-traveled roads.


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## Swampy16

I apply herbicide and pesticide as part of my job. RR companies use soil sterilants and they are very nasty compounds that last a very long time. As does creosote.


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## MoonRabbit

Guess it could also be applied to flood areas. I read an article ( I think last year) warning hunters not to pick morels from recent flood lands and to leave the lands unpicked for a year or so. Something dealing with overflow of drainage systems and soil\water contamination.


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## Swampy16

MoonRabbit said:


> Guess it could also be applied to flood areas. I read an article ( I think last year) warning hunters not to pick morels from recent flood lands and to leave the lands unpicked for a year or so. Something dealing with overflow of drainage systems and soil\water contamination.


That’s great advice. I’ve seen sewage treatment plants get drained in floods.


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## DanCB

Swampy16 said:


> That’s great advice. I’ve seen sewage treatment plants get drained in floods.


Yuk!


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## Pagary

I live close to Pittsburgh and haven't even started, temperatures is just to cold, seems like when you have the perfect warmth and moisture you can expect a really good season, but if it's disrupted,such as cold, I just don't do as well, I've been hunting for about 15 year's and was taught by a very good hunter, best advice spend more time looking up for the right tree then down for the morel's


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## Pagary

Swampy16 said:


> I know my trees fairly well but still can’t identify an Elm.


After you learn the identify of elm's,there easy to spot just driving down the road, actual I have found morel's driving, when you get the fever, it happens


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## salvelinus

Long time lurker here saying hi. I live and hunt in south central pa. I’ve really learned a lot from all of the posters on this site. Thank you to everyone who has given input to everyone just learning to scout for mushrooms. 

I’ve had some good luck so far this season, and I’ll post some pics from the past couple of weeks if I can attach them. I find a lot of mine around dead ash, and live cherry and sycamore. Good luck to everyone out there looking - things are really starting to pop around me even though we haven’t had a ton of warm days. 

Cheers!


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## trahn008

Sal, welcome and congrats. Post your pictures over on the 2020 Morel Finds thread. Happy Hunting!


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## Rippers2

Pagary said:


> I live close to Pittsburgh and haven't even started, temperatures is just to cold, seems like when you have the perfect warmth and moisture you can expect a really good season, but if it's disrupted,such as cold, I just don't do as well, I've been hunting for about 15 year's and was taught by a very good hunter, best advice spend more time looking up for the right tree then down for the morel's


Pagary... I’ve been picking morels for two weeks in Pittsburgh area so far... just FYI.

I agree completely about the right conditions at the right time. I do best when conditions are as close to normal as possible. 

I also agree that this is not a good season ( or not going to be good) for those reasons. So far, I’m finding about half of what I would normally find per equal time hunting. 

I’d get out and search now if I were you... happy hunting!


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## Swampy16

I been hitting it hard with no luck. I found a few last week but I’m about to give up. I did about 8 miles in eastern pa today with nothing to show for it.


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## Fluke216

Same here I’m from robesonia area. Can’t seem to locate any other then two small grays under an apple in a Bad spot near a road. As far as in game lands haven’t found any.


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## beagleboy

DanCB said:


> We all have specific trees, plants and terrain we look for when hunting morels. I got to wondering if there are specific things we avoid. Thoughts?


Some of the areas that I will usually bypass that actually some people have said that they find in. 
Oak ridges, I have never found any around oaks. Hemlock bottoms, even though I did find 1 large yellow by a hemlock over 30 years ago while trout fishing. Swamps, I will hunt around the edge of a swamp if the right trees are present. Also any area that I think might be contaminated. This doesn't mean that they don't come up in these areas, just that I think they are low percentage areas.


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## DanCB

Swampy16 said:


> I been hitting it hard with no luck. I found a few last week but I’m about to give up. I did about 8 miles in eastern pa today with nothing to show for it.


What part of Eastern PA? Some parts still have low ground temps. I use this site as a guide: http://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature


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## Swampy16

Actually very close to Fluke216. Near Robesonia.


