Fall Mack Days continues with week six
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News from CSKT Natural Resources
FLATHEAD LAKE – The 2018 Fall Mack Days fishing event continues until Nov. 11.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes sponsored the event. There are up to $150,000 in cash and prizes that will be awarded at the conclusion of the event. All it takes is one lake trout entry to be eligible for the lottery drawing. Anglers can turn in entries Tuesday through Sunday during the event. Tuesday through Thursday are for tagged fish, bonus totals and smaller cash prizes. Friday through Sundays are regular prize days for the lottery tickets, tagged fish and other prizes. Go to www.mackdays.com for information on the categories and prizes.
The elusive $10,000 tagged lake trout is still wanted. His whereabouts are still unknown. There are three $5,000 and five $1,000 fish also still being sought after by all anglers. There are over 6,000 lake trout with values from $500 to $100 still out in the lake. Two $500 tagged lake trout were turned in over week six by lucky anglers Bob Christensen of Missoula and Ken Rickert of Thompson Falls.
Turning in $200 tags were Richard Kreis of Huson and Mike Benson of Lonepine. Tags with $100 values were turned in by Randy Hovet-Charlo, Felix Gauci-Stevensville, Julie Perkins and Sidney Brewer of Kalispell, Laurie Kreis from Huson, Paul Soukup and David McDaniel of Polson, John Gauci of Florence, Stephen Mack and Ian Grob of Missoula, Ken Rickert, and Mike Benson.
Top ten anglers are placed by their best fifteen-day average out of the twenty-four weekend days at the end of the event. Leading the top ten is Mike Benson of Lonepine with 798 and average of 49.67. Felix Gauci is second with 683. Third is Scott Bombard of Missoula with 662. Fourth is Sam Cusker of Whitefish with 483. Fifth is David McDaniel with 477. Sixth is Larry Karper of Florence with 425. Terry Krogstad of Kalispell is seventh with 417. Eighth is Larry Ashwell of Missoula with 382. Ninth is Richard Kreis with 318, and Julie Perkins is 10th with 291.
Julie Perkins still leads the ladies with 291, Laurie Kreis is second with 142, Gina Schiff is third with 75, Kimberly Mack has 70 for fourth place, and Jeanee Mooney is in fifth place with 51.
The 13-17 age category has Matt Guckenberg Jr. from Kalispell leading with 86, Matt Kreis of Huson has 27, and Madisyn Lugibihl of Missoula has five. The 12 and under category leader is Tripp Bick of Arlee with five, Kieran Incashola of St. Ignatius is second with three, Bailey Piedalue of Charlo has two and is third.
The fish total for the event so far is at 11,977. One hundred thirty-eight anglers have entered fish out of the four hundred fifty-six that are entered. There were 494 entries turned in on Friday, 598 on Saturday and 462 on Sunday for a total of 1,554 for the weekend. Count at this time in the 2017 Fall Event was at 10,996, and in 2016, we were at 12,193. The 2015 total was at 14,333.
Weather plays a big role in fish entries for the event. Wind is the worst enemy. Anglers can deal with rain, snow and cooler weather, but the wind makes or breaks the day.
There is still time to fish Flathead Lake for lake trout and get some entries in the lottery barrel. The lake trout are in closer to steep drop-off areas for spawning and are not as deep as in the spring fishing. Anglers are trolling for the lake trout, some are casting and some are jigging. They change up as the bite changes during the day. Shore anglers are catching a few also. They are casting and also using the sausage bait.
Mack Days are used as a tool to reduce the numbers of non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake and increase the numbers of native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Fish ID is available on the website or where permits are sold. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have a special $13 yearly combined use fishing permit for the south half of Flathead Lake that is available for anyone from any location.
Good luck to all of the anglers. The last day is November 11. All entries are to be turned in by 3 p.m. at Blue Bay with the Fish Fry beginning at that time and awards at 4 p.m
