Mack Days first weekend nets 2,227 fish

The first weekend of the 2013 Spring Mack Days fishing tournament ended with a total of 2,227 lake trout entered in the event last Monday.

Mack Days is sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as a tool to slowly reduce numbers of non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake.

Friday, March 15, was the best day for fishing during the first weekend. Anglers turned in 1,227 lake trout entries.

On Saturday, March 16, the winds began and fishing was tougher with 822 lake trout entries.

Blustery winds with chilling temperatures made the fishing on Sunday, March 17, extremely challenging. A total of 178 entries were turned in on Sunday.

Jason Mahlen of Kalispell leads with 166 lake trout entries. Mahlen’s best day of the weekend was Friday with 88 entries, followed by Saturday with 30, and 48 on Sunday.

Scott Bombard of Missoula is in second place with 97 entries. Bombard caught 62 on Friday, 18 on Saturday and 17 on Sunday.

Third place is Craig Moriegau of Polson with 90 entries after just two days of fishing. Moriegau caught 50 fish on his first day and 40 fish on his second day.

Steven Benson of Four Lakes, Wash. is fourth with 85 entries. Benson caught 57 fish on Friday, 22 on Saturday and six on Sunday.

Michael Benson of Lonepine comes in fifth so far with 83 entries. Benson caught 64 fish on Friday, 12 on Saturday and seven on Sunday.

Tracy Powers of Missoula leads the ladies with 26 entries. Second place is Nicole Peters of Missoula with 23 fish. Susan Martin of Polson is third with 19 fish. Julie Vacca-Florence and Kimberly Biere of Butte are tied for fourth with nine fish each.

The youth anglers improve each year and some are chasing close behind or even ahead of the fathers and grandfathers who have been teaching them to fish since they were old enough to stand and hold their own fishing poles.

Kobe Cox of Charlo leads the 13-17-year-old category with 35 fish so far. Connor Kowalski follows with 30 and Danner Shima of Kalispell is third with 17. Kimberly Biere of Butte is third with nine fish followed by Tanner Murry of Columbia Falls with six.

Garett Vaughan of Charlo leads the 12-and-under category with 63 lake trout entries and is in seventh place overall. Abby Hodgson of Kalispell is in second place with two fish, and Boone and Cole Gilleard of Charlo are tied for third with one fish each.

Bryan Long of Columbia Falls, Paul Soukup of Ronan, Mike Upwell of Kalispell, Darren Borgen of Columbia Falls, Steve Biere of Butte, Steve Benson, Jerry Benson of Plains, Scott Bombard, and Jason Mahlen turned in tagged fish worth $100.

Michael Benson caught two tagged fish worth $100 each.

Tucker Morigeau of Polson, Jason Mahlen, and Tyson Cottet turned in tagged fish with $200 tags.

So far, 510 anglers are entered in the event which ends on May 19. Anglers can fish Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until May 10 and then it is 10 straight days of fishing until May 19.

Entries are taken up until the last day of the event. Up to $150,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the anglers at the conclusion of the spring Mack Days tournament.

There is one tagged lake trout worth $10,000, five worth $5,000, 10 worth $1,000, and over 4,000 with values from $100-500.

The top 10 anglers are placed by their best 18-day average of the event. Bonus amounts begin to accumulate after an angler has turned in 20 entries. Bonus amounts go up as anglers’ totals go up.

There are several additional categories for competition, including youth, over-70, and ladies.

All it takes is one lake trout entry to qualify for the lottery drawings from $100-1,000.

For more information, go to www.mackdays.com or call 883-2888 ext. 7294.