Been hunting Morel mushrooms for 3 yrs now, and finally found my first one today! I find that hunting with a nose full of snuff makes it even more enjoyable. Any one else out there ahunter/gatherer type?

Yes sir! Hunted them for years and found better luck not snufffing, because your nose can help find the fungi easyest with out distractions. Kind of a bummer but a clear snot locker will yield more mushrooms! I hunt them here in the NW and have very good success.

Hey good to know ya @nicmizer , yeah I can see that. At one point I could definitely smell lots of …something, and it led me into a slew with some really rich rotting logs and some moss covered stumps, but no morels! I was smoking my pipe when I found the one(s) I found. I think another woodland creature helped itself to the others, because I found the stems right down on ground level, but I did get the one and it was amazing.

Just be careful of the false Morel on your next hunt if your tummy did not agree! Also hope your research is up to par for the hunt as many areas support different varieties of the same shroom you are hunting. I would recommend the book: National Audubon Society Field Guide to North America mushrooms. Works well here in the NW were I live. Better to be careful than dead!

I only average 7 or 8 a year where I live, all the old orchards are gone and most of the remaining trees are scrub pine and oak due to the sandy soil; the land is heavily built on now so hunting grounds are scarce. Love 'em though.

I did when I lived in Washington. Wonderful. That’s when I learned to soak them in salt water to chase out the nasty critters that hide in there.

I be hunting them now. never considered looking. I will keep an eye out from now on.They sound tasty.

According to Mrs Pufnsnuff I haven’t got the tenaciousness to persist in looking for such things. She says I’m completely lacking in morel fibre. . . . . . . We need a ‘boom-tish’ smiley…

Yeah @nicmizer I started my own morel habitat a couple of years ago to familiarize myself with it. I also consulted a local soil conservation worker that’s been a hunter for over 30 years (after a lot of internet research). He was the one that gave me the tip on the area I found it in. I’m a little apprehensive on other varieties right now, morels are probably the hardest to screw up. False morels aren’t hollow and the cap is attached differently, I found one once but I knew it for what it was immediately. I’ll check that book out for sure. And as a disclaimer, folks, do your research beforehand. @nicmizer is absolutely right, better safe than dead.

I actually captured the moment, put it on my youtube channel. Forgot to load it yesterday, so here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57LMVYdDhPs

The only mushrooms I hunt around here are puffballs. Love me some battered fried puffballs

^ same here they are the easiest to identify, there is only 1 other mushroom that looks anything like them and it’s brown and filled with dusty spores only a complete moron would mistake them for puff balls.

Morels in The Netherlands you can find two species: Morchella esculenta and Morchella elata the last are an endagered species and the first one is considered vulnerable. I’ve once spotted the first species. Jaap Bes.

@n9inchnails from what I have seen all puffballs turn to a powdery dust after their prime. They should never be eaten unless the inner flesh is a solid white texture, similard to marshmallows.

Always been nervous about shroom hunting, but I’ve been lucky enough to stumble on some Laetiporus Fans in the past. Tasty!

Here in Galicia they are definitely rare, I’ve yet to see one. In good autums I can get lots of Boletus Edulis (Porcini) mushrooms, and Macrolepiota Procera (Parasols) enough to make a coupe of good sautées. In exceptional summers, Chantarelle are also available. Puffballs are also common, but most of them only to be spoted after their time is due, when they just explode in a most funny fashion… I also fear getting them confused with earthballs.

@n9inchnails from what I have seen all puffballs turn to a powdery dust after their prime. They should never be eaten unless the inner flesh is a solid white texture, similard to marshmallows.

Ya my bad, the brown dusty ones are just fully mature puffballs you definitely don’t want to be eating those.

@n9inchnails if aNY of the mushrooms have a face and start talking to you, stop everything you are doing, throw them in a zip lock bag, and mail them to me so I can dispose of them before they make any one crazy.

The only mushrooms that I’m prepared to pick are ones with price tags on them Even the most experienced forager can get it wrong, so I stick to farmed ones.

@50ft_trad. That’s why I hunt morels, they are foolproof when you know what you are looking for.