OHIO — Morel mushroom hunters are wrapping up another season across Ohio. Those who hunt the seasonal treat are very secretive and protective of their spots, but in Exploring Ohio this week, Spectrum News had the chance to meet a fun guy in search of fungi. 

Beau Fealty is an Air Force Veteran and just finished nursing school.

“Well, I spent a year in Utah and then I spent two and a half years in Germany," he said.

Every spring, he spends his spare time walking trails and hunting for morel mushrooms. 

“When I was a kid, I hated mushrooms, absolutely hated mushrooms — any kind of mushrooms," said Fealty.

However, that's changed over the last 15 years. 

He has several go-to spots for finding morels. He said the secret is knowing your trees because morels usually grow near a particular variety.

"The best trees around here are slippery elms. What it is, is there’s the mycelium which is the actual fungus. It lives underground and the morels are its fruit. So, it has a symbiotic relationship with the tree and when the tree dies, it says, 'I need to get my spores out of here so I can proliferate,'" he explained.

By following the trees and climbing through quite a bit of brush, he hit the jackpot. The day ended after finding about a dozen morels, many of which Fealty said were too small to pick. He took note of their location and will come back to pick them once they've grown. 

Fealty said he doesn't sell his morels, although many mushroom hunters do. He simply picks them for his family. However, his passion for morels goes beyond eating them. He also has a YouTube channel called Ohio Morel Hunters. “I started it in 2010,” he said.

Fealty emphasized it's important to know what you've picked before eating it.

“To me, it's like finding treasure," he said. 

His favorite way to prepare a morel is a simple dip in flour and then pan fry it in butter.