Mushroom Hunting: It Ain’t Just About Morels

Yes, morel season is in, and no, I still haven’t found a single one.

Not for lack of trying either. I’ve logged over 110 species in the woods this spring.

Some edible. Some weird. Some that looked like they were plotting against me.

Morel hunting is like deer hunting with no sign, no sound, and no guarantee they even exist.

But There’s Good News

If you’re only looking for morels, you’re missing out on a whole kingdom of wild fun. Look for these instead:

• Oysters – Easy to spot, great sautéed in butter.

• Dryad’s Saddle (aka Pheasant Back) – Smells like watermelon rind, tastes like

  hope when morels don’t show.

• Turkey Tail Mushrooms - They grow quickly and look like a turkey tail. Easy to identify and plentiful

• Wine Caps – Pop up in yards, gardens, and disturbed soil. Great grilled.
  

Some amazing mushroom ID apps out there make this even more fun.

I use the Find Mushroom App, it keeps a log of what I’ve spotted, tells me if it’s edible, and saves photos like a forager’s scrapbook.

There are others, like Picture Mushroom and iNaturalist, but Find Mushroom is my go-to.

If you’re wandering the woods, phone in one hand and mushroom in the other, know: you’re not alone and you’re one click away from knowing whether you’ve found dinner… or a science project.

Hunting mushrooms is like turkey hunting without the heartbreak.

The woods are green, alive, and full of surprises. Even if you come home empty-handed, you still win.

And if you do find a morel? You might hear a choir of angels—or maybe that’s just your stomach growling because you skipped lunch, thinking today was the day.

👉 Edible Mushroom Guide KY
👉 Morel Hunting Tips

So keep walking. Keep looking. And if you hear a guy in the woods yelling, “That’s not a morel, but it’s something,” it’s probably me. And I’m still not giving up.

Apps for hunting shrooms:

iNaturalist:

This app uses a combination of image recognition, location data, and a large user community to identify plants, animals, and fungi, including mushrooms. It's particularly strong for identifying common and well-defined species, and it also offers community identification through its platform. 

ShroomID:

This app focuses specifically on mushrooms, offering features like AI-powered predictions, a database of thousands of species, and a community identification feature. It also provides detailed information about each species, including edibility status and other characteristics. 

Picture Mushroom:

This app uses image recognition to identify mushrooms and offers information about edibility, habitat, and other useful details. It may be a good starting point for identifying mushrooms but should not be relied upon for definitive identification. 

Mushroom Identificator:

Another app that utilizes image recognition for mushroom identification.