Fifty-five anglers cast lines in week one of Mack Days

The nine-week-long Fall Mack Days began Friday, Sept. 5. By the end of week one, 225 lake trout anglers had registered for the event with 55 anglers turning in one or more lake trout entries.

Mack Days are sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The biannual fishing events are used as management tools in a conservation effort to reduce the non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake. The fishing event will continue until Nov. 2.

A very windy opening day last Thursday brought in 179 lake trout. Patrick Casey of Townsend turned in the high count with 34.

The weekend total (Friday-Sunday) came to 2,107. Friday’s high catch number was from angler David Myer of Riverton, Wyo., with 62; Larry Ashwell of Missoula had Saturday’s high of 57; and Sunday’s high was posted by angler Terry Krogstad of Kalispell with 77.

Devon Bukowski of Kalispell leads the Top Twenty Anglers category so far with 177, followed by Larry Ashwell of Missoula with 163, David Myers of Riverton with 160, Terry Krogstad of Kalispell with 148, and Julie Perkins of Kalispell with 134.

Carter Lindsay of Pablo leads the 12 & Under Category with three lake trout entries and Olivia Cottet of Polson has one to lead the 13-17 Category.

Larry Ashwell is leading in the 70 & Over with 163, followed by Terry Krogstad with 148, Jack Kirkland with 122, Larry Karper with 89, and Jerry Benson with 70.

Julie Perkins leads the Ladies with 134; she’s followed by Angie Morrow with 73, Janet Myers with 44, Laurie Kreis with 39, and Shaunda Albert with 10.

While the $10,000 tagged lake trout continues to evake all anglers, Larry Ashwell, David Myers, Mike Crosby of Thompson Falls, and Justin Bair of Helena each caught $100 tagged lake trout. There are also three worth $5,000, five worth $1,000 and more than 9,000 with values from $100-$500.

Weekend prize winners were Richard Kreis, $200; and $100 each to Devon Bukowski, Paul Grove, Julie Perkins and Larry Karper. These prizes are drawn using a random number generator on the computer from all of the lake trout entries over the weekend.

Smallest lake trout entries so far were submitted by David Myers, 184mm (7.25 inches), and Julie Perkins, 189mm.

Lake trout can be entered from all areas of Flathead Lake. Anglers troll, jigg and cast for the fish. Look around at areas where others are fishing to see depths that may be working, as well as techniques.

Success improves as anglers build their skills and learn how to find the lake trout and get them in their cooler.

Fish may be turned in Friday-Sunday from 5-5:30 p.m. at Big Arm State Park boat ramp, 6-6:15 p.m. at Salish Point in Polson, 4-4:30 p.m. at the Somers State boat ramp and 5-5:30 p.m. at Wayfarers State Park boat ramp. From Monday to Thursday, all fish must be turned in at Blue Bay before 6 p.m.

Go to the website at www.mackdays.com for information on the event, including fish ID, and bonus dollar amounts, and an entry form.

Be safe out there. Wear PFDs, keep cell phones dry, be alert to weather predictions, have dry clothing on board, and let someone know your plan. 

Contact Cindy Benson at 406-270-3386 for more info.