Morels 2024

[hunterrc99]

Curious if anyone is starting to see Morels popping up anywhere, or if the consensus is it is still too early with the occasionally nightly freezes.

[Platensek-po]

 Came out in the bark mulch on our property about 2 weeks ago. Picked some up while turkey hunting last week as well.

[bhawley76]

Went Saturday and nothing, maybe a little early dry and cold still. We did find some asparagus.

[ducks4days]

I got out 3 weeks ago and found a bunch of the little orange cup fungus that usually predates morels by ~4-6 weeks. I’d bet first week of May is when they start fruiting.

I heard they are finding them in southern oregon right now.

[kodiak10]

Got a handful last weekend but it was hard work for not very many. I think it still needs a bit more time

[Tenkara]

Found about a dozen two weeks ago, looked again this weekend and found three more , but they were already past pickable.

[mcrawfordaf]

Daughter and I went out Saturday all day and nothing in our normal producing area. Ground was dry for the most part as well.

[OutHouse]

Need more water in the east side where I am at. Was a pretty low yield year last year, maybe this year will be different.

[NOCK NOCK]

Its starting in my areas, found 50 this am, mostly smaller, but in good groupings. Todays rain and coming warmer weather should make for a productive next couple weeks.


Update,  Today we picked for about 4 hours, ended up with almost 800.  This was a personal best day for us on non fire area morels.
Liked this "conjoined" one.  2 heads, 1 root.
It's going to be an epic year as we haven't even checked our best areas yet.

[NOCK NOCK]

pics

[kellama2001]

Its starting in my areas, found 50 this am, mostly smaller, but in good groupings. Todays rain and coming warmer weather should make for a productive next couple weeks.


Update,  Today we picked for about 4 hours, ended up with almost 800.  This was a personal best day for us on non fire area morels.
Liked this "conjoined" one.  2 heads, 1 root.
It's going to be an epic year as we haven't even checked our best areas yet.

Nicely done!  I'm hoping to get out this weekend and do some looking. What elevation range did you find yours at if you don't mind sharing?

[7mmfan]

Well done! We're heading over to Winthrop this weekend, going to get out and do some looking.

[NOCK NOCK]

@kellama2001
Southern facing slopes, fairly open, 3300’, found a lot under buck brush(ceanothis sp.?) and willows.

[SuperX]

I had no idea we had sooty grouse in WA!  Very cool... are they protected or lumped in under 'grouse'?

[mcrawfordaf]

I had no idea we had sooty grouse in WA!  Very cool... are they protected or lumped in under 'grouse'?

They're lumped into "blue grouse" with Dusky as well.


My daughter and I found TWO whole morels on Friday on the E side... hope this rain produces some more for this week. Anyone know for how long a burn will typically produce for?

[Platensek-po]

Its starting in my areas, found 50 this am, mostly smaller, but in good groupings. Todays rain and coming warmer weather should make for a productive next couple weeks.


Update,  Today we picked for about 4 hours, ended up with almost 800.  This was a personal best day for us on non fire area morels.
Liked this "conjoined" one.  2 heads, 1 root.
It's going to be an epic year as we haven't even checked our best areas yet.

Dang that’s an awesome haul!! Gunna be down in eastern oregon this weekend and I’ll have to keep an eye out!

[7mmfan]

I had no idea we had sooty grouse in WA!  Very cool... are they protected or lumped in under 'grouse'?

They're lumped into "blue grouse" with Dusky as well.


My daughter and I found TWO whole morels on Friday on the E side... hope this rain produces some more for this week. Anyone know for how long a burn will typically produce for?

It's my understanding the first year after a burn is the best, then it goes down hill, sometimes rapidly after that. You should expect more than usual in a burn for up to 5 years though.

To expand on NOCK NOCK's observations, the last few years hunting in burns in the Methow, I found most of my mushrooms where fire had burned buck brush. They were thick around and under scorched buck brush plants and along roads or cut fire lines where machines had broken the ground. South facing, semi open to sometimes very open.

[kellama2001]

@kellama2001
Southern facing slopes, fairly open, 3300’, found a lot under buck brush(ceanothis sp.?) and willows.

Great info, thanks for letting me know!

[NOCK NOCK]

I had no idea we had sooty grouse in WA!  Very cool... are they protected or lumped in under 'grouse'?

They're lumped into "blue grouse" with Dusky as well.


My daughter and I found TWO whole morels on Friday on the E side... hope this rain produces some more for this week. Anyone know for how long a burn will typically produce for?

It's my understanding the first year after a burn is the best, then it goes down hill, sometimes rapidly after that. You should expect more than usual in a burn for up to 5 years though.

