# East Central Iowa



## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Any reports around the Springbrook/Maqouketa/Bellvue area?


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## brandonpgm (May 2, 2013)

im in cedar county and found 60 grays yesterday


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks Brandon thats right around the corner I believe! A Buddy and I are traveling from Ohio to that area and we're trying to narrow down a time frame so we dont get skunked. I appreciate any updates you can provide. Planing on next weekend,Any thoughts on timing?


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## mushhunter (Apr 29, 2014)

Heard a few smalls. Not much yet as of Sun. Bet the rain has helped.


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## mushhunter (Apr 29, 2014)

I was refering to the Springbrook, Maquoketa, Bellevue area question....


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Air temps dont look the greatest but ground temps are hovering around 60deg. Gotta be getting close to some good finds.


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Mushhunter,do you know any of the Rubels?


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## brandonpgm (May 2, 2013)

I think starting sunday should be excellent. Nice warm up on saturday with some sun finally. Went out again this evening in the rain and found another 20 grays


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## mushhunter (Apr 29, 2014)

"Pshyc"...No, i don't know the Rubels. I went out Wed. and checked two of my trees. Only 2 mushrooms at each. Decided to save my energy for the weekend. The hardest part of mushroom hunting is being patient for them to start popping. I hope this year the hardest part is lugging around all of the mushrooms i find.


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks "Mush", I think we're gonna head that way next Wednesday if everything goes well! Please keep me posted!


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

In Maquoketa over the weekend. Will post results. Anyone else finding anything in the area yet?


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Shroomhawk,heard from locals a couple small greys! let me know what you come up with!


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## theneer (May 10, 2013)

450 Grays in Cedar Rapids today. Not mine just word of mouth


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

pshyc: In maquoketa today. Sorry to say no luck at any of my honey holes. Need heat. Hopefully by Wednesday!!!


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks shroomhawk! My buddy was actually out there friday/saturday. they found a mixed bag mostly greys a few yellows.were heading out wednesday gonna try our luck.I'll let you know how it goes.


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## shroominmomma (May 3, 2014)

Getting so antsy to find my first one this year, no luck yet in the cedar valley area


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## theneer (May 10, 2013)

Slayed 134 grays today by Maquoketa, IA https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1.0-9/10312112_286624281506484_7410730349427060100_n.jpg


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## ksmorelhunter (Apr 24, 2013)

Nice find TheNeer! Are these along rivers or in hills? Any particular trees you are finding them around? Thanks for any information and good luck!


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## theneer (May 10, 2013)

Found all these in a 40ft radius on a south facing hill about 300 yrds from the Maquoketa river. Elm and Walnut trees around but mostly open area with May apples and little under brush. Good Luck


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Hey Neer save some for me! I'll be making a 9hr road trip Wednesday to slay them on Thursday and Friday...lol!


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## theneer (May 10, 2013)

Hey pshyc, where are you coming from or I should say where are you from?


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

I'm coming from Columbus Ohio(born and raised). My friend that lives here is originally from Bellevue and his parents live in Maqouketa. Would like to see some rain out there!


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

In Jackson county Weds. Most of my honey holes had nothing, then stumbled upon the mother lode on one small hillside. 200 fresh greys and yellows in a 25' X 10' area. South-facing slope on a small ravine. Sweet!! Expecting other areas to pop by this weekend.


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## pshycedelicshroomer (Apr 1, 2013)

Jackson county also,found about 10# of yellow under 1 tree yesterday...sweet! Then hit and miss from there. Out again today hit a nice bunch of fresh greys and then hit and miss again! Probably around 20# for the first 2 days,Going in am before heading back to Ohio. Thank you Iowa! Love coming out here!


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## mikekrebill (Oct 17, 2012)

For those of you who haven't heard yet, greys and yellows and big-footed morels (the giants) are all the same species according to DNA studies. This means that those greys will grow into the bigger yellows if you can wait and go back to collect them a week to 10 days later.


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)




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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

Shrooms do not grow - they unfurl. Their mass is already determined when they pop. Pick 'em when they're fresh! Rain and cool this week. Any guesses about another crop coming this weekend?


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

ShroomHawk, my guess is that this cool weather will (a) preserve what's in southern Iowa this week and (b) extend the season for another week or so in northern Iowa. What do you think? I believe you're right about unfurling. I've tested the growth hypothesis several times through multiple observations and nothing I left ever grew. I'd sure like to see a time-lapse video of morel fruitation. I wonder how long it actually takes on average for them to unfurl?


