By Jack Spaulding

 I’ve been hearing of some great finds on morel mushrooms lately. Nothing is more satisfying than coming out of the woods with a hefty sack of “woodland fillets.” Nothing better than morels fried up in butter.

There is an old saying, “Never too much of a good thing.” When it comes to an abundance of morels, the old saying rings true as they are easy to store and are quite palatable even years later.

Carefully clean any dirt from the mushrooms, slice and soak overnight in saltwater. Thoroughly rinse them and scatter the pieces on wax paper on a cookie tray. Put the mushrooms in the freezer and once they are frozen, place the pieces layered in wax paper in a freezer container.

When you are hankering for a mess of mushrooms, simply prepare a wet batter and preheat your oil. Remove the mushrooms from the freezer container and dip each one in the batter before dropping it in the hot oil. Keep your batter slightly runny; and work quickly to make sure the remaining mushrooms stay frozen. In a few minutes, you have a platter of one of nature’s finest fixin’s.

Fry up what you want and put the rest back in the freezer. I have used this method to keep mushrooms for up to four years.

When you are hunting morels, use a mesh bag rather than a paper or plastic bag. A mesh bag allows the spores to scatter across the forest floor as you walk and will help to spawn new mushrooms.

Avian influenza found in raptors and water birds

Avian influenza has been confirmed in two wild raptor species in Indiana, according to the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife (DFW). Diagnostic testing on the raptors was done at Purdue University’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, where the birds tested positive with the (HP) H5N1 strain currently circulating in North America.

The individual raptors testing positive were one bald eagle each from Starke and Miami counties, and a red-tailed hawk from Johnson County. Since the beginning of the year, avian influenza has been detected in raptors in multiple states.

There is some good news tucked in among the avian influenza threat as wild turkeys have proven to not be very susceptible.

With spring turkey hunting season having started April 27, DFW wildlife health biologist Michelle Benavidez Westrich said the current H5N1 strain has not been detected in wild turkeys, and she does not expect it to happen. “While wild turkeys are presumed susceptible, the likelihood of wild turkeys catching this disease is very low; it has never occurred in Indiana,” she said.

As always, meat harvested from wild birds in the state, as long as it is handled properly and cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F, does not present a food safety risk.

Avian influenza has been detected in various wild water birds in multiple states this year. A redhead duck collected from Dubois County by the USDA tested positive for the H5N1 strain earlier in 2022. The DFW is partnering with USDA-Wildlife Services to increase surveillance efforts throughout the state. People who see dead waterfowl or raptors or ones appearing to be sick are asked to report them using the DNR online reporting tool at: on.IN.gov/sickwildlife.

Additional information about avian influenza in wild birds, bird feeder care, and more advice on how you can help prevent the spread avian influenza and other bird diseases is at bit.ly/3vRh7dX.

Inland stream trout season open

Nearly 22,000 trout are being stocked by the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife in 16 different streams across Indiana for inland trout season. The season started April 30.

The stocked trout come from Curtis Creek Trout Rearing Station near Howe in LaGrange County and average roughly 11 inches in length.

To find a stocked stream near you, see the second page of the trout stocking plan at bit.ly/36XmSgi.

One body of water absent from the April stocking list is the tailwater of Brookville Lake in Franklin County. Scheduled maintenance by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is delaying rainbow trout stockings there until fall.

Trout will bite on a variety of artificial baits such as spinners and flies, but natural baits such as worms and bee moths tend to be the most popular.

One overlooked bait is a small ball of cheese on a tiny hook floated under a small bobber. I have used Velveeta with great success out West. Some Western anglers swore by “garlic cheese” but good old Velveeta worked great for me. Take a long some crackers, and you have a shore-side snack readily available.

The bag limit for trout in inland waters, other than Lake Michigan and its tributaries, is five per day with a minimum size of 7 inches. No more than one may be a brown trout. Additionally, any harvested brown trout caught below the Brookville tailwater must be 18 inches or larger. There is no closed season for taking trout from inland lakes.

To legally fish for trout, anglers 18 and older need an Indiana fishing license and a trout/salmon stamp. Both can be purchased at on.IN.gov/INhuntfish.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net. Spaulding’s books, “The Best Of Spaulding Outdoors” and “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle download.