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Lots of hens are moving alone and nesting in Washington State, while the gobblers and jakes are searching for the last hens to breed. The turkey rut is way ahead, according to reputable hunters. Image by Tess Jolly

States with May 1 turkey openers are now open, so let’s begin this week’s Northern Region Strut Report in New York, where Realtree Pro-Staffer Tim Andrus kicked off the season with a bang.

“The birds are pretty tight-lipped in some places once they hit the ground,” Andrus explained. “My bird was henned-up at first light. I called twice to let him know I was there. About 40 minutes later, I saw him with a few hens, and he was gobbling his head off. I got aggressive on the calls as the birds slowly walked away in the timber, at least 75 yards away. He gobbled every time I called as the hens led him away. An hour and 10 minutes later, he came in silently, and it was lights out at 15 yards.”

Carter Heath, the NWTF’s New England regional director, had an epic Vermont opener with friend Brett Ladeau. Heath’s report suggests that gobblers way up north aren’t so henned-up.

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“We were hunting in terrain with lots of vertical change via ridges and valleys,” he said. “Most birds were spending more time at the higher elevations in the timber. One particular area was an old selective cut where large red oaks and beech were left. The leftover hard mast seemed to be a strong attraction, as evidenced by lots of scratching in the leaf litter.

“Gobbling was strong throughout the day,” he continued, “and strutting adult birds were still together in groups of two to three. A small fan on a jake decoy facing away from the direction we were expecting the birds to come from was very productive, and yielded three of the four birds we tagged. Aside from the normal yelps, cutts, purrs and clucks, we found that they were responsive to fighting purrs, and we even got to watch a full-on jake brawl. The weather was sunny and in the low 40s early, reaching the low 60s by noon. We worked hard for each bird, but it seemed like each decision we made was the correct one.”

Back west in Michigan, Dale Techel, who manages the Michigan Deer Hunters Facebook page, said that the recent rainfall and flooding haven’t minimized the Wolverine State’s turkey action.

“As we head into Michigan’s third week of turkey season, the momentum remains high despite the wet early-season conditions,” he detailed. “While morning temperatures in the 30s and 40s continue to produce great action, we’re now seeing a surge in midday success as birds transition into mid-season patterns.

“The woods have been especially productive for first-time and inexperienced hunters, many of whom have successfully called in and tagged their very first spring gobblers,” he continued. “Because many are reporting toms coming in quietly, it pays to avoid over-calling. Current conditions reward patience. It’s a fantastic time to be in the turkey woods.”

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I hunted Wisconsin’s Zone 3 during Time Period C this past week. The birds were very vocal on the roost and for a short spell on the ground, then went virtually silent by mid-morning. I was primarily hunting on a friend’s private land, where a tom was roosting and roaming with five hens. After the second morning of the bird being henned-up, I moved my blind within 60 yards of the roost and then hunted it on the third morning.

The tom I was hunting, as well as two distant toms, gobbled hard on the roost and for the first 45 minutes on the ground. The tom landed about 80 yards away, strutting and gobbling for two hens. Meanwhile, two of his other hens mingled and called amidst my two hen decoys. I thought he’d come running in, but he didn’t, and the hens instead went his way. I periodically called, and he always gobbled and turned my way, but then he’d focus on the live hens.

Eventually, I mimicked a hen fight, alternating between a mouth call and a pot-and-peg call with loud cutts, yelps, and purrs. Because the live hens were ignoring him, he turned and danced slowly toward my decoys. I called once more, and the decoys finished him. He spent several minutes 20-30 yards away, but I didn’t have a shot. Finally, he spit and drummed right in, just yards from my blind. I arrowed him at about 8 yards between my hen decoys. Patience and knowing when to turn up the calls were the keys to success.

As for the Upper Northwest, NWTF regional director, Kaleb Ohler, said the first part of the season was on fire with toms talking hard and hunters having loads of success. Lately, it’s been hot and the birds are acting like they normally would toward the end of the season — active in the mornings and quiet during the daytime heat.

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“I hunted Rios in Southeast Washington over the weekend,” Ohler explained. “The temperatures reached the mid-80s by late morning, and then the gobbling basically shut off for the day. Everyone I’ve talked with thinks that the temperatures and vegetation are about two, if not three, weeks ahead of schedule. The birds have really dispersed, and I’m seeing a ton of hens roaming around. They’re probably already nesting. It seems like the toms and jakes are in basically a late-season search mode, but they aren’t super-aggressive, as you’d expect. They’ve been quieter, for sure, and a little bit tougher to work.”

In summary, the action is somewhat mixed across the northern region, but the common denominator for success seems to be patience. For henned-up birds in the Midwest and Northeast, I’d suggest hunting tight to the roost and using hen decoys, which will attract the hens and hopefully pull the tom to within range. If possible, hunt the midday hours when some of the toms break off the hens. And for those northwestern toms, you’d best hunt close to the roost at dawn to leverage the best action.