Mack Days tally nears 13,000 lake trout

A total of 12,889 lake trout entries have been turned in by 121 lake trout anglers out of the 329 who are registered for Fall Mack Days. Friday’s catch was 555, Saturday there were 463 turned in, and on Sunday 364 were turned in. Sunday was one of the rock and roll fishing days with many anglers coming in early.

Total for the weekend was 1,382, and the Monday-to-Thursday fishing total is at 2,957. There are three weeks left in the event. All you need is one fish to be entered in the lottery drawings that begin at $2,000.

This annual event, sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, offers up to $200,000 in cash and prizes that will be awarded to these lake trout anglers on Nov. 12, the last day of the event. Mack Days helps reduce the non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake and increase the native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Entries will continue to be taken until the last day of the event and there is no entry fee.

The $10,000 tagged lake trout hasn’t been enticed to the end of anyone’s line yet! There are also three $5,000 and six $1,000 tagged fish, as well as more than 9,000 additional tagged fish, with values from $100-$500.

Turning in $100 tagged lake trout during the sixth week were: Cole Williams of Kalispell, Larry Karper of Florence, and Mike Benson of Lonepine.

David Myers of Riverton, Wyo., regained the first-place position in the Top Twenty Angler Category on Sunday with his total of 962 lake trout entries. His entries were 38 Friday, 32 Saturday, and 53 Sunday. He has fished all 39 days of the event so far with a total fish count of all days at 1,784.

Monday-to-Thursday fishing is not included in the placing of the Top Twenty anglers but the total fish count is used for the bonus amounts at the conclusion of the event. Some anglers choose not to fish during the week and some fish a few days.

Felix Gauci of Stevensville is in second with 953; third place is Michael Benson of Lonepine with 796; fourth is Bob Stewart of Kalispell with 722; and fifth is Jerry Benson of Plains with 563. Check out the stats and other information online at www.mackdays.com.

Laurie Kreis of Huson is first in the Ladies Category with 221; second is Debby Sacchi of Thompson Falls with 133; third is Julie Perkins of Kalispell with 111; fourth is Kim Mack of Helena with 67; and fifth is Pamela Simonich of Missoula, 14.

Paisley and Blaine Helvey of Thompson Falls each have 18 in the 12 and Under Category, followed by Zander Oliver of Missoula with five; and Lucia Savoia of Missoula has a total of 11 in the 13-17 Category.

Felix Gauci leads the 70 and Over with 953; second is Michael Benson, 796; third is Larry Ashwell, 539; fourth is Jack Kirkland, 488; and fifth is Larry Karper with 440. Karper also turned in a small 149mm (6”) lake trout that is a contender in the Smallest Lake Trout Category. Paul Grove’s 141mm laker is the other contender.

So far there has been no entry in the Largest Lake Trout category of 36 inches or more and at least 20 pounds. Anglers have had some large lakers on the line but they are tough to land. Seeing one come up from the depths is exciting but it’s disappointing when it jerks off the line as you bring it in to the boat.

Trolling and casting seem to be the most popular method of fishing at this time. Some anglers are jigging and getting good numbers of the smaller lake trout.

Unexpectedly hooking onto a lure or line in the water is a surprise or a hassle, although sometimes anglers gain a lure for the tackle box. Jim Schreiber of Bigfork brought one up that he recognized as a lure he might have lost months ago. Sure enough, he had painted on it with his wife’s nail polish and the polish was still there. The lure went back into the tackle box along with a couple others he found. Ladies, if you have been missing polish you may want to check out the tackle box.

Weather is expected to turn colder this week. We remind everyone to keep informed of changing weather conditions, have the proper safety equipment on board, wear your PFDs, and keep cell phones dry and charged.

Remember you can enter at any time during the event. Go to www.mackdays.com for information, call Cindy Benson at 406-270-3386, or email entries to cindy.benson@cskt.org .