Late-Season Turkey Tips

Author: Dean Taylor

Late-season turkey hunting often gets a bad rap and can become overshadowed by other spring past-times like fishing and golf that don't require the 4-am wake-up call. Although sleeping in and hitting the water can be tempting, a lack of hunting pressure and the desperation of yet-to-breed late-season birds make it a great time to be in the woods.

Late-Season Behaviour

As things begin to warm up and the mating season dies down, most of the hens will have moved into their nesting phase. This means that Toms are much more likely to be found solo as the females' attention becomes occupied. Although this will cause the more satisfied Gobblers to focus more on eating, those that are less satisfied with their season will begin desperately seeking out lonely females. This will often result in some of the loudest action off of the roost we see all year, gobbling loud and frequently to make their presence known to any desperate ladies that could be in the area. This loud display, however, will often come to a sudden halt once they hit the ground, as hunting pressure and seasonal stresses will keep them wary when walking through the woods.

The Late-Season Setup

While there are definitely conflicting points of view on how aggressive you should be during late-season, the heavily pressured areas that I grew up hunting have led me to prefer a more conservative approach. Although some are able to use the newly grown in foliage to stalk lonely Toms, I often use the new cover to get closer to feeding areas and known travel routes that I have observed throughout the season.

Decoys

The decoy setup is one of the biggest changes from early to late season. In the early season, most hunters will play the jealously card, pulling in dominant Toms with hen and jake decoys. Later in the season, however, many Toms will have had a month of fighting under their belt and may be a bit more hesitant when approaching other males. Employing male decoys may also hinder those who are simply trying to fill a freezer by keeping the majority of Jakes in the area well away from the challenging decoy. This tentative behaviour makes the solo Hen setup the most effective approach, eliminating the competition and giving the bird exactly what he is looking for.

Although this setup hard for the Turkey to resist, their suspicious nature this time of year will often still have them hanging up 10-15 yards away. To avoid the frustrating event of having the bird hang up just outside of shooting range, set the hen up 10-20 yards from where you are sitting to give yourself a shot even if the Gobbler is being difficult. If you’re bow hunting, keep it closer to 10.

Calling

Although the increased gobbling in the morning can make it tempting to respond, overcalling this time of year is very easy to do. While aggressive callers can often get away with loud yelps and aggressive cuts early in the season, these calls will seem drastically more out of place late in the season when Hen aggression winds down to a near halt. This makes soft yelps and quiet purrs seem much more natural to approaching Toms and will avoid running them off.

If you’re hunting off the roost, try throwing out some soft yelps until you get a response. Once you get a response, shut down your calling, sit, and wait. Although you will likely not hear another sound once they hit the ground, these birds will know exactly the tree you’re under and will find you when they are ready. This time of year often requires a lot of patience and the stealthiness of their approach makes sitting still as important as it will be all season.

Camouflage

While it is often overlooked, good camo patterns can make small movements very forgiving and can allow you to set up much closer to your decoys. The effectiveness of certain patterns, especially in Canada, can change rather quickly from early season to late as the bare and sometimes snow-covered landscapes of late April make way for high grass and budding bushes by late May. This often means shedding the grey and wood coloured patterns in favour of greens and light browns as we approach the end of the season. Pop up blinds or camo burlap is something to consider as well if you find yourself having difficulty sitting still.

Even with all these tips in mind, nothing beats simply getting out and being persistent. Turkeys are tough to shoot from the couch and tag soup, from my experience, is much less satisfying than turkey dinner.