Well I'm no expert but I've always had my best luck the first week and last week of the season with calling. The first week or so, in normal years with weather, I've found the birds are still figuring out the pecking order. A Jake decoy I would guess would work great, I just got one this winter so I'll let you know on that. I've had great luck the with a lone hen decoy also though. As far as being bunched up, again in a normal year, they are in big groups and very vocal. These are just my experiences though.