Late Season Toms

Dealing With Late Season Toms

By Larry Self

When turkey season comes down to the last couple of weeks and hunters are trying to fill their last tags, pressure sets in.

Pressure on the birds and pressure on the hunters. Some veteran hunters have been tagged out for weeks, and you’re left wondering which way to turn. From mid-April to mid-May, Ohio hunters have a tale of two seasons to deal with. Things change as the season ages.

That opening day gobbler you took just after daylight made you feel like the king of the woods. The last two weeks it seems the king may have lost his throne and needs to regain his lofty status over the true King of Spring.

Adjusting to Toms in the last part of the season is different than what was going on early in the hunt. The Toms themselves have adjusted to changing situations, trolling for hens where they traditionally find them. If you’re not willing to change, you may find yourself with one or two less turkey breasts in the freezer.

To help myself and others, I consulted calling legend Mike McLemore on what last minute tips he could share for taking late season gobblers. Duck hunters will quickly recognize the McLemore name as being a three time World Champion duck caller and Champion of Champions. The duck calling legend knows a thing or two about calling turkeys and manufactures not only a successful line of duck calls but turkey calls as well.

On opening weekend, I coaxed two fired up gobblers right up next to the decoy and took the biggest one for my first kill of the year. I had been in the woods a total of five minutes and hit the call all of twice before the Toms were strutting into gun range. Between this season and the last, it hasn’t taken me long to deduce that McLemore’s diaphragm calls work.

McLemore said the first and most important thing to remember about turkey hunting regardless of the season timeframe is persistence. If you have a bird gobbling at daylight on the limb that goes the other way after he flies down, McLemore said you can’t give up. At any point in the season, never give up. Patience is even more important now in the late season.

The situation at hand with mere days left has hens hanging closer to fields, nesting on the edge of them or just inside the woods. They’ll roost close by and feed before and after going on the nest. McLemore said you can bet gobblers will be in the neighborhood, so he concentrates his hunting efforts around fields the last two weeks of the hunt.

McLemore said he almost always uses a decoy when hunting fields late in the season because it can act as a visual aid. Anything that takes a turkey’s attention off you when you’re set up in a field is a plus. McLemore said you see a lot of old or veteran turkeys around fields late in the spring.

“Persistence and patience are pushed to the limits,” laughed McLemore. Gobblers that have survived to this point in the hunt have heard and seen everything. Calling can change with the season, but this late in the game McLemore said you’d better be sticking with the soft stuff.

I’ve heard a lot of hunters talking lately about gobblers not gobbling as they did earlier in the year or just plain shutting up after hitting the ground.

McLemore has a very good explanation. He said old birds gobble about 30 or 45 minutes after daylight now so as not to readily give up their positions. Toms know hens will be close to the fields, and they’re willing to wait on them to hit the field after daybreak when they can see well.

Remember, these seasoned birds have been called for nearly six weeks and have watched hunters come to and fro. McLemore said to keep things “sweet and soft.”

The veteran caller and hunter said hunters need to pay attention to Toms working a field. He said they have routines you can set your clock by. They go from spot to spot knowing where they can pick up late season hens.

McLemore has a serious collection of diaphragm mouth call options. The orange diaphragm and the green model do the job for me. Both were responsible for calling in three mature gobblers last season. McLemore calls the orange diaphragm “the killer” with a Cut V2.5 reed. It has a higher pitch and a very raspy yelp. The green diaphragm is just as deadly and bluffed two opening day gobblers to strut all around my decoy.

If you’re interested in one of McLemore’s diaphragm calls or his renowned duck calls, call him at 731-986-3090. Whether you need one of his calls or not, you’ve at least gained from his knowledge. So get on the edge of those fields and put it to work. Dealing with late season Toms can be difficult but not impossible.