Anglers add more than 5,000 lake trout to Mack Days tally

With two weeks of fishing complete, a total of 5,173 lake trout have been turned in during the 47th Mack Days sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

The nine-week long event began Sept. 4 and will end Nov. 2.

The Monday-Thursday total was at 1,024. Friday’s total came to 766; Saturday’s was 751, and Sunday brought in 524.

The total a year ago at this time was at 4,201. Totals can change quickly, and weather is critical for these anglers, with wind the most challenging condition.

Mack Days are used as a tool to reduce numbers of non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake and help preserve and protect the native fish populations of bull trout and westslope cutthroat.

Turning in a tagged lake trout is always exciting. Most anglers dream of landing the $10,000 tagged lake trout from the depths of the lake. There are also three $5,000 fish, five valued at $1,000 and more than 9,000 with values from $100-$500.

Dave Myers of Riverton, Wyo., turned in $500 and $100 tags. Chris Commers of Somers turned in a $200 tagged lake trout, and Julie Perkins and Mike Benson each turned in $100 tagged lake trout during the second week.

Another fisherman’s dream is catching “the big one,” the largest lake trout in the event. Event newcomer Angie Morrow of Kalispell hooked onto a huge laker on Saturday while fishing with her husband, Devon Burkowski.

She knew there was a fish on but when it bent the pole and the tip of the pole was hitting the water she realized it was the big one! It measured 38.5 inches and weighed 19.9 lbs.  

Angie is not very big, but she’s tough and it is a good thing. She reported it was a struggle getting it up off the bottom of lake and into the boat. Even though it was disappointing that it was not heavy enough for the biggest fish category, she has a great memory of winning the fight.

Lady angler Olivia Cottet of Polson has a total of five lake trout entries in the 13-17 Category. Carter Lindsay of Pablo has five in the 12 & Under.

Julie Perkins of Kalispell is first in the Ladies Category with 282, followed by Janet Myers of Riverton with 126, Laurie Kreis of Huson with 115, Angie Morrow of Kalispell with 113, and Lorinda Freeman of Polson with 26.

Top angler is Terry Krogstad of Kalispell. His high catch on Sunday of 70 lake trout moved him into first with 340. Myers of Riverton is in second with 323, followed by Devon Bukowski of Kalispell and Larry Ashwell of Missoula, tied for third and fourth with 313, and Julie Perkins in fifth with 282.

Leading the Smallest Lake Trout category is Justin Bair of Dillon with a 124mm (4.75”) lake trout and Larry Karper with a 130mm lake trout. Using a small fly a few inches above a jig is usually the set up for catching a small lake trout. Sometimes the anglers pull up a larger one and are surprised to find the small fish on the fly.

Weekend winners were: Richard Kreis, $200; and Patrick Casey, Laurie Kreis, Lyndon Lee and Jerry Benson, $100.

Trolling is picking up out on the water. The lake trout are getting into the spawning mode and are moving in closer to shore.

Entries continue to be taken until the last day of the event. Every entry lands anglers in the lottery drawing and gives them the chance to win.

Bonus dollars are added once an angler reaches 11 lake trout entries and go up as the total of entries goes up. Check out the bonus chart, entry page, fish ID and fishing tips on the website at www.mackdays.com.

Anglers are encouraged to safe out there, wear PFDs, keep their cell phones dry, be alert to weather predictions, have dry clothing on board, and let someone know their plan. 

For more information, call Cindy Benson at 406-270-3386.