Top Mack Days angler tallies 1,111 fish
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Fall Mack Days ended after a grueling last week of the event’s 28 days. Frigid windy winter weather set in the last six days of the fall fishing event. Ice freezing on the boats and equipment was a concern that all anglers had to deal with. The few that continued the last few days were out in some of the coldest days on the water during any of the Mack Days events.
Top 10 anglers at the end of the event were: Max Martz, Stevensville, first with 1,111 lake trout entries and a 59.2 15-day average for $700. Second place went to Mike Benson of Lonepine with 981 and a 50.6 15-day average and $650; third was Terry Krogstad, Kalispell, 699 and a 46.6 average, $600; fourth was Scott Bombard, Missoula, 959 and 46.4, $550; fifth was Craig Morigeau, Polson, 622 and 33.9, $500; sixth, Don Beville, Lakeside, 490 and 32.6, $450; seventh and eighth, Phil Meredith, Kalispell, 645 and 32.4 and Steven Benson, Four Lakes, Wash., 531 and 32.4, $325; ninth, Tim Mooney, Missoula, 452 and 27.6, $250; and 10th, Nick Fister, Kalispell, 488 and 25.3, $200.
Top lady angler went to Jeanee Mooney, Missoula, with 167 and $300; second, Julie Vacca, Florence, 100, $200; third, Deana Knipe, Polson, 72, $100; fourth, Kim McMillie, Ronan, 71, $100; and fifth, Susanne Albrecht, Polson, 63, $100.
Eric Sams, Polson, won the 13 and over category with 36; Brett Hereford, Missoula, was second with 23; Cody Asbury third with five; and Tom McDonald, Niarada, and Wyatt Jensen, Polson, had three each. Garett Vaughan, Charlo, won the 12 and under with 62, second was Mark Herzog, Missoula, 20; and Christhen Hughes, Missoula, came in third with 16.
Glen Hoffman, Missoula, won the $200 Golden Angler Award and Mel Clendenin of Polson won second and $100.
Two anglers were recognized with Spirit of the Event awards. Custom-made fillet knives were given to Scott Bombard and Mike Benson for their support and dedication to the events.
Bryan Gregerson, Kalispell, with 19 entries in the lottery drawing was a lucky winner of $1,000. Terry Krogstad, Kalispell, $1,000, was also a top draw. Jeanee Mooney, Missoula, won $950. Other winners of $950 were Richard Kreis, Huson, and Steven Benson. Tyson Cottet, Charlo, was a $900 winner along with Max Martz, Missoula angler. There were 50 lottery drawings that went down to $200 with several different anglers winning prizes.
Mack Days events are sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, are sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and are used to slowly reduce the numbers of non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake.
One-hundred-eleven anglers split $13,000 in tagged fish awards during the event. There were no high-dollar tags caught. Top award for a tagged fish was $500.
Smallest lake trout awards of $250 went to Mike Benson (158-mm lake trout) and his brother Steve Benson for a 159-mm lake trout.
No large lake trout over 36 inches and 24 pounds was turned in during the fall event, which has happened several times before.
Bucket of Fish winners were Meredith and Fister of Kalispell with a combined weight of 60 pounds ($500), second Tim and Jeanee Mooney with a combined weight of 40 pounds, 9 ounces ($400), third place, Richard and Laurie Kreis, Huson, 39 pounds ($300). Daily winners of $200 were: Roger Schiff and Kirby Adams, 19 pounds, 15 ounces; Phil Meredith and Nick Fister, 23 pounds, 7 ounces; Ted Peterson and Paul Gyles, 25 pounds, 4 ounces.
Mack Days events are made successful by the dedicated, hardworking lake trout anglers who participate. We would like to thank each and every one of them. We continually work on improving the events and would like any comments or suggestions sent to us.
The website www.mackdays.com will have the complete prize list and anglers totals.