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## DanCB

Swampy16 said:


> Actually very close to Fluke216. Near Robesonia.


Well then, don't give up! Much of that area is still tinged green on the map as of this morning. It should go solid gold very soon.


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## redfred

beagleboy said:


> Some of the areas that I will usually bypass that actually some people have said that they find in.
> Oak ridges, I have never found any around oaks. Hemlock bottoms, even though I did find 1 large yellow by a hemlock over 30 years ago while trout fishing. Swamps, I will hunt around the edge of a swamp if the right trees are present. Also any area that I think might be contaminated. This doesn't mean that they don't come up in these areas, just that I think they are low percentage areas.


I would bypass oaks too until this year I have been finding them around oaks.. I wish I knew why....


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## Swampy16

Are the trees in these pics Elm?


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## steelernation

No. They look like Chestnut Oaks, for the most part, maybe some Red Oak thrown in. I'm not 100% without more to go on, but no elms.


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## Swampy16

I can’t find elms to save my life. As many photos of them as I look at. I feel like they're not even in PA which I know they are.


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## beagleboy

Swampy16 said:


> View attachment 30602
> View attachment 30604
> View attachment 30606
> View attachment 30608
> View attachment 30610
> Are the trees in these pics Elm?


I agree with steeler they are all oaks. If you want to get an idea of elm bark check out along interstate highways. The trees are usually only 4-6 in diameter but you should still get the idea of the bark. They like more open areas.


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## beagleboy

redfred said:


> I would bypass oaks too until this year I have been finding them around oaks.. I wish I knew why....


I saw on one of the other forums where they were finding them under oaks too. It takes me so long to look at the trees that I target now, if I added more types I would never leave the woods. lol


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## MiLilWinmil

Swampy16 said:


> I can’t find elms to save my life. As many photos of them as I look at. I feel like they're not even in PA which I know they are.


Here are 2 trees right on the highway from the barn I keep my horses at. I don't hunt here so I'm happy to share these pics. These are two elms, one alive and one pretty well dead. The second is where I look for mushrooms. You can also look for trees that have tons of whispy little twigs growing out of the trunk. Those are elms that feel like they are in danger so they try to send up "sprouts." Hope this might help.


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## trahn008

@Swampy16 I have an Idea of the area you are hunting, look for ash and apple. If your hunting area's that you have in your pic's for morels you are wasting your time. Some elm around, but way more ash and apple. Happy Hunting!


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## Swampy16

trahn008 said:


> @Swampy16 I have an Idea of the area you are hunting, look for ash and apple. If your hunting area's that you have in your pic's for morels you are wasting your time. Some elm around, but way more ash and apple. Happy Hunting!


Ash I can easily identify and have looked over a lot of dead ones although it may have been too early. I may be fishing the Lackawaxen Friday so I’ll peak around up there while I’m at it.


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## muff1nm4n17

Muffman got plenty up in clarion county now not many elm here so I have the same problem @Swampy16 I find old apple orchards in the woods as well as just dying ash trees and I have very good luck with old foundations in the woods grown up


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## muff1nm4n17

Oops didn’t let my pic finish uploading


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## Swampy16

Looking for an ID on these.


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## shroomsearcher

Good luck! I've never laid eyes on any of those.



beagleboy said:


> I agree with steeler they are all oaks. If you want to get an idea of elm bark check out along interstate highways. The trees are usually only 4-6 in diameter but you should still get the idea of the bark. They like more open areas.





beagleboy said:


> I saw on one of the other forums where they were finding them under oaks too. It takes me so long to look at the trees that I target now, if I added more types I would never leave the woods. lol


Yes. All the big elms are long dead around here, and are no longer good to hunt. Doing some research on the Ohio Division of Forestry website, I discovered that elm trees don't become susceptible to the Dutch Elm Disease until they reach a certain age, and that they become sexually mature and capable of producing seeds long before that. So, there will always be young elms around.

