Morels In Minnesota

I know this isn't on-topic for this site, but I think most catfish-chasers also spend at least some time in the woods and fields in search of wild edibles. And none is probably more sought after than the wonderful morel mushroom.

I generally begin looking for morels in Minnesota about a week after Easter. The peak generally occurs around the last week in April. A good rule of thumb is that when the walleye bite slows down in pool 4, you may as well go after mushrooms. Weather patterns have some impact on peak, but you can generally expect to see them around the last week of April, into the first week in May.

A great way to spend a warm spring afternoon with the kids. My son John and my youngest daughter Dani Jo went with me on this expedition after morels. We had to work hard, getting way back into the thick stuff to find this mixed bag of black and yellow morels. They are running a bit small this year, but it has been dry for a couple of week.



Incidentally, I ran into a guy at one of my morel hotspots who was picking some kind of wild onion-like plant with an edible bulb. I think he said they were ramps, which is another name for wild leeks. I'm going to try to find some of those in a few days as well. I bet they fry up real nice with some morels and a couple of fresh sauger fillets...