Congratulations Terry and Julie Perkins! At the end of the day on October 6th “Freddy Mack” the $10,000 tagged lake trout was in Terry Krogstad’s cooler. They are two of the hardest working anglers in our Mack Days Events! Terry stopped out in front of Blue Bay as he was coming in and caught the notorious Freddy in 80 feet of water. You never know where you might find a tagged fish!
Your chances of finding a $5,000 tagged lake trout are higher than chances for the $10,000 laker. There are 3-$5,000, and 5-$1,000 plus over 9,000 with values from $100 to $500. There is an additional $1,000 tagged lake trout sponsored by Bretz RV and Marine in Missoula for merchandise from their business. Bretz is also sponsoring the $500 cash prize for the largest lake trout over 36 inches and 20 pounds.
There is Up to $200,000 in Cash and Prizes to be awarded at the conclusion of 2021 Fall Mack Days on November 14th. Mack Days Fishing Events are sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The event is used as a management tool to reduce the non-native lake trout in Flathead lake.
There are several ways for anglers to qualify to win in the event. Top Twenty Angler category, Ladies, Youth, Over 70, Captains, etc. Check out the categories on the rules page at www.mackdays.com. Largest lake trout over 20 pounds and 36 inches wins $500 and the two smallest lake trout winners receive $250 each.
Once anglers obtain 11 lake trout entries they begin to accumulate bonus dollars. The bonus amount goes up as their total goes up.
A total of 7,804 lake trout entries are in. Monday to Thursday total was 1,402 and the Friday to Sunday total was at 6,402. Thank you to all of the anglers! It is important to continue to make Mack Days Fishing Events as successful as we can. The purpose of the events is to increase the numbers of native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout in Flathead Lake. Anglers are making a difference! Friday turn ins were 396, Saturday 355, and a windy Sunday total was 80. Weather is changing-anglers are always observant of weather warnings and alerts. Many were off the water early on Sunday.
Felix Gauci of Stevensville is first in the Top Twenty Category with a total of 656 lake trout entries. Secondplace is Larry Karper of Florence with 434, 3rd place is Scott Bombard of Missoula with 372, 4th place is Sam Cusker of Bigfork with 366, 5th place is Mike Benson of Lonepine with 357, 6th place is Jack Kirkland of Missoula with 335, 7th place is Richard Kreis of Huson with 322, 8th place is Larry Ashwell of Missoula with 282, 9th place is Julie Perkins of Kalispell with 268, and 10th place is Terry Krogstad of Kalispell with 247 & a $10,000 tagged fish.
Julie Perkins is first in the Ladies Category with 268lake trout entries, 2nd place is Laurie Kreis of Huson with 234, 3rd place is Kim Mack of Missoula with 75, 4th place is Debby Sacchi of Thompson Falls with 48, and 5th place is Gina Schiff of Whitefish with 43.
Larry Karper is 1st in the 70 & Over Category with 434lake trout entries, 2nd place is Jack Kirkland with 335, 3rd place is Larry Ashwell of Missoula with 282, 4thplace is John Gauci of Stevensville with 207, and 5thplace is Paul Grove of Wyoming, IL. with 101.
Entries continue to be taken until the last day of the event. It is free to enter. Saturday October 16th is the second Bucket Day. Heavies bucket of four lake trout that measure under 30 inches will win a $200 cash prize. Go to www.mackdays.com for information and to see the list of statistics, or call (406) 270-3386. There is plenty of time left to get involved in the Fishing Event!
Tight lines everyone!
