Warm weather accompanies Mack Days anglers on Week 1
Mack Days anglers cast their lines under very warm sunny skies for the first four days of the nine-week long event on Flathead Lake, which began Thursday, Sept. 5, and ends Sunday, Nov. 3.
Mack Days Fishing Events are sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and are used as a management tool to reduce non-native lake trout populations in Flathead Lake.
Native bull trout and westslope cutthroat are a vital piece in the Flathead ecosystem. They dominated the fish populations of Flathead Lake for hundreds of years until the introduced lake trout population exploded.
Mack Days, which are sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, help
protect native fish populations by reducing the population of predatory lake trout.
Johnny Cash, the $10,000 tagged lake trout, is out there somewhere. He hears the boats ’a coming, moving overhead; he hasn’t seen the sunshine since he doesn’t know when. The $10,000 tagged fish have been caught only three times during Mack Days history.
There are also three $5,000, and five $1,000 tagged lake trout, plus more than 9,000 fish tagged with values from $100 to $500.
Ken Rickert of Thompson Falls was a lucky angler over the weekend turning in a $500 tagged lake trout and Jay Martinsen of East Helena came in with a $200 fish. David Kelch of Great Falls, Terry Krogstad of Kalispell, Larry Ashwell of Missoula, and Jeff Freeman of Polson all turned in $100 tagged lake trout.
Anglers turned in a total of 504 lake trout on opening day, Sept. 5. Kolton Turner of Kalispell had the high count of 71 lake trout entries. Friday’s total came to 587 with Jerry Benson of Plains turning in the high of 81; Saturday’s total came to 515 with a high from Mike Benson of 75; and Sunday’s total was 486 with Jerry Benson again delivering the high of 63.
Total lake trout entries so far are at 2,092, compared to 2,002 from the opening weekend of the 2023 fall event. Totals at the end of fall events are 17,502 in 2023, 13,901 in 2022, 14,036 in 2021, and 14,821 in 2020.
The top five angler totals are: 1. Jerry Benson of Plains, 195; 2. Mike Benson of Lonepine, 193; 3. Larry Karper of Florence, 106; 4. Richard Kreis of Huson, 105; and 5. Laurie Kreis of Huson. Leading in the Ladies Category is Laurie Kreis with 92, followed by Julie Perkins with 51, Lorinda Freeman with 25, Jolene Tatum with 8, and Diane Kelch with 3.
In the 12 & Under Category, Payton Kuchera of Kalispell tallied 1 while James Kuchera of Kalispell leads the 13-17 category with 3. The smallest lake trout entries were posted by Mike Benson with 189mm (7.5 inches) and Larry Ashwell with 201mm (eight inches).
The first weekend drawing winners were Paul Grove, $200; and Jack Kirkland, Larry Ashwell, Mike Benson, and Steve Mack with $100 apiece.
There are eight weeks left in the event. You can fish one day or several. Some anglers are trolling and others are jigging while fishing for the lake trout.
Be aware of how to properly ID the fish you catch. We have had reports of westslope cutthroat trout being caught; these fish, as well as bull trout, cannot be turned in. Bull trout are a Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act and westslope trout are a Species of Special Concern. Please release either of these fish back into the lake.
There is information on the website, www.mackdays.com, on how to ID these species; anglers can also register for Mack Days online.
Safety is important for everyone. Please be aware of weather conditions and have the proper safety equipment on board.