Ideally, turkeys should be able to spot your decoys from their roost tree. If possible, place your fake birds in a large barren crop field or other wide-open place. If a gobbler sees the hen decoy squatting, he'll usually make a quick decision to come in.

Also keep in mind that this decoy setup works best at dawn, when the birds are flying down from their roost. Most of the hens are bred during the first hour or two of daylight, so it makes sense that a gobbler will respond quickly to any squatting hen he sees at first light.

In addition, it's important to temper your calling when using this decoy strategy. Once you have a gobbler's attention, don't call too aggressively.

"Live" squatting hens call softly, if at all. As soon as I have a gobbler moving toward my decoys, I call very softly and sparingly, usually using more purrs and soft clucks than anything else.

Of course, the exception is if you are trying to draw in a hen that's being trailed by one or more toms.

Finally, make sure your setup directs the approaching gobbler to stand in the best position for you to get off a shot without being busted. Position the jake decoy so that it's facing you, and stand him a few yards behind the crouching hen.

A gobbler usually first approaches a jake from the front, to confront him. This permits you to move slightly if you need to line up your shot, since the tom's tail fan blocks his view of whatever's behind him.

As you prepare for this turkey season, make sure you have at least one hen and one jake decoy ready to bring with you. When you position them in your favorite turkey hunting area, keep in mind the different behavioral factors that influence how gobblers and hens interact with each other during this time of year. This decoy set-just may be your ticket for harvesting a longbeard this spring.