The nine-week long Fall Mack Days Fishing Event on Flathead Lake began on Friday September 5^th. Two hundred twenty-five lake trout anglers have registered for the event with fifty-five anglers turning in one or more lake trout entries so far. Mack Days are sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and are used as a management tool in a fish conservation effort to reduce the non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake. The Fishing Event will continue until November 2^nd. Go to the website at www.mackdays.com for information on the event, entry page-entries are taken until the last day, fish ID, bonus dollar amounts-as your total goes up you earn bonus dollars-see the bonus chart for amounts, etc. Mack Days are sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. 

Fish count weekend total (Fri-Sun) came to 2,107-Friday fish total came to 675, Saturday total 790, and Sunday 642. A very windy Thursday was the first day in the Monday to Thursday fishing with a total of 179 lake trout turned in. Patrick Casey of Townsend turned in the high count on Thursday with 34. Fridays high catch number was angler David Myer of Riverton WY with 62, Saturday Larry Ashwell of Missoula had a high of 57, and Sunday high angler was Terry Krogstad of Kalispell with 77. Final total of all days fished is 2,286. 

Top Twenty Anglers of this event so far are: 1^st Devon Bukowski of Kalispell-177, 2^nd Larry Ashwell of Missoula-163, 3^rd-David Myers of Riverton Wy-160, 4^thTerry Krogstad-Kalispell-148, 5^th Julie Perkins-Kalispell-134, 6^th Jack Kirkland-Lolo-122, 7^th Lyndon Lee-BC-94, 8^th Bob Stewart-Kalispell-93, 9^th Larry Karper-Florence-89, 10^th Angie Morrow-Kalispell-73, 11^th Jerry Benson-Plains-70, 12^th Felix Gauci-Stevensville-69, 13^th Ted Stewart-Kalispell-61, 14^thRichard Kreis-Huson-52, 15^th  and 16^th  Michael Benson-Lonepine-47 and Paul Grove-Wyoming IL-47,  17^th Janet Myers-Riverton Wy-44, 18^th Patrick Casey-Townsend-43, 19^th and 20^th Laurie Kreis-Huson-39 and Mike Colyer-Missoula-39.

Carter Lindsay of Pablo leads the 12 & Under Category with three lake trout entries and Olivia Cottet of Polson has one to lead the 13-17 Category. 

Larry Ashwell is leading in the 70 & Over with 163, 2^ndTerry Krogstad-148, 3^rd Jack Kirkland-122, 4^th Larry Karper-89, and 5^th Jerry Benson-70.

Julie Perkins leads the Ladies with 134-2^nd Angie Morrow-73, 3^rd Janet Myers-44, 4^th Laurie Kreis-39, and 5^th Shaunda Albert of Ronan-10. 

The $10,000 tagged lake trout is evading all anglers but catching $100 tagged lake trout were: Larry Ashwell, David Myers, Mike Crosby of Thompson Falls, and Justin Bair of Helena. There are also 3-$5,000 and 5-$1,000 tagged lake trout along with over 9,000 with values from $100-$500. Come out and try your luck at catching “Double D” the most sought-after lake trout in the lake-names after Down Rigger Dale of the Montana Outdoor Radio Show. Bring a fishing buddy with you and have fun while finding the elusive lake trout.  

Weekend prize winners were: Richard Kreis-$200 and $100 each to Devon Bukowski, Paul Grove, Julie Perkins, and Larry Karper. These prizes are drawn using a random number generator on the computer from all of the lake trout entries over the weekend. 

Smallest lake trout entries so far are David Myers 184mm (7.25”) lake trout and Julie Perkins 189mm Laker. 

Lake trout can be entered from all areas of Flathead Lake. Trolling, jigging, and casting for the fish are methods being used. Watch from a distance to see what their method may be. Ask if you can come in closer.  You have to spend time on the water to find out what will work for you. Look around at areas where others are fishing to see depths that may be working. Catching will get better as you build your skills and learn how to find the lake trout and get them in your cooler. You can turn in your catch at the fish pick up sites on Friday-Sunday-Big Arm State Park boat ramp 5-5:30, Salish Point (Polson) 6-6:15, Somers State boat ramp 4-4:30-, and Wayfarers State Park boat ramp 5-5:30. Monday to Thursday all fish are turned in at Blue Bay before 6 PM. 

Be safe out there. Wear your PFD’s, keep your cell phone dry, be alert to weather predictions, have dry clothing on board, and let someone know your plan.  If you have any questions or comments, please contact Cindy Benson at (406) 270-3386. Thank you to all of these hard-working anglers! They make the events a success. 

Tight lines everyone!

-cskt-

Feature photo via Mackdays.com

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