Mack Days draws 510 anglers, entries taken until end
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The first weekend of the 2013 spring Mack Days fishing event ended with a total of 2,227 lake trout entered in the event, which is sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
Friday was the best day for fishing during the first weekend. Anglers turned in 1,227 lake trout entries, which was a great first day for the event. Saturday the winds began, and fishing was tougher, with 822 lake trout entries. Blustery winds with chilling temperatures made the fishing on Sunday extremely challenging. A total of 178 entries were turned in on Sunday. The wind and waves continued throughout the day.
Mack Days ends May 19, and 510 anglers are entered in the event. Anglers can fish Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until May 10, and then it is 10 straight days of fishing until May 19. Entries are taken up until the last day of the event. Up to $150,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the anglers at the conclusion of Spring Mack Days. Tagged lake trout with values from $10,000 (1 tag); $5,000 (five tags); $1,000 (10 tags); and more than 4,000 with values from $100-$500 have been released in the lake. Top 10 anglers are placed by their best 18-day average of the event. Bonus amounts begin to accumulate after an angler has turned in 20 entries. Bonus amounts go up as anglers’ totals go up. There are several ways to win, including youth, over-70 and ladies categories. All it takes is one lake trout entry to qualify for the lottery drawings from $1,000 to $100. More information can be found at www.mackdays.com.
Jason Mahlen, Kalispell angler, leads with 166 lake trout entries. Mahlen’s best day of the weekend was Friday with 88 entries, followed by Saturday with 30 and 48 on Sunday. Scott Bombard, Missoula, is in second with 97 entries (62, 18 and 17). Third place is Craig Moriegeau of Polson with 90 entries after two days of fishing — 50 and 40-fish days. Fourth place is Steven Benson of Four Lakes, Wash., with 85 entries — 57, 22 and six. Michael Benson of Lonepine comes in fifth with 83 entries — 64, 12 and seven.
The youth anglers improve each year and some are chasing close behind or even ahead of the fathers and grandfathers who have been teaching them to fish since they were old enough to stand and hold their own fishing poles. It is great to see them developing into expert anglers and sportsmen.
Kobe Cox (13-17 category) from Charlo leads his group with 35. Connor Kowalski follows him with 30, and Danner Shima, Kalispell, is third with 17. Kimberly Biere, Butte, is third with nine, followed by Tanner Murry of Columbia Falls with six. Garett Vaughan (12 and under), Charlo angler, has a total of 63 lake trout entries and is in seventh place in the overall standing. Second is Abby Hodgson of Kalispell with two and Boone and Cole Gilleard of Charlo with one each.
Tracy Powers of Missoula leads the ladies with 26 entries. Second place is Nicole Peters of Missoula with 23; third is Susan Martin of Polson with 19; fourth is Julie Vacca of Florence and Kimberly Biere of Butte with nine each.
Tagged fish worth $100 were turned in by Bryan Long of Columbia Falls; Paul Soukup of Ronan; Mike Upwell of Kalispell; Michael Benson of Lonepine (two); Darren Borgen, Columbia Falls; Steve Biere, Butte; Steve Benson, Four Lakes; Jerry Benson, Plains; Scott Bombard, Missoula; Jason Mahlen, Kalispell. Tucker Morigeau of Polson, Jason Mahlen and Tyson Cottet turned in tagged fish with $200 tags.
Mack Days are used as a tool to slowly reduce numbers of non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake.
For more information, go to the website www.mackdays.com or telephone (406) 883-2888 ext. 7294.
