Morel Mushrooms, Fresh Fish, and Fun!
Spring is finally here in the Illinois River Valley and that means the fun is starting to begin. From the still present walleye and sauger bite on the Illinois River, Catfish, Crappie, and The spring prize of Morel Mushrooms. It is starting to heat up for the year and finally act like winter has completely left us behind. 2024 is going to be a great year so get ready to get out and enjoy it!
Lee Ioerger
4/11/20242 min read
Morel Mushrooms, Fresh Fish and Fun!
Spring is finally here in 2024 and the prize that gets everyone off their couch every spring is starting to show up all around Central Illinois. Morel Mushrooms draw a crowd every spring and this year will not be any different. The season is just beginning and a lot of smaller mushrooms can be found in the woods. As the month goes on more and more of these delicious morsels will emerge and become easier to find, so if you have not found any yet keep looking.
10 Tips To Find More Morels
Look for recently dead trees like Elms, Apple, Ash, and Softwoods.
Pay attention to the sun early in the year and throughout the season, different parts of the woods heat and cool differently.
Start looking from a downhill perspective it will help you spot more Morels easier.
Check recently burned patches of timber or timber edges, morels will likely emerge from a freshly burnt patch of timber.
Use a stick to lightly move clumped up piles of leaves, they could be hiding a nice and fresh Morel.
Don't give up if you are having trouble finding them at first, some areas will never produce many morels.
Watch the weather forecast, a nice warm spring rain will help the fruiting process of Morel mushrooms and they should be up a couple days after a good rain and steady weather.
Slow down and look, sometimes it may take your eyes a few minutes to notice a nice morel around a dead elm tree.
Once you find one stop walking. There will usually be more around than just one.
Have fun, don't trespass, and keep a good attitude about nature. The real fun is getting Outdoors!
Fresh Fish
The other exciting part about spring is the fishing whether your after crappie, bass, bluegill, walleye, sauger, and catfish they can be found and caught right here in central Illinois. Nothing pairs better with a fresh batch of mushrooms than fresh caught fish. Walleye and sauger can still be caught regularly on the Illinois River post spawn and jigs, crankbaits, and plastics will do wonders to bring them in the boat! Crappie, Bass, Bluegill, and Catfish can be caught in most bodies of water here in Central Illinois as the begin to move up shallower to feed and get ready for Spawning.
Spring is the go to time for great fishing here in Central Illinois and stable weather is key. Looking for 3-4 days where the weather is steady or slightly warming will make your next trip a success. Watching to see when the stability breaks and fronts are moving in will help you capitalize on the pre front feeding frenzy. When you have 3-4 days of stable weather and a front is moving in, you can count on some great fishing right before the change begins. It seems like fish can sense the change before it arrives and they decide to be extra gluttonous.
I hope you found this article interesting and I hope you will sign up for more updates Below. My family and I have a lot to do this spring and hope to capitalize on some of this fine mushroom hunting and fishing here in Central Illinois and we hope you do the same. Remember the best vacation doesn't have to be miles from home, just outside the office! Until Next time, and we hope to meet you out on the water!
