How To Find Lobster Mushrooms - Complete Beginner Guide

How To Find Lobster Mushrooms - Complete Beginner Guide. In this video I provide tips and tricks on how to find early season Fall Mushrooms. We covered many miles and elevations to finally find lobster mushrooms fruiting in a coastal rainforest.
I show you where to look, what to look for, what other indicator species pop up at the same time as lobsters, tree identification, etc., in hopes these tips will help you find your own mushrooms. These mushrooms grow throughout the PNW Coastal and Cascades mountains from August to October, are easy to identify and are amazingly delicious.
#dadventurernw #wildmushrooms #mushroomhunting

[@Susweca5569]

I harvested over 40 pounds of lobster mushrooms this fall. I found a secret treasure trove that were in an isolated section of Douglas fir & western hemlock forest at sea level. I live in Western Washington. It's like going on an orange Easter egg hunt.

[@DADventurerNW]

Congrats on finding your new secret spot and thanks for watching. Those lobsters should come back every year for you now. How did you prepare, preserve the lobsters?

[@wayneskall7561]

Love your mushroom videos, this time you mixed up identifying salal ( smooth) and Oregon grape ( pokey) Keep up the great fun!

[@DADventurerNW]

Wayne Skall, thanks for watching and for correcting me. I learned something new from you today! Thanks for the help.

[@alexplantriastalks]

@@DADventurerNW Also love your mushroom videos and was hoping someone else said it! But also looks like red alder trees, not birch!

[@DADventurerNW]

@@alexplantriastalks you could be right on the tree ID. I’m still learning. Thanks for the coaching.

[@OutdoorsWithNoNo]

great video, what a haul dude!

[@DADventurerNW]

OutdoorsWithNoNo, thanks for watching and your comment. It was a great day in the woods. Almost time for a repeat!

[@johnfreeman1189]

Thanks for sharing. ✌

[@MsPrettyB]

Thanks for this awesome video! Great knowledge 💚

[@DADventurerNW]

Shauna B, thanks for watching and your support! I appreciate it.

[@cohomesource]

I love your videos! So inspiring . We are out here at the coast clamming today so now tomorrow we are going to go to the forest and pick up some mushrooms too!

[@DADventurerNW]

Martina Childers, Thanks for you comments, as always. How was your clamming? Great tides for it this weekend. And, did you find any mushrooms today?

[@cohomesource]

@@DADventurerNW No mushrooms sadly but the clamming was awesome :-) we both our limit

[@DADventurerNW]

@@cohomesource that’s great! Clams are delicious!

[@spidermight8054]

I spent 20 years commercially harvesting mushrooms out of Coos Bay, Oregon. You have a good patch there. Lobsters were my favorites. The best ones are most always “hidden”, like boletes and pines (matsutakes). They also are often found in people’s lawns, and they usually don’t know anything about them and consider them a nuisance (because they smell bad-like cat piss) when they rot. They are also a very firm, heavy mushroom. I sauté lobster “steaks” in garlic butter. They are very good. Not as good as hedgehogs or black trumpets in my opinion, but damn close. Oh-boletes (aka “cepes” or “porcini”) are also very, very good. Surprisingly, I’m not a fan of chanterelles, though they smell by far the best of any mycorrhizal (?) mushroom I have collected. Very fruity, like apricots. They taste somewhat spicy raw. Morels- I can’t stand the smell or taste of them, but they’re so fun to forage for. Can be very profitable too, especially the 2nd year after a wildfire. Or wherever the forests have been disturbed, such as logging operations that stir up the soil.

[@DADventurerNW]

Spidermight 805, thanks for watching and your comments. I agree with many of your points. Lobsters are great and down in Coos Bay, you have an amazing mushroom forest! So many great options there. I’ve only hunted there a few times but would love to do more.

[@MissMMarieB]

Hello from BC!! (North Cascades) I followed your advice and discovered my own lobster patch this past weekend! Thanks for the great content shroom dad 👌🏻

[@DADventurerNW]

Meg B, thanks for watching and your comments! Congrats on finding your own lobster patch! That’s awesome! Have you cooked them yet? How did you like them?

[@MissMMarieB]

@@DADventurerNW I haven’t tried them yet but they smelled great as I prepped to freeze them. You mentioned Lobster Bisque soup in another vid, that might be my #1 option :) or just fry them for steak and potatoes. Do you have a fav recipe?

[@DADventurerNW]

@@MissMMarieB lobsters deteriorate quickly, so yin should clean and cook them soon. Lobster mushroom bisque is amazing. If you want to freeze them, I will sauté about half way done, then vacuum seal and freeze. They will last for a year in the freezer. You don’t want to freeze raw. In my experience, raw mushrooms don’t freeze well. They need some oil and or butter to keep the freezer burn away. Once thawed, finish up the sauté and they will be like fresh cooked.

[@MissMMarieB]

@@DADventurerNW great suggestion. I’ll take a crack at the bisque with my bounty. Cheers to more mushroom finds with this incoming rain! 🤞🏻

[@DADventurerNW]

@@MissMMarieB you are most welcome! Good luck with your lobsters!

[@jerrybagitan6861]

I love waching your video 👍

[@DADventurerNW]

Jerry Bagitan, thanks for watching and your support.

[@carynpercell8979]

Thank you!!! So excited to head out! I’ve been wanting to forage forever and now have a pretty good idea of where I want to go and what to look for! By the way where did you get your awesome bags?