I found some at my fish & game club, the main place I hunt morels. Verified it with leaf, twig and bud as well. I'll probably be under the ground before they start dying off, so I doubt I'll get to hunt them. 

From elms I have also added apple, sycamore, cottonwood, and black cherry to the lineup I look for.


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## Swampy16

shroomsearcher said:


> Good luck! I've never laid eyes on any of those.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yes. All the big elms are long dead around here, and are no longer good to hunt. Doing some research on the Ohio Division of Forestry website, I discovered that elm trees don't become susceptible to the Dutch Elm Disease until they reach a certain age, and that they become sexually mature and capable of producing seeds long before that. So, there will always be young elms around.
> 
> I found some at my fish & game club, the main place I hunt morels. Verified it with leaf, twig and bud as well. I'll probably be under the ground before they start dying off, so I doubt I'll get to hunt them.
> 
> From elms I have also added apple, sycamore, cottonwood, and black cherry to the lineup I look for.


Cottonwood? There’s acre after acre near where I work. I looked but nothing.


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## muff1nm4n17

Went down to moraine today people were everywhere but I found a few in some old hot spots


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## shroomsearcher

Swampy16 said:


> Cottonwood? There’s acre after acre near where I work. I looked but nothing.


There are no guarantees for any tree species. And do you know that those are really cottonwood? The only reason I ask is that I thought I knew what cottonwood was, but I found out differently a few years ago. The particular cottonwood I am speaking of is one the largest trees I have ever seen! Odder still, is that it is the only one in the area. I also noticed, looking at the fallen leaves under it, that they resemble aspen or poplar leaves. Maybe that has something to do with it. Aspen and poplar are known host trees for several species of morel.


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## Swampy16

shroomsearcher said:


> There are no guarantees for any tree species. And do you know that those are really cottonwood? The only reason I ask is that I thought I knew what cottonwood was, but I found out differently a few years ago. The particular cottonwood I am speaking of is one the largest trees I have ever seen! Odder still, is that it is the only one in the area. I also noticed, looking at the fallen leaves under it, that they resemble aspen or poplar leaves. Maybe that has something to do with it. Aspen and poplar are known host trees for several species of morel.


There are some big ones, though not immense. They make a mess when they do their thing. It’s like the cotton monster was attacked by a giant belt sander. It almost looks like it’s snowing at times.


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## Swampy16

Is this tree an Elm?


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## DanCB

Swampy16 said:


> View attachment 31254
> View attachment 31256
> Is this tree an Elm?


Zooming in it appears the twig structure in the picture is opposate (sp. ?). Elm is alternate. I believe you are in Eastern PA; no big elms here. The only really large elm I've seen since I was a kid is at the Wellboro Chamber of Commerce. I think they spend about 5K/yr. keeping it alive. I grew up on a large estate where my Dad was caretaker. There were lots of large elms surrounding the main house. One by one my Dad pulled them down with saws, chains and a 1946 Willey's Jeep (on which I learned to drive) because they had died from Dutch Elm Disease. I wouldn't concern myself with elms this far east.


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## Mmays1982

muff1nm4n17 said:


> Went down to moraine today people were everywhere but I found a few in some old hot spots


I found my very FIRST today! Sooo pumped! Just outside flint michigan


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## Fluke216

Anyone got a couple pictures of ash and apple from this area just wanted to see for reference anyway thanks.Found only 3 this season one each time I looked at this one apple.


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## Rick Koptchak

Are there any models in clearfield county , pa ? Thanks Rick


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## beagleboy

Well one of my better spots is underwater today so I can probably forget it for at least this year.


----------



## beagleboy

Rick Koptchak said:


> Are there any models in clearfield county , pa ? Thanks Rick


Rick, last year I saw reports from Clearfield county, so they have them. I think every county in pa has them.​


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## Rick Koptchak

beagleboy said:


> Rick, last year I saw reports from Clearfield county, so they have them. I think every county in pa has them.​


Thank you. I am new to this and trying to learn so me and my grandkids can get out of the house in these crazy days. Thank you again. Rick


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## Swampy16

Knocked their heads in today. I got tired of them making fun of me. I think I’m starting to figure it out. One thing I’ve learned is to concentrate on areas where there’s more green at ground level rather than a blanket of leaves.


