With two weeks left, Mack Days nearing last year's totals

It was another great weekend of trout fishing on Flathead Lake for the 2009 Spring Mack Days.

Stephen Naethe, a 16-year-old Pablo angler, is holding on to the lead after five weeks of the event sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

Naethe dropped to second on Friday night after turning in 21 entries compared to Ronan's Paul Haines' 39. Saturday's perfect 50 put Naethe back in the lead and 31 entries on Sunday topped off his weekend of lake trout fishing, putting his total at 536 with Haines currently in second with 506. The lead has changed several times during this event, and with a daily limit of 50 fish can continue to change between the top experienced anglers.

The top ten anglers' placing is determined by the best 12-day average at the conclusion of the event. Mike Benson of Hot Springs moved into third with 316, Dan Smith of Hot Springs is in fourth with 312, Charlo's Dean Vaughan is in fifth with 310.

Youth anglers continue to be led by Naethe with 536 and second place Terry Biere of Butte with 61.

Nicole Peters leads lady anglers with 215 lake trout. Bigfork's Janet Smith is in sixth with 36.

There were 2,375 lake trout entries for the fifth weekend. Total of the five weekends is now at 9,300. Total at the end of the 2008 spring event was 9,910. There are two weekends to go in the 21-day event with the last day being a separate day for prizes, but it also counts for the totals for the anglers.

Mack Days events are used as a tool to slowly reduce the number of non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake and increase the numbers of native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout.

"Like a family heirloom passed from generation to generation, Montana's native fish are among the treasures that make Montana such a special place," according to an FWP spokesman. "Montana's native fish are Nature's Keepers, and it's up to all of us to keep it that way."

An awards presentation and fish fry will begin at 4 p.m. on April 26, at Salish Point.

Entries continue to be taken until the last day of the event. Go to www.mackdays.com for information or call 883-2888 ex. 7294. On weekends, call 982-3142 for the Blue Bay Headquarters.