Lake trout anglers hit Flathead Lake on Tuesday, September 8th, the first day of the 2020 Fall Mack Days Fishing Event. This event is sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Up to $200,000 in Cash and Prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the event November 15th to the participating anglers. Anglers turned in 707 lake trout entries, the first Tuesday-Thursday of the event. On Friday the lake trout fishing became more serious!
Competition on the first Friday-Sunday weekend heated up with the Top Twenty anglers vying for spots on the leader board for top angler positions. You can choose your level of participation for the event by fishing one day, several days, or every day. Every lake trout entry counts for your bonus amount after your eleventh fish is turned in. Bonus amounts go up with the fish total. Remember it only takes one fish to win, and there has been only one fish turned in by an angler that was a $1,000 tagged fish!
The one and only $10,000 tagged lake trout-Little Fin-is waiting for some lucky angler-it could be you! He is lurking somewhere in depths of Flathead Lake waiting for just the right hook or jig. There are also three $5,000 tagged lake trout, five $1,000 lake trout, and over 9,000 with values from $500 to $100 waiting for the right lure. Tagged lake trout with $100 values were turned in the first week by anglers Tom Borr and Jeffrey Freeman X 2-Polson, Felix Gauci-Stevensville, Mike Cosby-Thompson Falls, Kenny Garrett and Valerie Seman-Missoula.
A total of 3,366 lake trout entries were received over the 1st week. Tuesday through Thursdays total was at 707, Friday-788, Saturday-1,022, and Sunday-849 lake fish were submitted. Sunny weather with very warm temperatures held all week long. Afternoon temperatures made the fish seek deep cool water and evade anglers until the sun started going down, then the bite would turn on again. Anglers are jigging and trolling to catch the lake trout using different techniques and lures that attract the fish. They adapt with weather, light, and time of day. Some stay in one spot all day and others will move around the lake, in search of the “hot spot”. Write your own story, it takes time spent on the water to figure out what works for you.
- Mike Benson of Lonepine, leads all anglers with 215,
- Second place: Kolton Turner of Kalispell is in second place with 208,
- Third place: Steve Benson of Spokane Valley, WA with 171,
- Fourth place: Bob Turner-Kalispell-168,
- Fifth place: Scott Bombard of Missoula with 152,
- Sixth place: Sam Cusker of Bigfork with 142,
- Seventh place is Larry Ashwell of Missoula 139,
- Eight place: Shannon Brownlee of Missoula with 109,
- Ninth place: John Gauci of Florence with 99,
- Tenth place: Terry Krogstad of Kalispell with 91.
Kolton Turner of Kalispell, turned in the first and only 100 fish day on Saturday.
Kalispell lady angler Julie Perkins has 83 to lead the ladies, Laurie Kreis of Huson has 36, Kim McMillie of Polson-26, Lorinda Freeman of Polson-26, and Valerie Seman of Missoula 14.
The 70 & Over leader is Larry Ashwell of Missoula with 139, second place is John Gauci of Florence with 99, third place is Larry Karper of Florence with 51, fourth place is Marty Herak of Polson with 31, and fifth place is Mike Cosby of Thompson Falls with 15. Youth anglers leading in the 13-17 group are Jeffrey Devlin of Polson with 2 and Wyatt Thompson of Bigfork with 2. Gage Spring of Kalispell leads the 12 & under with 4 fish entries.
The weekend drawing results will be done later in the week and posted to the website. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have opened the Blue Bay Boat Ramp and Salish Point to all anglers. For more information go to www.mackdays.com, click on the events tab for the drop down boxes or call (406) 270-3386.
—cskt–
