Originally Posted by
entropy4money
UPDATE:
I went back on Saturday. I change my strategy by adding a second (feeding) hen. I did not bring any Tom or Jake in the early morning this time. Hens weren't calling at all, all morning. Gobblers were gobbling at the crows really early.
However, 7 hens came to my decoys and hanged around for a bit feeding in the area. I was pretty excited cause I've never been able to get the hens to come, and I thought the toms were going to come hang out. To my surprise, nothing... hens never called, eventually they moved, they were wondering around the field all morning without gobblers. what the hell is going on!?
Are you positive they were hens and not jakes? Seeing 7 hens together - with no males - at any point during the spring mating season is odd anywhere in the country. If they were hens, the only possible explanation I can think of is these are all young hens from last year's brood and not breeding yet - if that's the case, you're in for a very, very long and difficult season. The toms will have hens the entire month and will be very difficult to call - an ambush may be your best bet.
Regardless, at this point I would personally change the location of your setup, change your calls, and ditch the decoys. Turkeys don't have a great memory, but they can get conditioned (like Pavlov's dogs) and get wary of an area. The toms are not visiting your setup area for a reason, which none of us can determine online...
Quick question - can you get closer to the roost? I've set-up at 30 yards from the roost before - it requires scouting and woodsmanship, but it's definitely possible to get closer than 100 yards in the spring woods. Cloudy mornings really help...