# 2013 morel finds



## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Talking about morels found in 2013. I found four greys this afternoon in SE Arkansas, Phillips County. I had to ignore my cold to save them from freezing tonight, Mar. 25, 2013


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## glassman (Mar 9, 2013)

Way to go Jerry!!! What's the temps been down there? I've been looking still no luck. Keep us posted. Can't believe all the immature drama over on the okie board.WOW!


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Temps here have been in the 40's for highs during the past week and near freezing at night. I think it froze last night. I'll probably wait 4-5 days to go out again. Temps are supposed to steadily rise for the next week or so and be in the 70's by Mon. I expect to find a bunch by then. I'll bet that they will be showing up along the Ark R. in Little Rock by Monday too.


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

And, yes, what was happening on the OK board is definitely not what I like to see going on.
Glassman, I suspect that morels will be popping up in your area by mid-next week if they are there and this warm-up continues.


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## boone (Dec 6, 2012)

Jerry where abouts you located?I would really like to meet you when I come down 12th-15th,if you get the time please give me a call.#1-816-261-9512.Thanks and God Bless.


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## df4f2 (Mar 28, 2013)

Well Jerry I'm back with the living.
I hope to be reporting finds soon from NW Arkansas.
Soon as next.........I'm a hopin'
Clay Bradshaw


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## slim (Mar 29, 2013)

My dad recorded field notes on morels dating back to 1976 with dates ,temps, locations etc. mid April was most common


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## slim (Mar 29, 2013)

In Nwa around Lake wedington


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Clay, welcome back! If it hadn't been for the recent warm weather you'd probably have to brush snow aside to find any morels! I suspect if you were in this part of the state we'd be camped out at our early spots to see who could find one first.I hope you have great luck this year. I hope to get back out by Mon and expect to see a bunch that have popped up since last Mon. Boone, I live in SE Ark at Stuttgart. Slim, I always counted on the middle two weeks in Apr to find them in the Ozarks in the 90's but it has gradually moved earlier.


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## boone (Dec 6, 2012)

Thanks Jerry,Ill be down at Hot springs the 12th-15.I think ill look around there while my wife and endlaws go to the Races.Im not much on the race's,would rather be out in the woods hunting.Wifes a little mad bbbuuut she knows that she should'nt plan anything during mushroom season.Oh well I'll make the best of what I can.


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Boone, As cool as it is this year you may have some luck around Hot Springs. I've never found any morels or had much other luck at the track. Where abouts are you coming from? I'm hoping to get out for awhile on Mon. This warm weather and moisture surely has helped a few more to pop up!


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## glassman (Mar 9, 2013)

Hey Boone I work in hot springs we have found a few there but not many and not in a couple of years. In 09 we found a patch of about 20 big yellows the size of a 20oz coke bottle but that spot hasn't done anything since. Went out all day yesterday. Drove about 60 miles and walked about 20. Between Glenwood, hot springs,mt. Ida. Nothing!


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## turkey hunter (Feb 1, 2013)

Hey Jerry do you ever hunt around the Dover area? And if yes ever had any luck? I have family in that area but they tell me they don't grow in that area. I just can't see that being true


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## glassman (Mar 9, 2013)

Finally found 2 today. One was so old it just crumbled. The other was very fresh yellow. The grass was knee high. Found the dried out one first. looked around the tree three times on my hands and knees on the fourth time I stared pulling grass and about 10 in away I found the fresh one. What kind of tree has little limbs all over the trunk. They come out about an inch and turn up?


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Found three nice fresh yellows at the same spot I found some greys last Mon. Also found two greys near a fallen sycamore tree and a tiny grey next to an ash. Really thought I'd find more, what with the warmer weather, maybe after this cool spell they'll finally get down to business. A friend reported finding some greys north of Fort Smith over the weekend. 
Turkey hunter, I haven't hunted around Dover but I sometimes drive north of that town and find them in the higher hills. I'm sure they are in the Dover area, no reason not to be that I could think of. I'm sure there are ash, sycamore, cottonwood and other host trees there. If you can find some cottonwood that were blown over this winter you have a good chance of coming across some. 
Glassman, way-to-go, it's a start. They sure are slow this year so far.


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## turkey hunter (Feb 1, 2013)

Thanks for you comment on the Dover area Jerry. That's kinda what I was thinking


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## boone (Dec 6, 2012)

Thanks Glassman maybe we can get together when I get there on the12th,I would like to meet you.Jerry,Im comming frNWMo.Im going to do some looking around while my wife and endlaws go to the track.Jerry says he does better at the track.Realy would like to talk to the both of you and let you know whats going on.If you want email me at [email protected],so it;s a bit more private.Thanks a lot you 2 you've been a great help.Hope to meet you there Take care and God Bless.


