'Bella' still lurks in Fall Mack Days fishing contest

The second week of the 2022 Fall Mack Days fishing event ended with a total of 4,162 lake trout entries, but "Bella" still swims free.

Bella is the name chosen by random drawing for the tagged $10,000 lake trout released in Flathead Lake as part of the annual fishing contest. Gunner Whitaker of Hungry Horse submitted the name. Whitaker is a previous Mack Days angler in the 12-and-under category.

The fishing event is hosted by the CSKT and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Friday’s total fish entries came to 615; Saturday’s entries were 662; and Sunday entries were 531. The previous Monday through Thursday total was 582 lake trout.

"Flathead Lake is beautiful all year long but especially in the fall when the leaves are changing, winds are calm, and the sky is blue," event organizers said in a press release last week. "It was a good fishing weekend for most. Lake trout spawn in the fall and it is getting to be that time of year and they are close to spawning. That means that they can be found in shallower waters as well as out in the deeper areas. Water temps are still higher than normal the anglers say but should be cooling down as the nights get chilly."

"Anglers are trolling, jigging, and casting so come out and catch some lake trout, if what you used to use isn’t working try something new, ask at tackle shops to find out what is being used out there. Fishing tip of the week-change out your bait often."

Anglers need to enter at least one lake trout in the event before it is over to win the $100 prize. There are also three $5,000 tagged fish, five $1,000 tagged fish, plus an additional $1,000 tagged fish sponsored by Bretz RV and Marine in Missoula Mt. The higher dollar tagged lake trout are pit tagged close to the start of the event. There are also over 9,000 tagged fish with values from $100-$500.

Lonepine angler Mike Benson turned in a $500 tagged lake trout along with having a 100 fish day on Friday. Also turning $100 tagged fish were Shawn Madsen of Whitefish, Sam Cusker of Bigfork, and Susan Reynolds of Stevensville.

Peter Dayton of Missoula, who fishes from a kayak, brought in a large $100 tagged lake trout. Dayton said that he had to follow the fish for some time. He said he plans on making caviar from the eggs from his catch.

Larry Ashwell of Missoula is leading the anglers with 367 fish entries. Second place is Mike Benson of Lonepine with 299 entries, and third and fourth is a tie between Felix Gauci of Stevensville and Sam Cusker of Bigfork both with 242 fish entries. Fifth place is Terry Krogstad of Kalispell with 212 entries.

Julie Perkins of Kalispell is first among ladies with 163 fish entries. Second place is Laurie Kreis of Huson with 109 fish entries, and third place is Kim Mack of Helena with 57 fish entries.

The Youth anglers 12 & under leader is Will Grob of Missoula with eight fish entries. The 13-17 leader is Marcus Lucas of Polson with three fish entries.

Leonard Lewis of Missoula is the oldest Golden Oldie Angler who is 93 years old and was out on the water out-fishing his two sons over the weekend. Lewis turned in four lake trout entries.

Larry Ashwell is first in the Golden Oldie category with 367.

Weekend winners were: Larry Ashwell-$200, Larry Karper-$100, Richard Kreis-$100, Jimmy Jones of Kalispell-$100, and Monte McPherson of Silverdale WA-$100. Smallest lake trout entries at this time are Larry Ashwell with at 164mm (6.5”) lake trout and Mark McMillin of Missoula with a 155mm (6.25”) lake trout.

Carey Hauser of Lakeside still has the largest lake trout entry with a 21 pound 36.5 inch lake trout.

Friday, Sept. 30 is the first of the three Bucket of Lake Trout Days. Anglers put their four largest 30-inches-or-under lake trout in a bucket and a weight is taken. Heaviest bucket is the winner of a $200 cash prize.

Bucket Days are Sept. 30, Oct. 15, and Nov. 6. Bonus dollars add up as your total goes up. The higher your total the higher the bonus amount. Go to the website www.mackdays.com to see the bonus chart on the rules page.

Anglers are reminded to know their fish ID. Bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout are protected in Flathead Lake. If there are no black spots on the dorsal fin of a fish it could be a bull trout. If there is any question of the ID of the fish put it back. Check out the fish tips on the Mack Days website or the Montana FWP website.

Entries will be taken until the last day of the event. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have a special Flathead Lake fishing license for the south half of Flathead Lake available for anyone in state or out of state.