Record Snow, Improving Turkey Season, Morels in Sight

Incredible! 

An epic May storm system stopped spring in its tracks, surprising Iowans and wildlife alike with historic accumulations of wet snow. From turkeys to bass, morels to mowing the grass this late season snow can’t be a good thing… or can it?

10-13” of record breaking snow fell with record cold May 2nd and 3^rd, 2013. I was concerned that this may be the year I hunted turkeys in the snow in a March post titled “Cold Turkey”. That unlikelihood was confirmed with 6.9” of accumulation in Des Moines. Our once in a lifetime type snow trashed the old all-time May record of 1.2” from a storm back in 1907. It was also a major speed bump for turkey hunters.

A few birds were gorging in the fields on Wednesday in the wind as the storm moved in, but hunting was tough. After the snow stopped and the winds relaxed large numbers of hens and strutters flocked to the fields in the fog on Saturday. Birds are beginning to act more typical for spring hunting season, coming to calls as I found out in my hunt on Sunday. I had a great encounter with a nice Iowa turkey. He responded to my calls and gobbled 300 yards up a hill to 7 yards from my blind. I made a good shot but experienced some really bad luck that led to a 2 hour fruitless search for my first archery tom. 

He ran into a dense grove of cedars leaving only my arrow and a few tracks in the mud and a vivid memory of a good hunt gone awry. I feel sick about the loss, but that's hunting.

Before the storm, our heat wave was warm enough to spark sporadic morel sightings in southern Iowa. Folks around the Albia area have reported this season’s first morels, and I’d expect all along and south of I-80 for few pockets suitable for these tasty little mushrooms. Ground temps were in the 60s, and have since simmered to around 50. The best conditions are in southeast Iowa. I still haven’t found any in central Iowa, but others have! The lilacs in town are now blooming and the time is near!

I don’t think the snow hurt anything, more likely it just delayed our already late spring. All the moisture lately should yield high numbers of morels once the temperatures get warm enough! This could end up being a great year after all.

Expect the first widespread showing of morels this week/weekend, especially in central and southeast Iowa. I expect moderate numbers in limited spots, but temps support mushrooms growing especially Wednesday, Thursday and Friday south of highway 30. I’d expect most to be little greys, but south facing pockets could produce a variety of sizes. We’ll take a break from suitable conditions over the weekend, but 80s are possible next week and that should throw the system into overdrive. Widespread and good numbers of morels seem likely by the 15^th and the good picking should last through the 25^th.

For those spring anglers, the water temps have dipped into the upper 40s and low 50s thanks to the cold. I expect waters to warm into the mid to upper 50s by the end of the week before another cold snap shocks the system Saturday and Sunday. A falling barometer will coincide with warming waters on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday making fishing better those days.

I’ll let you know when and where I find my first morels this season. I hope it’s this week! Good luck in all your outdoors adventures, and may the wind be in your favor!