[@DADventurerNW]

Caryn Percell, thanks for watching and your comments. Welcome to the mushroom hunting addiction!😁. I’d you are local to the pnw, lobsters should be popping in the coast range as well as the west side of the cascades. Good luck! For my mushroom bags, I had them made with my DADventurerNW logo. If you’d like to get one or more send me an email at [e-mail]. Good luck with your mushroom hunting!!

[@markpnw10]

Amazing video! learned a lot! Going to check it out and see if I can find some!

[@DADventurerNW]

Markpnw10, thanks for watching and your comments. How did you do?

[@markpnw10]

@@DADventurerNW WE GOT A TON! lots of chicken of the woods as well! thanks for all your tips!

[@DADventurerNW]

@@markpnw10 that’s awesome. I’m jealous. I haven’t found any chicken of the woods yet this season. Hopefully I’ll find some tomorrow! Congrats.

[@markpnw10]

@@DADventurerNW thank you and good luck! They tend to be on very old and massive stumps as high as 20 feet

[@DADventurerNW]

@@markpnw10 thanks for the tips. I have lots of spots on my GPS where I’ve found them in the past, but I rarely find them young and fresh. I bet I find some tomorrow!

[@angelperez4256]

Nice video, thanks for sharing On what areas you can find the lobster mushrooms? I haven't eat it since to many years

[@DADventurerNW]

Angel Perez, Thanks for watching and your questions. These were in the coast range in the pacific northwest.

[@lizlika1227]

😮I’m incredibly envious! I’m curious how long about do they take to reach a good harvesting age and when you prepare them, do they cook down in size quite a bit? Thanks!!

[@DADventurerNW]

Liz Lika, thanks for watching and your comments. Lobsters grow fast in the right conditions. I’ve seen them grow to picking size in a week. However, as long as they are fresh and firm, any size is good to harvest and cook. As for shrinkage, lobsters do not shrink very much when cooked. They are a very firm and dense mushroom you can sauté, shred, dehydrate, powder, freeze and long term store. Get out there and find some soon. Thanks for watching!

[@thatguy9051]

Another great video, thank you!!! Question, are they considered mushrooms even though Lobsters are considered geophagus Fungus? Just wondering about the limits, if any, are?? Thank you!!

[@DADventurerNW]

That Guy, great question. I call them mushrooms but you are correct about being a fungus. As for any limits on quantity, it depends on where you are hunting. Some forests have a one gallon limit while others don't really have any limits. Check your local regs to be safe.

[@tawnyagarrison8311]

What are the devices you are using and what are they for?

[@DADventurerNW]

Tawnyagarriaon8311, thanks for watching and your questions. The devices I carry are a gps and a personal satellite locator. The gps is for navigation and the satellite locator is so my family can track me and for me to call for help if I get into trouble. Those are my two must haves when I go deep into the forest and a long way away from the truck and roads.

[@DavidMartinez-xr3dh]

Im a new mushroom hunter, ive found morel, chicken of the woods, maitake but ive never found lobster 🦞 mushroom. I ask my self if that mushroom doesn't pop in my area, i would like to go hunt for lobster in another state. Where do you recommend me to look and in what season,thank you

[@DADventurerNW]

David Martinez, thanks for watching and your question. I'm in Oregon, and in the Pacific Northwest, I generally start seeing Lobster mushrooms in late July through October in both the coast range and cascade ranges anywhere from 300 ft to 1800 ft. in elevation. I hope this helps you find some in your area.

[@terrialexander8141]

What gear do you carry? Is that a cell phone and gps on your backpack straps?

[@DADventurerNW]

Terri Alexander, thanks for your questions. On one side, I have a Garmin 64ST GPs, and on the other side I have a Garmin In-reach Mini Satellite tracker so my family can keep track of where I am and I can send messages even without cell coverage, if I ever run into trouble. Both are great to have if you are going to venture out far from your car.

[@pamelasternin4349]

@@DADventurerNW I was gonna ask this same question. Cool, gonna check out these products :)

[@DADventurerNW]

@@pamelasternin4349 let me know if you have any questions on these. Most of them I do not go into the forest without.

[@markpnw10]

What type of Gun do you have?

[@DADventurerNW]

Markpnw10, This particular firearm is a Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 45 ACP. I love it, and it will stop anything in the forest that needs convincing. It's my choice for personal protection.

[@fiona3821]

Why do you put the stumps back

[@DADventurerNW]

Fiona, thanks for watching and your question. I put the cut ends of the mushrooms back in the hole and cover up the hole so that I leave no trace behind. If I find a great mushroom spot, I don’t want other mushroom hunters to arrive at the spot and find a pile of stumps and then come back next year. I also do it with the hope that it returns the nutrients to the soil and becomes fertilizer for mushrooms in the future. Thanks for watching!

[@fiona3821]

@@DADventurerNW ohh ok..That makes alot of sense. Thank you for sharing that.. I am trying to see what i can find in my area of Dallas Tx

[@DADventurerNW]

@@fiona3821 you are welcome. In Dallas, I’ve not hunted there but if you have any rivers or creeks with trees around them, there could be morels, oysters and other mushrooms in the spring. Otherwise, you’ll need to find some elevation for mushrooms. Good luck.

[@fiona3821]

@@DADventurerNW Yes there is I would need to find out what trees I really want to try the Lobster and the morels. Thanks again

[@DADventurerNW]

@@fiona3821 I hope you find them. I’d look into joining some local Facebook or instagram groups on mushroom hunting. They will give you some local knowledge.

[@cnow7583]

Identify the tree species if you want to teach .

[@DADventurerNW]

Thanks for the tip. I’ll try my best to do so.