With the brief morel mushroom season about to go full bore here in West Central Illinois, today’s Friday Flashback takes us back to some finds from 15 years ago.

I shot this pic of an April 2003  find from Adams County, IL on Easter weekend by some of Julie’s cousins.

Early May 2003, not to be outdone by the Adams County crew I found these at Lake Bracken in Knox County, IL..  Was actually fishing and hopped ashore to use the “facilities” where I spotted these miniature fungi. 

I will never be mistaken for a stellar morel hunter as my forays into the woods over the years rarely resemble what adept fungus hunters would qualify as a good haul. And that’s just fine as I really don’t gauge my success through weight or numbers. I realize that I am lacking in whatever that magical ability (or location) is for covering a picnic table or filling a truck bed. Heck, I can’t even fill the grocery sized mesh bags that I carry with me through the timber. And don’t spread this around, but sometimes it’s so bad that I don’t even have a reason to take the bag out of my pocket.

Nope, for this guy it’s enjoyable just to go for a walk in the fresh air. The thing is, these days I need to invest my outdoor time wisely and I’d have to say that a tackle bag takes precedence over an onion bag.

Number wise, this is actually a pretty good find for me, from early May 2003 on some Knox County, IL strip mine ground.  Found these with my former brother-in-law and the large, bent one is about as big as I have ever seen in the wild.  Obviously this haul pales in comparison to those who know how to get it done but it is what it is.

Early May 2003, if these were bass, would they qualify as “lunkers”?

Good luck to anybody out there with or without the knack for finding these rewards of a springtime treasure hunt. Feel free to drop me a line or some pictures if you want to boast a little. And don’t worry about giving up too many secrets, nobody reads this stuff anyway. But that sure won’t stop me from writing. Talk to you later. Troy