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## Fluke216

Swampy16 said:


> View attachment 31976
> View attachment 31978
> View attachment 31980
> View attachment 31982
> View attachment 31984
> Knocked their heads in today. I got tired of them making fun of me. I think I’m starting to figure it out. One thing I’ve learned is to concentrate on areas where there’s more green at ground level rather than a blanket of leaves.


Damn nice, I have yet to have and real good luck.


----------



## Swampy16

Fluke216 said:


> Damn nice, I have yet to have and real good luck.


All I can say is don’t give up. I almost did and look what happened by not doing so. I found 5 two weeks ago and scoured the area with no results. Well it must have been early then.


----------



## Fluke216

Swampy16 said:


> All I can say is don’t give up. I almost did and look what happened by not doing so. I found 5 two weeks ago and scoured the area with no results. Well it must have been early then.


Yea I’ve only found 3 under same apple first time looking this year. I’m going to go look today, I feel like I’m always iffy about if the spots I’m looking are even fold or not. Anyway thanks hope you do well again.


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## Swampy16

Had another great day today. Less time, more morels. I’m getting the hang of it.


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## Fluke216

What you finding them around


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## Fluke216

I didn’t get a chance to go out I’m going to go out in the mourning


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## Swampy16

Fluke216 said:


> What you finding them around


Poplars with a lot of undergrowth, lots of little green stuff coming up through the leaves.


----------



## Fluke216

Ok cool thanks


----------



## Catchmee

muff1nm4n17 said:


> Went down to moraine today people were everywhere but I found a few in some old hot spots


I'm super new to this and have been hunting at Moraine the past couple days! I've only found a handful so far and they have all been pretty small. Any advice?


----------



## pchunter1231

I wonder how much longer the season will be running. I am in south central PA and i was finding for me anyway a decent amount of grays and some yellows late last week but things seemed to have slowed a little. Going out in the morning. I still think its a little early yet for the big flush of yellows that i am seeing people post in Bedford county. I know someone that is finding nice flushes of big yellows in lewistown but i am south lewstown


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## Swampy16

It’s weird for me, now I’m new to this don’t forget. I have an area full of poplar, it’s a big hill side then drops down into a creek bottom. Up high I don’t find many but when I do they’re behemoths as I get down low towards the creek I’ll look and look and look and all the sudden find one that’s smaller but then realize there are several. The pic from yesterday was all from one spot except 3, the two big ones and the half free. They almost look like different species. They even feel different.


----------



## Swampy16

Well today was my best day yet. I also found the biggest one ever. Even for me as a newbie I know it’s a big one. I didn’t think they got that big. Also I’d like confirmation that the other is a Pheasant back. I’m sure it is but want the experts to give their opinion.


----------



## Fluke216

I only found really small pheasant back today. Found a spot with a bunch of white ash but no dice found one between an ash and tulip so not sure who the host was, maybe it’s early in those areas since the pheasant back is so small still? Is that any kind of a sign?


----------



## Swampy16

If your finding pheasant backs I’d say you should be finding morels. I found two decent sized ones today. Look for garlic mustard and barberry around tulips.


----------



## Swampy16

Also, I have a question. If I picked morels one day and couldn’t get to them to clean them til the next day. How should I store them?


----------



## beagleboy

I have been finding a lot of Gyromitra this year. I could have picked 5lbs today if they were safe to eat. Swampy yes that is pheasant back.


----------



## Swampy16

beagleboy said:


> I have been finding a lot of Gyromitra this year. I could have picked 5lbs today if they were safe to eat. Swampy yes that is pheasant back.


How would you cook it? Is it a choice edible or edible? Also, how should I keep morels if I can’t wash them the day I get them? How do you keep them in general?


