How to Look for Morel Mushrooms

Finding morels is a lot like finding spiders in your home, only a lot more pleasant: If you find one, there’s bound to be another nearby. Morels tend to be social creatures. Hunting for morels is also a little like hunting for Easter eggs. You have to look carefully--but your treasure is quite camouflaged, not brightly colored!

The trick is to lie low--not so other morel hunters won’t discover your whereabouts, but to more easily find morels! Mike recommends to “Get down close to the ground and scan the ground ahead of you instead of always looking straight down at it.” Larry recommends a long, low stride: “Eyes should be focused 10 to 15 feet ahead. Sometimes compared to the Groucho Marx walk!” Larry also points out that children are exceptional morel hunters because they are lower to the ground, have better eyesight and more energy, and notice the shapes. Fred also advises staying low to the ground: “Right down close,” he says, “Fact o’ matter, so low, you might walk up on a snake!” Margaret and Nettie Lou also echo the importance of staying low to the ground--an unexpected benefit for female shroomers when they need to relieve themselves behind a tree! They say, “. . . when nature calls, and we find a nice tree to squat behind, there--almost every time--is a morel! What a good reason this is to carry some beers! . . .bend the knees, get down on all fours; get the eyeballs on mushroom level. And don’t forget the beers.”

Nancy points out that morels are masters of camouflage, blending in with leaves, faded grass and twigs. She says watching for differences in texture helps to spot morels. She also says, “Many hunters walk along the base of a slope and look uphill so the morels appear in silhouette or are back-lit. The oblique light of morning and late afternoon highlights morels that project above the leaf litter, making them easier to spot than they are in the flat light of midday.” Roger Thurow, two-time Grand Champion of Boyne City, Michigan’s annual morel hunting contest, uses that technique. He says, “I always start at the bottom or a ravine or draw and walk up the hill looking about 25 to 30 feet in front of me so the morels will silhouette against the horizon. It is much easier to spot a morel at that distance rather than under your feet.”

Mushroom King Carl also looks “anywhere from 30 to 50 feet ahead.” He doesn’t need to crouch. Maybe spotting them so far away is how he got to be Mushroom King! Marge, his wife of 57 years whom he still calls “babe,” looks up from her crocheting to add that he walks so fast, he misses the small ones, so she gets them.

A method that works well is to look near the base of trees or around fallen logs, doing lots of squatting and gently moving leaves aside with your hands or a stick--gently, so as not to squish any morels lurking therein! But don’t harvest any tiny, underdeveloped morels. Some mushroom hunters call this “badgering.” Only pick those that are obviously worth your effort and your taste buds’ time.

Mike also suggests to “Start at the base of a tree and walk circles around the tree with each pass making each circle larger until you have searched in a 15-20 yard radius.” And Robert points out, “Since they blend in so well with their surroundings, you must walk at a slow pace.”

Jason advises, “. . .zigzagging through the woods works best. This way you can get a good look at trees from different angles. Every once in a while take a look behind you.” He adds, “Move one’s head and eyes very slowly when looking over an area. . .Always look eight to ten feet ahead for morels. After years of hunting them, I have found this method works better than looking straight down all the time. Morels are often canopied when looking straight down. . .Always take a second or even a third walk around an area. . .”

 And wa-la! You have found a morel! And what do you do once you find this tasty little morsel?

 Some mushroom hunters say never to pull a morel out of the ground, as that will destroy the underground mycelium system. The term “badgering” also applies to ripping a morel out of the ground. Rather, you should pinch it off with your fingers or cut it off with a small knife.

 However, Michael says this is a misconception, and that you won’t damage the mycelium by gently tugging a morel out of the ground. He notes that as long as you’re not shoveling out a square foot of topsoil, you won’t damage the system. But if you pinch or cut a morel and leave the soil-covered base behind, you’ll definitely save time cleaning them at home!