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

Hmmm... is this <strong>growing</strong> or <strong>unfurling</strong>? Or <em>both</em>? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JurrfK_wQI<span style="color: green"> </span> :?:


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

Shroom God: I know that I have checked spots in the evening and found full size shrooms in the morning. Must be a few hours is all it takes. Greys may expand a bit and turn yellow, but I do not believe their mass changes. That is why yellows tend to crumble more than greys - they get a little thinner and weaker. I'll take the greys all day long. Going to Jackson County again this weekend. Hoping for a second crop.


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

Interesting video. Looks like it is growing. But if you ever cut into a smaller grey you'll notice the walls are thicker and more dense than a full size morel. I think it is simply expanding like a sponge dipped in water. But what do I know. These things have baffled me for years!


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

The mysteries surrounding 'em is a big part of what makes hunting 'em so fun. Friday I'm going to be along the Maquoketa River in Jones Co. near Canton (if you don't pick them all by then). :-x


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## swi shroomer (Apr 22, 2014)

Shroom God: I, too, love the mystery. And that's an awesome image you created somewheres on here of you as a child like something feral roaming the woods in search of morels! Great stuff. May have to borrow that.


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

Hey SWI, I tend to think that some of us are "people out of time" who are blessed with a powerful, innate primordial instinct and impulse that enables us to experience a primitive hunting and gathering episode in much the same way that our distant ancestors did. I do, in fact, "go wild" when I get to the woods. I transition quickly; As I leave my Jeep behind I become a savage, shedding most human conveniences and exchanging the artificial complexities and distractions of our modern technological society for the natural complexities, mysteries, and marvels of the woods. I rediscover physical and psychological equilibrium amid the splendors of nature and the challenges and opportunities it offers. I give myself to the woods; I am at one with it--a part of it. I sense ancestral and cultural connection with the past. So for me it's quasi-spiritual; the hunt itself is simply pure fun. As you know, not everyone can experience this. My wife can't get past her concerns about ticks, bugs, multiflora rose and other thorny or prickly bushes. To those of us who live for this, such things are an anticipated and authentic part of the experience.


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

Shroom God: How was Canton? I'll be about 3 miles west of 61 along the river this weekend. Wondering how things look. I agree with your sentiments above. There's nothing more rejuvenating than getting off the grid for a few days and traipsing through unspoiled timberland. It amazes me how many people don't share that view.


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

Heading up there tomorrow ShroomHawk. That's some blessed country. I'll be about 5 miles west of there, I think. Back in the day there used to be a good number of timber rattlers in those parts. WILD country! You wouldn't happen to be hunting the Maquoketa Caves park? That could be good. There's plenty of space there and you'll find good trees if you go deep off the beaten path.


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

Bought some acreage there two years ago. Came across a 4 foot rattler there. They are still around.


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

I'm stoked about getting up there. I've got my eyes on some ground there too, dirt road accessible only. Hope you haul 'em out by the truckload. Been to Bluff Lake yet? Saturday night is all you can eat haddock, I think. If you haven't, you gotta! It's memorable.


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

Saturday I bagged about 15 pounds of very fresh yellows with little effort. Today was not so good. Based on what I saw I think the season is over for that area. How did you do, Shroom God?


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

Way to go ShroomHawk. Are you freezing any or what? I only bagged about 6-7 pounds. Mine were pretty fresh. I got another 5 pounds today in Johnson Co. JUMBOS--about 100 under a tree, some growing in clusters. All 4-6 inchers. I spotted them from a distance of 20 feet away, so easy to see it was ridiculous. The bad news is they were **almost** brittle. Another 3 days and they'd have crumbled. Glad I rescued them. I might head north to the border next weekend.


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## shroomhawk (Apr 5, 2013)

Nice find on the jumbos. Strange season. I have 70 acres and the ONLY place they grew was in the NE quadrant. Same terrain, soil, moisture, etc. Makes no sense, but still had a great season. I am dusting them in flour, freezing and bagging them. Never done it before so I hope it works out. Good luck up north.


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

It sure has been strange--but excellent in spite of it. Nature pulled out all the stops and threw everything at us, condition-wise, and made it interesting and challenging. I learned a lot this season (my 50th). I'll never learn enough. 

It sounds like you're doing exactly what I do for freezing. The challenge with doing it this way lies in the cooking--getting the butter hot, feeding the skillet, a few at a time, and maintaining an optimal cooking temp. If you can master that you're in. Can't tell the difference between frozen and fresh. Fun Gus cooks his about 90% then bags them. I'm trying a bag like that too, so we'll see how it goes (this winter).

