E-Scouting for Morel Mushrooms
Finding a morel mushroom is like finding a $20 bill in a birthday card from 5 years ago. It’s just an awesome find. People often say it’s like finding a needle in the haystack. But with a little know-how, some help from a modern hunting app, and a few general guidelines, you should be able to find yourself some of these tasty golden mushrooms. The process starts at home and you can do a lot of the prep by E-Scouting using an app like HuntWise. Knowing where to look for morel mushrooms is a large part of your battle. Knowing when to go find them is the other half. Then you just have to go do it. Let this article help you with the first two. You’re gonna have to do the last step!
#1 - Start with a Quality Mapping Platform (We prefer using HuntWise)
We might be a little bias but having a good mapping tool is essential to this whole process. HuntWise offers some really great features to help you get started with discovering new morel mushroom grounds.
Here are things you get with HuntWise that are essential:
Quality Satellite and Terrain Base Maps
Customizable markers for plotting locations
Over 250 map Layers to identify potential morel mushroom locations.
Land Owner Lines and land owner contact information for gaining access to private property.
#2 - View Recent Burn Areas or Historic Wildfires
Taken from The HuntWise App. Go to the Map. Click the Layers Button. Scroll down and click “Michigan”. Click the Wildfire & Prescribed Burn Locations (2019) layer.
Often morel mushrooms are found in areas where recent fires occurred in previous years. Many states have maps that allow you to see locations of fires and it may be your ticket to locating a secret stash of morels. The HuntWise App has a couple layers that may be very useful for discovering these burn areas. In Michigan, for instance, HuntWise has a layer designed specifically for discovering recent burn areas.
#3 - E-Scout by Land Cover with HuntWise
Taken from The HuntWise App. Go to the Map. Click the Layers Button. Scroll down and click “Michigan”. Click the Land Cover layer.
Morels almost always grow where there is forested cover as opposed to grasses or other ground cover. Specifically, look for (dead) ash, aspen, elm and oak trees. Also, you may look near jack, white, or red pine, especially if the area was recently burned. You’ll find them early spring, most noticeably on southern-facing slopes. The HuntWise App offers a custom Michigan layer called “Land Cover” which separates much of the state by type of land cover. You can toggle on which land cover types you would like to see. Use this as a reference for finding areas primed for morels.
#4 - Know Where You Can Go
Private land might be your best if you’re looking to keep your secret spots quiet, but there are plenty of good public land options if you’re on the ball and want to be the first on the hunt. Either way, when you’re e-scouting for places to find morels, gaining access or finding access points are of top priority. You have two options: private land and public land.
Private Land
If you’re going to target private land, the HuntWise app has a great tool for understanding land ownership boundaries and also gives you the ability to find land owner contact information and ask landowners for permission to access their property when needed. Always be courteous and respectful when requesting permission. Private land gives you the ability to find a stash of morels that may have not been discovered. If you overlay the “Land Cover” area in the HuntWise App along with the “Land Ownership” layer, you might uncover some prime areas not touched.
Public Land
Public land might be your option if you don’t have time to gain access to private land. You may have some competition but you also will most likely have access to far more land to scout. In the HuntWise App, many states like Michigan have layers that you can turn on that identify public grounds that are available to hunt. Use these layers as a starting point for your discovery. Again, by overlaying several different layers you can triangulate your target areas. When you look at public property, burn areas, and ideal land cover types all together, make sure to drop a pin and take a drive!
#5 - Find the Best Time & Go!
The morel season can change depending on how cold or warm a given year is, but the season may ramp up in the later part of March through the month of May. Look for days when the temperature hovers around 60 degrees and night temps are around 40 degrees. Soil temps generally tend to be in the 45-55 degree range. The day after a nice spring rain also can produce great results.
Often in the spring, you won’t be able to distinguish trees solely by their leaves, so be able to identify these trees by their bark:
#6 - Plot Your Markers For Next Year
Prime morel hunting grounds may change from year to year, but often you’ll find successful spots to produce for several seasons. That is why it is important to plot a pin on The HuntWise App to store all of your hot spots. If you’ve done all the work of scouting, you should make sure to hit up those spots next year.