This is a foraging report, not a fishing report. Many Japanese-Americans like me go mushroom hunting in the autumn to search for the elusive matsutake (sometimes called the Japanese Pine Mushroom). The matsutake have a unique aroma and good texture; it is my favorite of all the edible wild mushrooms. I know some of you also like to hunt and/or eat mushrooms, so I thought I'd post a report.
I didn’t even plan on going matsutake hunting this season, due to thinking that the summer was too hot and dry for too long. The few reports I’ve heard haven’t been encouraging until a friend sent me a photo of a massive haul he found recently. The recent cold snap and rains caused me to think that if the matsutake were going to emerge, now was the time. I was only able to spend a couple of hours looking last week in one of my "secret" areas, and for the first 30 minutes I saw no matsutake and only a few other mushrooms. It looked like someone had been through the area, due to seeing some over-turned mushrooms. I went higher in altitude and around 2,800 feet I finally found a couple of matsutake popping up from the forest duff:
For the most part, the matsutake weren't obvious, and many were just peeking out from the fallen fir needles, like this one:
Around 3,000 feet I finally quit, due to having a full backpack and because my legs were getting tired from climbing the steep slopes (I know, I'm getting old). Here's a photo of all the matsutake I found on this outing along with a water bottle to give you some size reference:
A couple had a few worms, but it wasn't bad, and several showed signs of a little frostbite, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised at the good quality of these matsutake. I didn't see any older ones, so all of these must have come up recently. Of course, now it is probably too late as snow is covering the prime locations in the Cascades, but the Hood Canal and Shelton areas should still be producing. I play golf every week, and in the autumn I try to play some of the golf courses along Hood Canal and in the Shelton area. This season has been bleak; I've only found 3 matsutake at one of the courses along Hood Canal, but the Hood Canal and Shelton areas tend to be later producers, so we'll see. I'll report back if I find more...
Rex
I didn’t even plan on going matsutake hunting this season, due to thinking that the summer was too hot and dry for too long. The few reports I’ve heard haven’t been encouraging until a friend sent me a photo of a massive haul he found recently. The recent cold snap and rains caused me to think that if the matsutake were going to emerge, now was the time. I was only able to spend a couple of hours looking last week in one of my "secret" areas, and for the first 30 minutes I saw no matsutake and only a few other mushrooms. It looked like someone had been through the area, due to seeing some over-turned mushrooms. I went higher in altitude and around 2,800 feet I finally found a couple of matsutake popping up from the forest duff:
For the most part, the matsutake weren't obvious, and many were just peeking out from the fallen fir needles, like this one:
Around 3,000 feet I finally quit, due to having a full backpack and because my legs were getting tired from climbing the steep slopes (I know, I'm getting old). Here's a photo of all the matsutake I found on this outing along with a water bottle to give you some size reference:
A couple had a few worms, but it wasn't bad, and several showed signs of a little frostbite, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised at the good quality of these matsutake. I didn't see any older ones, so all of these must have come up recently. Of course, now it is probably too late as snow is covering the prime locations in the Cascades, but the Hood Canal and Shelton areas should still be producing. I play golf every week, and in the autumn I try to play some of the golf courses along Hood Canal and in the Shelton area. This season has been bleak; I've only found 3 matsutake at one of the courses along Hood Canal, but the Hood Canal and Shelton areas tend to be later producers, so we'll see. I'll report back if I find more...
Rex