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## fishingfreak (Apr 3, 2013)

Hey guys My name is Tom and I live in North central Arkansas. Don't know if this is the proper place to introduce myself, not much of a forum guy but hello anyways. I hunt Morels about 30-60 hours a week during the season in Arkansas but had to move due to work. I will be back home in a week and can't wait to see whats poppin. Jerry you have inspired me to take a trip to the delta this year to see my family and walk the woods. They live In clarendon and brinkly , im sure you're familiar with both! I will be bringing a boat so if you would like to look in the white and cache river bottoms VIA boat access only you are welcome to join! Hope to get you know fellow Arkansas shroomers!!


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## boone (Dec 6, 2012)

Nice to know there is some one in NArk to talk with.I wish you all the luck,hope to get with you some day.Take care and God Bless.


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## glassman (Mar 9, 2013)

FINALLY!!!!!!! Found 25 today . Picture is on morelhunters.com. can't figure out how to get it on here


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## faith (Jan 9, 2013)

I have the next 3 days off and 2 of them should be good hunting. I'm going to walk the creeks and maybe check out the Wildlife Mgt Area here in Madison county. Good luck ya'll,,,really hoping this is a good year.


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## benji (Apr 4, 2013)

I hiked about 15 miles over the weekend in search of a honey hole with no luck. Some of the best looking spots had the leave cover removed and down to soil....Looked like squirrel/acorn action I've seen before under oaks....but this was under elms. Did the squirrels beat me to the morels?


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## arbowhunter (Mar 12, 2013)

Benji
Could be the deer They luv them as much as I do !
I've had to run them out of my spots before


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## benji (Apr 4, 2013)

Thanks Arbowhunter....I've also just read Turkeys and Squirrels are likely culprits in addtion to deer. Shame turkey season doesn't open till the 20th.

Best of luck!


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## faith (Jan 9, 2013)

Went to all the spots that should've been producing, walked a good 15 miles and nothing. Not sure if I'm early or what. Trillium were up, dandelions were puffing, mayapples up, the ground was nice and moist and no shortage of sycamores, dead elms n cottonwoods. Any ideas ya'll??


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## revlover (Apr 10, 2013)

Found three small greys in typically early spots on Tuesday afternoon. Usually have started finding numerous greys by april 8.


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

I returned to some spots in SE Ark on Tues (Apr 9) and found 10 nice blond morels. It was hot, 85F, and I was disappointed to only find that many after hiking most of the afternoon. Most of the trees are getting leaves on them and with the higher temps the season will be over soon in this part of the state. The high winds knocking trees down tonight may provide a lot of morels for people in the northern part of the state. Some of my best hunting has been in conditions where trees were damaged just before morel season. Unfortunately people are losing property in these storms. 
Fishingfreak, I have done a lot of looking in the White River bottoms and have not found any there except for an occasional M. deliciosus and those don't seem to be out this year. However, I have had one report for the White River valley for spots that rarely flood. Contact me at [email protected] if you are in the Stuttgart area this weekend, I may be home. However, if you are in north central Ark this weekend should be great. Hope you don't get storm damage.


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## glassman (Mar 9, 2013)

Found 20 more Saturday . First four blacks. One monster it was actually two that grew into one.I have pictures over on morelhunters.com go check em out. Sorry i can't post em on here. Wish they would make it easier to post pictures on here


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Searched a lot but found only three over-the-hill morels in the Ark. R. bottoms around Russelville yesterday (Apr 14). However an 82 year old couple found about 10 fresh morels. The wife was colorblind and couldn't see the morels but the husband spotted them. However, he couldn't crouch down to pick them but his wife could. What a team! Temps were in the 80's. They were finding them in well drained sandy loam soil by small dead elms. I looked at a lot of large ash, cottonwood and sycamore trees that had no morels near them.


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## thelefty1minus1 (Mar 27, 2013)

yesterday in prairie grove i found a dozen niceNfresh yellow ones. they were all located on the west side bank of a creek &amp; in a group of young sycamores, about 8ft tall. biggest shroom i found was 6in &amp; the smallest wouldnt of fit on a peice of bread crust, lol. got a few that were only 2in also. normally i'd leave those to grow some but the critters would have gotten them b4 i did. not worried about people in this spot. its at a 45* angle, lol.


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## thelefty1minus1 (Mar 27, 2013)

oops sorry, typo. the biggest i found was 8in


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## slim (Mar 29, 2013)

Hello fungi friends, I had a great day in the clifty area today. Found 10 greys and 40 blondes around sycamores...ate a bunch and trying to dehydrate therest...yum


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Well, its been really slow for me this year. Weather had also made it complicated, 85 one day, 40's the next. I plan on searching in the Clinton area tomorrow, maybe Tues. too. Been hearing that a few are showing up in that area and further north. Slim, the only time I've found them by sycamores is one time on a stream bank where small sprouts about two inches in diameter had just been cut a month earlier, got a bunch. However, NW Ark people seem to find them often near those trees. 
Nice going!


