I just wanted to weigh in here, since all of my apps are in clinical psych.
I think its relatively important to reach out to POIs (some schools require that you disclose if youve spoken to them) EARLY, rather than LATE. Around Aug/Sept schools will start posting (but only some schools...its insane how terrible the websites are for some of these places) if professors are taking students, but a lot of it depends on funding. You might hear that news from POIs you email early, but at least you're on their radar. Dont hammer away either.
I generally had good experiences emailing professors but close to the app deadline they definitely wont respond. The portals open 3 months before deadlines - dont act like an idiot and leave it to the last minute.