When the ground starts to warm in the spring and the Wild Turkeys start to gobble and start their mating rituals is also the time to get in the woods and hunt for the land fish as some people call them.  MOREL MUSHROOMS  2008 has been a great year here in Indiana to find them by the sack full.  It had been several years since they were as prolific as they have been this year.  All the local sages have their reasons for why it has been a good year.  Lots of snow is what some people claim, the global warming factor even gets a vote.  Regardless of the why are they here?  It has been a good year.  If your not familiar with the Morel then please research and make sure of what you have found before you eat them.  Here in Southern Indiana there are several different varieties of the Morel.  Small grey one, black mushrooms, long stem morels, and everyones favorite the huge yellow honeycomb mushrooms.  They get their name from the honeycomb looking effect on their cap or top of the mushroom.  A mushroom hunter goes out in the woods and hunts around poplar, ash, wild cherry and sycamore trees to find their quarry.  They Morel’s color and size make it a challenge to find as they blend in perfectly with the surroundings.  They are delicious to eat and hard to find so they can also be sold.  $50.00 a gallon is a common local market price for these delicacies.  Every Morel hunter has their favorite woods, creek, or hills to hunt for them. The morel seems to come up each spring in about the same locations each year.  So every mushroom hunter guards their locations for finding them like the their most important family secret.  You can not take someone with you to hunt them because they might remember where to go and beat you there next year when the time is right to find them.  I have seen long friendships ended by just that scenario.  Only hunt Morels with people you would trust to keep watch of your wallet or your wife     This is my dad and two of the honeycomb mushrooms he found the first week of May.  When ask where he found them?  He claims “the woods” !  Likely story……

Jer

Karl Zainitzer with Xtreme Outdoors relocated from New Jersey to Southern Illinois so he could be closer to where the greatest hunting in the world resides.  Not only are there trophy whitetail bucks here; but Karl also found a new passion.  Trophy Wild Turkey Gobblers!   Here is Karl with one of his 2008 birds.  25+lbs and 1 1/2 inch spurs to go with an 11 inch paint brush beard made this Karl’s best gobbler to date.   Way to go Karl and welcome to the Midwest!