----------



## Fluke216

The pheasant back was all small about less the half dollar size yea tons of garlic mustard. I’ll try again here in a day or so, had to start working again last week or prob would of had better luck


----------



## trahn008

Swampy16 said:


> How would you cook it? Is it a choice edible or edible? Also, how should I keep morels if I can’t wash them the day I get them? How do you keep them in general?


 They last accouple days in the refrigerator.


----------



## beagleboy

Swampy16 said:


> How would you cook it? Is it a choice edible or edible? Also, how should I keep morels if I can’t wash them the day I get them? How do you keep them in general?


Swampy, I am assuming you are asking if the pheasant back is edible, yes it is but you need to get it while its young and tender. It gets tough quick. To me it tastes like squash when it is fried, which I don't care for. Some use it in soups. One of my brothers likes it. So you will just have to try it to see if you like it.


----------



## MoonRabbit

Swampy16 said:


> View attachment 30916
> View attachment 30918
> View attachment 30920
> View attachment 30912
> View attachment 30914
> Looking for an ID on these.


I believe the first 3 photos could be Agrocybe praecox. They get that interesting pattern on the caps when they age.


----------



## Fluke216

These ash yea?


----------



## Swampy16

I would say yes.


----------



## Fluke216

Fluke216 said:


> The pheasant back was all small about less the half dollar size yea tons of garlic mustard. I’ll try again here in a day or so, had to start working again last week or prob would of had better luck
> View attachment 32532
> View attachment 32534


Ok I don’t think these are dryads saddle instead something in neofavolus genus. I think 
*Neofavolus alveolaris*
Anyway


----------



## Swampy16

Thought I’d post this pic from a fellow bird hunter on a hunting forum from WV.


----------



## Rick Koptchak

Thanks, Would they grow by old apple trees.I don't have many elm around my place but I do have a place that has some old apple trees. And how about oak trees. Thanks again, Rick


----------



## beagleboy

Rick Koptchak said:


> Thanks, Would they grow by old apple trees.I don't have many elm around my place but I do have a place that has some old apple trees. And how about oak trees. Thanks again, Rick


Rick, they grow around old apple trees, some of my best spots for years are apple trees. The ones that seem to produce the best are still living, but on their way out.


----------



## Rick Koptchak

Thanks for the info.Going to recheck my spot. Will leave you know if I find any. Thanks again . Rick


beagleboy said:


> Rick, they grow around old apple trees, some of my best spots for years are apple trees. The ones that seem to produce the best are still living, but on their way out.


----------



## muff1nm4n17

Found a few today and a bunch of pheasant back on my usual stump and advice for moraine get there early cause they’re hunted heavy there


----------



## ♧Gargamel ♧

Live in Somerset county and haven't found a single one. I've been looking everywhere elms. Apple trees ect... fun year....


----------



## Rick Koptchak

♧Gargamel ♧ said:


> Live in Somerset county and haven't found a single one. I've been looking everywhere elms. Apple trees ect... fun year....


Snowing in clearfield county all weekend. Going to be in the 70s this week hoping they start popping up here.


----------



## Swampy16

I had another great day today. I’m finding more large ones now.


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## Swampy16

A question for the gurus. I’ve been warned about arsenic being in the soil in apple orchards. How would one know if it’s safe? I have some orchards to check. They’re pretty darned old. Would that matter?


----------



## ♧Gargamel ♧

Swampy16 said:


> A question for the gurus. I’ve been warned about arsenic being in the soil in apple orchards. How would one know if it’s safe? I have some orchards to check. They’re pretty darned old. Would that matter?


Not a clue here. I'm beyond new to this. But I've checked everything I could. And looked everywhere I could as well....


----------



## trahn008

Swampy, I would hunt them. Nothing different than what's in most of the food they pedal us now-a-days. Just my 2 cents! Happy Hunting!