I'm starting to feel "seasonal affective disorder," locally, at least. For several years at season's end I count down...it's agony. This year I might have to chase 'em for therapy. But I'm conflicted; some people are occupied negotiating regional peace to ensure world stability, etc., etc. And in the midst of these noble efforts I'm chasing mushrooms??? 

Cognitive dissonance wracks my mind...but my soul says "Go shrooming." 

I'm listening to my soul.


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## swi shroomer (Apr 22, 2014)

I'm with ya on the cognitive dissonance, Shroom God. Tough to see the season move north like some heliotropic plague.


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

Feelin' the pain, hey? I wonder if I head to MN or WI if I'll feel like an unworthy scavenger or interloper. Or will my Jeep be burnt b/c I have IOWA plates, or some such thing like happens on that ginseng show on the Discovery channel. Anyway, SWI Shroomer I'd rather cast my lot with WI than MN. You in Grant County or thereabouts? I grew up about 50 miles SW of there.


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## swi shroomer (Apr 22, 2014)

SG, are you a professional writer by any chance? I live in Council Bluffs but hunt south of here in Page County. I found my first morel east of Glenwood in Mills County in '67 or '68, and I drive past those woods on the way to my spot. All these years later, I think I could walk to within 50 feet of where I found my first morel in those woods in the long ago. Speaking of "alien" plates -- I was confronted once in an Iowa county on public ground by a couple of mushroom hunters who looked at my plates and asked (sort of aggressively, I thought) why I had to hunt morels so far from home. Definitely an atypical outlier type experience as I'm pretty sure 99.9 percent of mushroom hunters wouldn't act this way but it was kind of scary.


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## swi shroomer (Apr 22, 2014)

Ginseng is an interesting thing on a lot of levels. Read quite a bit about it a few months ago, inspired by the show on History Channel. Foxfire is another interesting thing in the wild plant world. Oh boy. I'm only interested in morels as far as hunting goes, though.


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

SWI, I've also experienced the hostility you speak of. Like you, I tend to range over quite a distance. Usually, everything is fine. However, after a grueling contest with a multiflora rose-ridden tract of woods a few years ago, I returned with bloodied arms to find a menacing note beneath my wiper: "Keep ass in own county." Similarly, encountering other shroomers in the woods can sometimes evoke some tension. Territorialism may creep in; sometimes a few words are spoken; certainly furtive glances at each other's sack are exchanged, and a momentary sense of inferiority washes over the one with the smaller sack; that feeling wanes as the distance bewteen hunters grows. I suspect all of this is rooted in human instinct when engaged in a comptetive search for eeking something that is typically in limited supply and, in this case, available for only a short while. Imagine what such encounters must have been like among the first disparate bands of humans to make their way into Iowa 12,000 years ago--or more recently, what it must have felt like during the California Gold Rush! The feelings and emotions associated with these experiences are part of the drama that makes this so fun.


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## fun gus (Apr 24, 2014)

I have a public area near Des Moines i found about 1980. It was me and an older guy. A little draw and a field leads to a large tract no one else went to. It was good for the two of us to have a killing. He's about 75-80 now and told his grandson who must of posted gps coordinates on Facebook because it has been over run with 20 something beer drinkers littering and killing me the last three years. I used to get 25+# but for the last few years about 5-10. I hope to see the old guy to tell him but what do you do?


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

I hear ya. There's definitely increasing pressure on public lands, and a good part of it is detrimental. As expected, it's particularly bad in high-density areas contiguous with urban settings. In some places, foot traffic is so heavy that the vegetation is utterly destroyed; only bare dirt remains. Ideally, the state should acquire more land to mitigate the pressures of excessive public use in such areas, but rising commercial values of property make that difficult. 

Another issue lies in the actual management philosophy of rangers. At one county park--known as a morel haven--the residential ranger retired after 35 years. His replacement came in and <strong>promptly </strong>destroyed many acres of prime mushroom ground, bulldozing and cutting and sawing like mad with little regard for habitat preservation. This was done in the name of "park improvement." 5-10 years ago I'd routinely pull 20 pounds out of there. There's hardly anything now. This year I didn't even bother going.


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## swi shroomer (Apr 22, 2014)

Good stuff, fun gus and shroom god. Really enjoy reading your stories and insights.


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## shroom god (Apr 24, 2014)

Backatcha SWI Shroomer. I feel blessed to have been a part of such a vibrant online community. I've learned much through the experiences you've shared about SW Iowa and the bottoms. I need to experience a cottonwood haul. It's been 40 years since that happened for me. In mere days the season will pass, although the advent of summer will not overshadow the high life of which we all drank so deeply. Bittersweet now, I'll be back next year and look forward to reconnecting with this great group of nature lovers.


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