Spring Mack Days fishing tournament starts next week

Annual harvest needs to increase by about 13,000 in order to achieve goal

Flathead Lake’s anglers will have $150,000 worth of cash and prizes as motivation to get out on the lake and competitively fish from March 15 through May 19 for the spring rounds of the Mack Days fishing tournament.

But even with prize money on the line, participants aren’t reeling in enough trout to make the tournament effective in lowering non-native trout populations.

The whole reason for the tournaments and prize money is to restore a balance in Flathead Lake by gradually reducing non-native lake trout and providing habitat for native bull trout and west slope cutthroat trout.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes fisheries biologist Barry Hansen estimated there are more than 1 million lake trout left in Flathead Lake.

Mack Days currently brings in approximately 70,000 lake trout each year.

However, it has been determined that the annual harvest of 70,000 lake trout is not achieving the goal of restoring a balance in Flathead Lake.

In order to see a reduction in non-native lake trout populations, Mack Days harvest totals need to increase by about 13,000 each year.

In an effort to increase Mack Days’ harvest, the Tribal Fisheries Program produced an integrated set of educational components designed to increase the success of lake trout anglers on Flathead Lake. Components include; a Flathead Lake map, two fishing-guide videos — one fishing guide video on trolling and one on jigging. A brochure and fact sheet with a focus on essential principles and fundamental concepts behind fisheries management has also been made available.

Tournament days are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the first 10 weekends with 10 straight days of competitive fishing from May 10-19.

Sponsored by the CSKT and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, this fishing tournament is a management tool developed to implement the Flathead Lake and River Co-management Plan. The tournaments are used as a tool to slowly suppress non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake to benefit native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout.

There are up to $150,000 in lottery and bonus prizes, and thousands of tagged fish in Flathead Lake worth between $100 and $10,000 each. There are over 4,000 tagged fish worth between $100-500, 10 worth $1,000, five worth $5,000 and one lucky angler could catch the $10,000 tagged fish.

A Draft Environmental Impact Statement is scheduled for release in April.

The EIS analyzes all possible methods to increase the harvest of lake trout to levels that will restore a balance between native and non-native fisheries in Flathead Lake.

To register for the 2013 Spring Mack Days fishing tournament, to learn more, or to receive the educational materials, contact Cindy Benson at 883-2888 ext. 7294 or register at wwww.mackdays.com.