----------



## steelernation

There are basically two arsenic pesticides that were used. Lead- arsenate was, and still is, pretty bad for you, as it doesn't really go anywhere. I REALLY wonder what the morel yields were 200-300 years ago, when there were tons of elms and emerging apple trees and no/not so many idiots to screw it up. I also wonder what the mycological relationships were with chestnut trees...

Here is some science on the arsenic types (from a website): The use of lead arsenate pesticides has been effectively eliminated for over 50 years. However, because of the pesticide’s environmental persistence, it is estimated that millions of acres of land are still contaminated with lead arsenate residues. This presents a potentially significant public health concern in some areas of the United States (e.g., New Jersey, Washington, and Wisconsin), where large areas of land used historically as orchards have been converted into residential developments.

Some modern uses of arsenic-based pesticides still exist. Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) has been registered for use in the United States since the 1940s as a wood preservative, protecting wood from insects and microbial agents. In 2003, CCA manufacturers instituted a voluntary recall of residential uses of CCA-treated wood. CCA is still approved for use in nonresidential applications, such as in marine facilities (pilings and structures), utility poles, and sand highway structures.

The use of organic arsenical pesticides began in the 1950s and has continued into the present day. Overall, organic arsenicals in the pentavalent oxidation state are much less toxic than inorganic arsenicals because, unlike inorganic arsenic, these ingested organic arsenicals are not readily taken up into cells and undergo limited metabolism.


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## Swampy16

It’s hard to say about these orchards. They’re old, I Grouse Hunt then and can barely get through them. That’s how thick the brush is but still can’t be that old or there wouldn’t be any thick brush. Still, all the structures around them are old , barely evident stone foundations so I really have no idea. One however is probably pushing 40 acres. As I’ve sat and thought about this over the last two weeks I’ve realized several abandoned orchards I hunt. I’m anxious to see what’s there if I can get time this weekend as the Black Sea Bass season opens here in NJ and I’m not letting the boat sit idle anymore. Virus or no virus, I’m goin fishing.


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## DanCB

Swampy16 said:


> A question for the gurus. I’ve been warned about arsenic being in the soil in apple orchards. How would one know if it’s safe? I have some orchards to check. They’re pretty darned old. Would that matter?


I'm no guru but if there are a few apple trees around an old homestead I'll happily pick morels. I avoid old abandoned commercial orchards; they would still have heavy metals in the soil.


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## Swampy16

DanCB said:


> I'm no guru but if there are a few apple trees around an old homestead I'll happily pick morels. I avoid old abandoned commercial orchards; they would still have heavy metals in the soil.


Hard to say if they were commercial or not. They’re pretty big.


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## muff1nm4n17

Found a few nice yellow today stayin on em this season new spot there ash and apple all over and I found 58 yellow by a shag bark hickory


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## DanCB

Does anyone else get vivid dreams after eating morels?


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## Swampy16

You may wanna be sure they’re actually morels. Lol


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## DanCB

Swampy16 said:


> You may wanna be sure they’re actually morels. Lol


Dreams while sleeping...not while awake .


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## Barnacle

I think this is a false morel right? I’ve never seen one so big. It’s wider than my head my head!


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## Inthewild

Barnacle said:


> I think this is a false morel right? I’ve never seen one so big. It’s wider than my head my head!
> View attachment 34460
> 
> View attachment 34454
> View attachment 34456
> View attachment 34458


@Barnacle YES bad!


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## Barnacle

Thanks Inthewild, I know not to eat them. I couldn’t resist taking the pics. It was a bizarre find for me at least.


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## beagleboy

Barnacle said:


> I think this is a false morel right? I’ve never seen one so big. It’s wider than my head my head!
> View attachment 34460
> 
> View attachment 34454
> View attachment 34456
> View attachment 34458


Barnacle, are those special morel glasses? I lost mine. lol


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## Jeffrey1findum

I've been reading about great flushes of morels out west in forest that were burnt. There forest is a little different lots of conifers. Has anyone around here tried hunting one of PA's controlled burn areas better than average luck?


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## trahn008

I have and never had any luck.


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