Thelate spring is constant issue from when I started south to home here in WI. 1st season was like no birds around. But spend your time and you saw a few. Mostly in flocks. 4th season tho I worked birds each day they became unresponsive for most of the day. One trick that did work good for locating most of the afternoon was an owll hooter. I could not beleive that but it worked. I could locate get sort of close as I had to move on them as they where not callable. So it is off to 5th which starts today but will hunt tomorrow and then the next day. And it does look like 6th season this year ought to be better than last yr.
What I did witness 4th - gooble good from the roost if the barometer did not drop and the temperature stayed the same - but then with hens and after 6 to 7 am all went silent.
I did see the majority of my birds late day after 5 PM if you could stick it out......

JW

So what are your tips for a 6th season newby? i did take a decent Tom 2nd week, 2nd day, but I myself do not have a call, decoy, or anything. I do have access to a blind and my landowner says there is a tom on the property(different woods from 2nd season), so who knows. Work is busy, so I can sit til 6:30AM, then not til 4:45 or soPM.
Thanks
Dandbuck

Go get a box call - IMO easiest to use to cluck and yelp.

Really don't need a decoy but a hen decoy may help. A Strutting Tom has been disatourous for me in all the WI seasons I have been out so I leave that in the truck.

Be ready to move if need be and start close to where Ole Tom gobbles fromt he roost. An Owl hooter will get them going early if you want to shock gobble. Use it only to locate so you can sneak in much earlier in the low twilight. I try to get less than 100 yds. and try to pick an areayou have seen Toms come to. Most birds have shut-up 4th season by 7:00 AM -

Sitting late at night till 7:30 PM or later you should see birds come back out to the field to feed before fly-up. And then you know about where to be the next morning. Spend a night or two before the start of the 6th and you will learn a ton! Now in scouting I do not call at all - I just sit and watch and listen. that blind would be a good option to sit and learn from.

Be mobil - Trust your camo and sneak in close to where they flew-up. Now birds are going to roost /fly-up from 8:00 Pm to a bit later....but I have been seeing birds from 5:00 PM on more so that early morning in WI.this late at night I know where to be in the morning and gives me a bit more sleep time too.

If you find a constant area you see a hen,then wait that area out. Note that area well!A singlehen now has a nest and is visitiing it regularly. They have been coming out several times during the day to evening. She comes out to feed and go back to the nest. Ole Tom knows that area also and will stop and visit from time to time just in case he gets lucky with that hen.
Spend your time - and learn how the birds are using your area. The more pre-scouting you can do the better chance you can score a nice Tom!

JW

Thanks JW!
All info appreciated!
Dandbuck

cant get 1 if not out there, some time better than none

Hunted this a.m., got in about 80 yards from Tom. He was very talkative as a group of hen's and I had a call-off. Two Jakes came in to my decoys but from the wrong side so I couldn't pull up the gun without being seen. 10 minutes later the tom comes running in, 40 yards he hit the brakes and turned around and ran out. Not sure what was up....
No other gobbles or calls through the noon hour. Weather sounds better for tomorrow a.m. hopefully....

Handles did you have a Jake decoy out? If so get rid of it pronto!

And if you had a strutter decoy out get rid of that too!

Or are your decoys to close together? Put then apart at least 6 to 10 yards.

JW

Well here we go again! My girlfriend and I are back at it in central wisconsin (wisconsin rapids). No luck during the 3rd season, bagged some nice ticks tho! We couldn't stay out long enough to put them to bed tonight because of lightning so tomorrow we're going to try something we've never tried and see if we can get a shock gobble. Not exactly sure how to do this but it'll be a learning experience. Will this front that just came through mess stuff up or will the clear day tomorrow (thursday) be a benefit? If they were roosting in a set of trees a couple weeks ago do you suppose they'll at least be in the same general area? I know where some hens have their nests, any value in sitting near those at all?

I've generally found that they will be vocal on any clear morning, so listen near your spot. I've hunted the Wis. Rapids area for the past 8 yrs since I began turkey hunting. Are you hunting public land? Yes, the nests tell you that there will likely be a tom in the area at some time during the day, but figuring out when is difficult.

I'm hunting private land...I'm not actually in Rapids but at my uncles place off 87th street. I saw three hens this morning but didn't hear any gobbling and couldn't figure out where they were roosting. I'll set up my trail cam by the nesting spot maybe and see if a Tom makes his way over there. I've seen him there once (thats actually how I found out it was a nesting area) hopefully he'll come back at some point.