To expand on NOCK NOCK's observations, the last few years hunting in burns in the Methow, I found most of my mushrooms where fire had burned buck brush. They were thick around and under scorched buck brush plants and along roads or cut fire lines where machines had broken the ground. South facing, semi open to sometimes very open.

Agreed. 
Usually only the first year after a fire for us.    2015ish was a big fire in upper Entiat, next year you couldn't step without crushing a morel, the next year we found zero in same areas.
I find good morel production has more to do with weather/temperature/sunlight/moisture, and the right sequence of those leading up to their fruiting season, than anything else.

[spin05]

found these while mowing the lawn at our Packwood property on Friday.  got 8 in total. 

[mcrawfordaf]

I had no idea we had sooty grouse in WA!  Very cool... are they protected or lumped in under 'grouse'?

They're lumped into "blue grouse" with Dusky as well.


My daughter and I found TWO whole morels on Friday on the E side... hope this rain produces some more for this week. Anyone know for how long a burn will typically produce for?

It's my understanding the first year after a burn is the best, then it goes down hill, sometimes rapidly after that. You should expect more than usual in a burn for up to 5 years though.

To expand on NOCK NOCK's observations, the last few years hunting in burns in the Methow, I found most of my mushrooms where fire had burned buck brush. They were thick around and under scorched buck brush plants and along roads or cut fire lines where machines had broken the ground. South facing, semi open to sometimes very open.

Agreed. 
Usually only the first year after a fire for us.    2015ish was a big fire in upper Entiat, next year you couldn't step without crushing a morel, the next year we found zero in same areas.
I find good morel production has more to do with weather/temperature/sunlight/moisture, and the right sequence of those leading up to their fruiting season, than anything else.

Thank you very much for the info. It may be time to find a new burn. The area we've been looking at burned in 2018 but we've found pretty good crops of morels there for the last couple years - but nothing like I've seen from some members on here and not nearly the size.

[LDennis24]

Burns and REALLY REALLY OLD forest areas with rotting logs and deep organic matter from those logs. Areas of the forest that were logged a millenia ago and have old stumps with buck board notches still showing produce well also. Deep in the bottoms where old cedar stumps tower over you.

[hunter399]

Found ours in the timber,or the edge of old clear cuts.
Too hot and dry in old burns and clear cuts.
Of course any area may be different depending on location.

I finally made it on a board for 2024.
Holy cow.

[NOCK NOCK]

Burns and REALLY REALLY OLD foreat areas with rotting logs and deep organic matter from those logs. Areas of the forest that were logged a millenia ago and have old stumps with buck board notches still showing produce well also. Deep in the bottoms where old cedar stumps tower over you.

LOL, you described one of our later picking areas PERFECTLY.    We always comment about seeing the buckboard notches.

[LDennis24]

Burns and REALLY REALLY OLD foreat areas with rotting logs and deep organic matter from those logs. Areas of the forest that were logged a millenia ago and have old stumps with buck board notches still showing produce well also. Deep in the bottoms where old cedar stumps tower over you.

LOL, you described one of our later picking areas PERFECTLY.    We always comment about seeing the buckboard notches.

Yep! Another good argument for leaving old growth areas alone. I believe they hold mycelium from centuries of fungi growth and the carbon decay is what feeds them. Same as the carbon produced from a burn. But after the burn the carbon is used up and it takes many years to cover the ground with that organic matter that burned away. I was on the West side of Mt. Adams one time and found an area with so much fungi of so many different varieties I could have lived there forever! It looked like a place where you could go on a mushroom trip and see actual fairies and gnomes tending to the forest!

[SuperX]

Two years ago we took down several cottonwoods in our yard and chipped up a lot of the branches.  We spread the chips in the garden.  Last May we had morels popping up right in the chips or just into the lawn.  We live in Duvall and have never seen a morel in our yard over the past 18 years.  I'm curious how just adding cottonwood chips could generate so many morels (about 50).  Could it be as simple as creating morel 'spawning grounds' just by spreading chips?

[LDennis24]

I'm guessing the trees had alot of dead wood in them? Or your garden had the mycelium in it and they liked the cottonwood makeup and decided to use it to fruit. The mycelium from morels nearby in the woods or somewhere hidden could have found their way into the decaying wood through the organic matter on the ground I mentioned and then when you chipped them up it released them and created the mushroom bloom. The mycelium can travel through organic matter a long ways. Mushrooms are amazing!

