For my family, in Kentucky, springtime means two things–trout fishing & mushroom hunting. Often referred to as dry land fish (because of the shape when viewed from the side), morel mushrooms begin popping up mid-late April & end early May. I’ve been hunting them since childhood, when my dad would announce that mushrooms were probably up & it was time to go dry land fishing. We would take to the woods–a group of adults & lots of little ones. Dad would remind us to watch where we stepped, lead us to poplar trees & when he bent down & plucked something from the earth, we all came running, too excited to remember to watch where our feet landed. Many times I stood, in the middle of the woods, thinking ‘God, why can’t they be purple or blue?’. My eyes could not see them & I had not yet developed the patience to search for the elusive morel.
My how things change.
Over the years, I kept going mushroom hunting with Dad. He taught me how to identify a poplar tree, took me to his secret mushroom spots, places where he had found oodles in the past. We discovered new spots together & still every time he bent down to pluck one from the earth, I had to resist the urge to break into a full run to see what he had found. The most important thing I’ve learned from my Dad about searching for the morel is that you can’t be in a hurry. I’ve learned a wealth of other important information, too: Look near sycamore trees & poplars. Search old apple orchards. Begin searching in mid-late April after a rain & then a few warm days in a row. Never eat a morel with a ‘cottony’ stem (This is the ‘False Morel’, which is poisonous. ‘True Morels’ have hollow stems.) Pinch mushrooms off at the bottom. Conceal your mushroom bag until you get in the woods! And never reveal your good mushroom spots. But most importantly, take your time, look in a spot two or three times. Move slowly & cautiously. Enjoy the hunt as well as the finding. And if you find a lot, share them with someone you love!
Last night’s findings–My husband & I found 106! We were ecstatic.
Mushroom tip: Always carry your mushrooms in a mesh bag so the spores can fall as you walk! A couple of years down the road, you’ll be happy you did!
Oh, my old Kentucky home. I miss it so! Love coming to your blog as it brings back so many memories for me. And your new doll has the best boots ever!!
Cheers,
krissy
Beautiful story by a beautiful Kentucky Belle.
Blessings, Lily…
Thank you Lily & Krissy!
I can imagine that you do miss Kentucky. It is truly beautiful…in every way…the people, the land… I’m so glad that you feel a little closer to home by coming here!
-Becky.
Hello,
I am a Minnosotan morel mushroom hunter and lover. I have huntd them for years, first with my daughters, now with my grandsons…little people are sure good ushroom hunters I have found, I suppose because they are closer to the earth then I am. Anyway, I’m now moving to Kentucky and hope to find some great spots there.I love being in the woods, I feel closest to our creator there…his beauty surrounds me and makes me peaceful inside. You have a great site…more folks should take thier children morel mushroom hunting and less time at the malls is my opinion. Thank you for sharing….
Chris
I like your site. I’m looking forward to more visits here. Thanks!
Hi,
I have an uncle that lives in a little farther north in Indiana who hunts morels all the time. I live in Northern Kentucky, and I’d like to take this up as a hobby. Is there a certain part of Kentucky that is specifically popular for morels. Will I find them in the woods of Northern Kentucky? Spring will be here before we know it and I’m trying to get myself as educated as possible before going hunting!
I like Chris’ note (above). I am originally from Illinois, and kind of thought that Illinois is the only place where morel’s grow, until I found 3 last year here in Kentucky, and that is all I found. I hunted several days, for several hours each day last spring only to find the three. I hope I can find more this year, but the only grounds/land I have to hunt them is Fort Knox.
hello ive hunted dryland fish here in kentucky im 36 year old female and i live in eastern ky ive hunted dryland fish for as far as i can remember and ive always done good but if you wont to find dry land fish you wont find them on a dry side of the hill and there about any where you look so if you move to ky your sure to find them my husband last year found a big one and we had it put in the paper.good luck hunting
Hello, I am back again this year trying to fid the elusive morel. Here it is mid April and I still have not found any. A friend of mine for about 25 about 2-weeks ago. Boy if I could only find about 10-20 I would be happy. I guess I will have to drive up to Illinois for a weekend to have a chance.
Just moved to the Louisa Kentucky area from Florida. I grew up in Michigan and Moral hunting as a little girl with my Dad every Spring and loved it so much. After 30 years in Florida I was happy to move here it is beautiful and I had high hopes to Moral hunt once again. I have not had much luck and have not spoken to one person who has ever had the Morals, help. I read on line on different sites that they hunt them here but have not been able to talk to anyone about them. I will keep looking until mid May just in case some poop up.
Hi Cathy & Jerry. Thanks for visiting my site.
Last year my husband & I found nearly 800 morels total. This year, we’ve found 1 so far. The has by far, has been a disappointing morel mushroom season. I believe it’s because of the (until recently) dry conditions we’ve had. Even with the rainfall that we’ve had over the last few days, we’re still at a low for this time of year. Hopefully, this rain will improve the conditions & make those little boogers pop out of the ground! That’s what I’m hoping anyway. Good luck! I hope you guys find some. I hope we find some as well!
I never hunted them, but always wanted to. I worked with some folks that hunt them in Indiana, and they all say the morel is plentiful there. I’m in Louisville, is there anyone here that hunts?
I moved to Georgetown Kentucky last September from Illinois, where the morel hunting is superb. Not knowing the land here yet or even where to hunt around here, i was wondering if anyone has any idea where i could go around Georgetown? Wanting to get out and start hunting as quick as possible. Please throw a hint out there
Thanks to all
Can you tell me if there is a side of the hill I should look on ? North, South ? Are they close to creeks or on the hill side ? I love these things and have a 100 acre farm of woods and creeks, but I’m not real good at finding them. I’m not getting any younger so the slow hunting is just my thing. I love these things with salt, pepper and meal, deep fried. Better than the best fish or steak.
i have lived in central kentucky all my life and have hunted mushrooms as long as i can remember i have my honey holes ever yr but from my growing whenever we went to a new spot i always looked for julip popular trees they tend to like it around a good stand of them got 76 blacks sat so happy hunting
last year was the first time i ever ate a morel and i love thim thay are the best my first one i found i was hooked i will hunt thim the rest of my life