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## thelefty1minus1 (Mar 27, 2013)

yesterday i found 61 yellows in western washington county! they ranged from 2-5in.
99% were totally fresh. all on the banks of a creek surrounded by sycamores. with the huge amount of rain we had on the 19th, i think it washed away a lot of the old leaf ground cover making it ez’r to spot these beauties! i left a couple dozen, hoping they’ll get bigger. i’ll check in a week. how has everyone else done?


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## glassman (Mar 9, 2013)

Went back yesterday and found 9 more . Some fresh some we just missed last week. Fresh fish and morels. Nothing better!!!! With the cool temps and rain do y'all think they will keep popping?


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Finding a few north of Clinton. Some well over the hill others just popping up.


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## moorelmonkeys (Apr 23, 2013)

Hello everybody; I'm new here. Found seven big ones in about 20 minutes in northern Crawford County last night. They were under Sycamore trees about 60 yards from a small stream in flat woods. I probably would have found a lot more if I hadn't run out of daylight. I swear they started drying out after I picked them so I dunked them in the creek and it seemed to help.


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## bgriffin (Apr 24, 2013)

I've looked without success in Central Arkansas (River Valley Area- specifically Russellville) for Morels the last few years. Now, I'm not very good at identifying trees, despite some research. I'm just not confident in what trees are what without someone to confirm.

Can anyone help me find a good location? We hunted in Iowa as kids and they were easy to find. It's been years and I'd love to find some again!! 

Thanks!
Brandie


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Spent a couple of days looking at spots from Clinton to Mt View and was generally disappointed. Between having some of my locations destroyed by tornadoes or logging or obviously visited earlier by others I only found about 60 in three days and 15 of them were too far gone to be edible. The morels seemed to be coming up in spurts, apparently following the temperatures with each warm spell helping some to come up and then every thing sloweing down with the freezing weather coming through. I would see a tree with an old dried out morel and a fresh one next to it. Most disapointed when I climbed down a steep hill to an ash that had 10 over-the-hill morels next to it.


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Brandie, there are pretty good spots up and down the Ark river. Learn to recognize ash, elm and cottonwood and probably sycamore. I find them next to ash in the hills and near dead/dying/ damaged by wind cottonwoods or dead elms in the river bottoms. I don't find many in water saturated soil but do like damp well drained soil. I haven't found many by sycamores but people in NW Ark certainly find them by that type of tree. It might be too late now for the Ark River Valley.


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

A friend of mine and I went north of Russelville in the National Forest and found a total of 44 yellows of two species and a half-free morel. Found some others that were too old but almost all of the 44 were in good shape. This is the latest that either of us have found morels in Arkansas.


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

Well it looks like I'm done for this year unless I get up to northern Wisconsin in late May. Got just over 100 morels, quite low for the season.


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## kay0213 (Apr 19, 2013)

HI! I used to live near Ft. Smith and still have friends near Mountainburg. Are these good areas? Russellville is a bit of a haul from there and it takes me 8 hrs or so to get to my friends in MB, don't really want to drive another hour if I can avoid it. I'm preplanning for next year :wink:


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## slim (Mar 29, 2013)

Hi friends, I hope everyone got out and had good morel hunting. we did alright in NWA. Now that the season is over we can focus on another delicious fungus called the chantrelle..we can find them mid june after a good rain.I recommend we research and get after it. Good Luck..I would like to hear from yall


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## pomoxis64 (Jan 30, 2013)

Hey Slim - we can find tons of info on how to find Morels. This was my first year and I found about 150 (ate em all also). Also chicken of the woods and and oyster schrooms. Ate a few puff balls. Now I'm ready for the tough stuff. Chantrelles and Boletes. Can you pass any info that would bring us closer than "walking through the woods looking at the ground"? I really want to zero on chantrelles but I have no clue. I know they're yellow and don't eat the Jack-O- Lanterns. I think I can identify them, chantrelles, but I just have no idea where to look. Oaks, Poplars, Pines, Ash? Any suggestions.


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## slim (Mar 29, 2013)

In Arkansas, chantrelles can be found in oak-hickory forests. They can be found all summer if the rain cooperates.. and doesnt dry up. Look for yellow and orange funnel shaped shrooms, the gills will be dull and rounded and the edge of cap will be wavy or obtuse. I havent seen any growing in clumps,like the jack-o-lantern, but individually scattered in damp areas..The best way I ID them is their fruity aroma, like oranges or apricots. I found a lot north of Dover in the N.F. below a wet bluff that was dripping water on June 17(my B-day). Found plenty in Lake Wedington area June-August..depending on the rain..I live in Rogers, Ar.


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## jerry ludwig (Oct 17, 2012)

I've found lots of golden, cinnibar and even black chantrelles in the L. Ouachita area while camping at the lake in June and in the Beyou Meto area in early summer too. I've also found a lot of golden chantrelles in the Greer's Ferry Lake area in June too. I've found that the golden chantrelles without the ridges are much less tasty than those with ridges. A plate with golden, black and cinnibar chantrelles and a tender steak makes a great presentation that doesn't last long. Good hunting.


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