[SuperX]

I'm guessing the trees had alot of dead wood in them? Or your garden had the mycelium in it and they liked the cottonwood makeup and decided to use it to fruit. The mycelium from morels nearby in the woods or somewhere hidden could have found their way into the decaying wood through the organic matter on the ground I mentioned and then when you chipped them up it released them and created the mushroom bloom. The mycelium can travel through organic matter a long ways. Mushrooms are amazing!

no dead or rotted wood at all, these were all healthy trees. One neighbor across the street said he occasionally finds a few morels in his yard.  That could be the source.  If we only get a few I will blend them up with some water and spread that around, I've seen that on YouTube and it seems to work

[Chris57]

We went this weekend above Winthrop and got a 1 gallon freezer bag full, still early and real dry.

[CJ1962]

Got about 50 down in the Blues around 3800'.  Most were small.  Wish I could go back next week.

[hunter399]

Everywhere I go ,I seem to find a handful.
Or the wife always finds them.
Probably a frying pan full after I cut that big one in half.

[kellama2001]

Found a few around Conconully last week, kind of sporadic and spread out. Think it was a bit early and really dry. Found them anywhere from 3,300 to 4,150 elevation. It finally rained hard the day we left, I imagine they're really starting to pop now.

[7mmfan]

Saturday before Mother's day we got out near Winthrop. New area that had a good sized prescribed burn last spring. Found one small patch of morels, they appeared to be brand new and small. Left me feeling like we were a little early still. 

[ganghis]

Anyone been up looking in the Schneider Springs burn area this year or last?  I cleaned up in there the year after the fire but haven't been back since.  Wondering how much its fallen off and if it's worth the 3 hour drive to poke around a bit.

[ducks4days]

Anyone been up looking in the Schneider Springs burn area this year or last?  I cleaned up in there the year after the fire but haven't been back since.  Wondering how much its fallen off and if it's worth the 3 hour drive to poke around a bit.

I poked around 3 different weekends 2 weeks apart last year and didnt see nearly as many as there were the year after the burn. I only found some on one weekend. They still made a good soup but we didnt find anywhere near the same volume as the year before.

[ganghis]

Anyone been up looking in the Schneider Springs burn area this year or last?  I cleaned up in there the year after the fire but haven't been back since.  Wondering how much its fallen off and if it's worth the 3 hour drive to poke around a bit.

I poked around 3 different weekends 2 weeks apart last year and didnt see nearly as many as there were the year after the burn. I only found some on one weekend. They still made a good soup but we didnt find anywhere near the same volume as the year before.

Thanks!  That saves me a lot of driving.

[NOCK NOCK]

Hit some of our higher elevation spots today, did fairly well. Lots of good sized ones.  One thing we did notice is that quite a few were boogered up on the top half....guessing they sprung out too early, then got frozen a bit.

[22shtur]

Were the tops bitten off? If so, it could be deer or elk eating the tops which is not unusual.

[NOCK NOCK]

Were the tops bitten off? If so, it could be deer or elk eating the tops which is not unusual.

Nope. Tops were intact, just shrunk in/shriveled up, rest of shroom was in excellent condition. Of the 300 we found, a good quarter of them were like that.

[kellama2001]

Found some better sized ones last weekend at roughly the same elevations. The recent moisture has sure helped. Still no big patches though.

[mburrows]

Found about 5lbs~ last weekend with the wife here in MT. 5200ft was the sweet spot

[NOCK NOCK]

Found some better sized ones last weekend at roughly the same elevations. The recent moisture has sure helped. Still no big patches though.

I'm jealous of your spot. (those are glowing visible) 
Most of our spots you have to be hard core on your game to see em. (mostly blacks, and blend in very well)

[kellama2001]

Found some better sized ones last weekend at roughly the same elevations. The recent moisture has sure helped. Still no big patches though.

I'm jealous of your spot. (those are glowing visible) 
Most of our spots you have to be hard core on your game to see em. (mostly blacks, and blend in very well)

It is a great spot, they stand out nice against the Tamarack needles. Heading to a new spot this weekend, hopefully will have some luck (fingers crossed)

[OutHouse]

Kellama, You have found them in their prime! Get them while they are there. I haven't been able to get out much this year but happy hunting to everyone!

[NOCK NOCK]

Found some better sized ones last weekend at roughly the same elevations. The recent moisture has sure helped. Still no big patches though.

I'm jealous of your spot. (those are glowing visible) 
Most of our spots you have to be hard core on your game to see em. (mostly blacks, and blend in very well)

We have been hitting our higher elevation spots 5-6000' and where the snow is gone, they are fresh and big.

[OutHouse]

Didn't get out much but found some on a random walk up Indian Creek, HWY 12. June 9th of all times!