Wanting your opinions…
Do you think an abundance of jakes has an influence on gobblers gobbling?

Yes...
I've seen 4 or 5 Jake's take over a area that had 2 or 3 good toms running by theirselves

Always more Jakes around here then toms.Does not seem to matter.With Alot of predators around I have seen toms go more silent.

No

Im not sure the jakes influence gobbling activity, but a group of jakes will sometimes turn an adult gobbler away from coming in to calling or a decoy.

Always seems like the jakes are off on their own in groups, some years the numbers of jakes is crazy with strings of them running together.

Here’s what we’ve noticed this year…no gobbling in an area we know has multiple gobblers. In this area we have an unusual amount of jakes. I mean a lot of jakes. This is 2 mornings in a row I’ve heard NO birds on the roost. I walked 3.5 miles trolling and called in a silent jake. Called in a pair of jakes, one of them gobbled. And then called in 3 jakes with one of them gobbling. This was basically a square. We know for a fact this area has at least 3 mature gobblers.

It was about 0945 when I got back to my truck so I headed to a completely different area and first stop I got on a gobbling fool of a bird that strutted and gobbled his way to me. We’ve only seen one jake in this area.

My theory is with that many jakes, the gobblers aren’t going to announce their presence and risk being run off from their hens. With that said, even our hens aren’t being vocal like in years past.

In areas with less jakes, it seems the gobblers are “acting” normal. I’ve talked to quite a few hunters this year and it seems everyone has an abnormally high amount of jakes. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a lot of gobbling 2 year olds next season, but sucks when you’re trying to get a gobbler this season.

Thankfully we’re done at our place so the surviving gobblers have the rest of mating season to impregnate as many hens as possible if they can avoid all the jakes.

Interesting!! Maybe why to big boys are tight lipped because of so many jakes. I have about 8 mature birds I have seen together but are not talking and it was the same last year.

Research suggests that Jakes can only rarely be successful at breeding a hen and fertilizing a clutch of eggs.Not that they don't breed but unproductive.

In my area I have noticed the older birds get tight lipped if there are gangs of Jake’s around. The Jake’s will gang up and fight the older birds.

Never had that issue here. Don’t see many birds now however didn’t see many Jake’s even in the good hunting days. Only setup on mature birds gobbling. Was rare to have a young bird come to the call when working a mature bird. Nothing gobbles much anymore and very inconsistent from one day to another.

I heard two gobbling mid-morning, and they were on a high ridge with a deep wooded canyon below. They were both mature birds and when I called to them, they went silent.

I’ve hunted places where the gobblers 3-5 all sound off in the mornings in a quarter mile area. It seems to me if you hear jakes the jakes come in most likely to the call.

I would say no.in my experience your 2 year old birds are the most vocal. Your older birds(boss toms) are not really that vocal normally at least in my area.i have seen birds fly up to roost at night and fly down in the morning without making a sound if I hadn't been there you would assume there wasn't a bird in the timber.i use decoys 90% of the time with a boss tom in full strut and I have never had a jake(s) come into it.i try and get the boss gobbler in the area iam hunting.ive shot more boss gobblers after 9am then before.i look at it like this if that tom has a bunch of hens with him why would he want to come and check me out.kind of like down at the watering hole on Friday night and you have half a dozen girls and at least 1 of them wants to go home with you and your phone rings and so and so wants you to come over to there place.like the saying goes 1 in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.but there are exceptions to the rule.

It varies by the subspecies in my opinion.
Eastern and Rio’s are the worst about “dominant “jakes ganging up on an adult gobbler.
I think it effects an adults gobbling when the jakes are present for sure.
I’ve never seen Merriam jakes gang up on a gobbler, but it may happen.
Rios are absolutely the worst about jakes fighting gobblers.

All I see Jake’s do is like to show power through numbers

Clay you’re correct, I’ve had both Eastern and Rio gobblers coming in within sight and all of sudden take off running. I knew my cover wasn’t blown and every instance it turned out to be a group of jakes coming in running the gobblers off. Haven’t noticed it with Merriam’s and ain’t killed enough Osceola’s to experience that yet either.

absolutely, a wolf pack of jakes will definately alter a mature gobblers behavior.