Benson takes early lead in Spring Mack Days

Anglers fishing the 2019 Spring Mack Days have completed the second weekend with a total of 7,926 lake trout entered.

Even with this year’s event being delayed by ice and snow, the first two-week fish total is only 321 lake trout behind last spring at the same time.

Totals for the second weekend of this year’s event were; Friday-1,639, Saturday-1,622, and Sunday-1,578.

Leading the Top Ten Anglers by only four fish is Mike Benson of Lonepine with 449, turning in four perfect 100 days in a row. Kolton Turner of Kalispell has three 100 fish days, for a total of 445 fish. Jason Mahlen of Kalispell is only 25 fish behind the leader with a total of 424 fish and two 100 fish days. Third place is David McDaniel of Polson with 361 fish, with a 100 fish day. Bob Turner of Kalispell is fourth with 300 fish. Jerry Benson of Plains is fifth with 295 fish. Tyler Varga of Kalispell is sixth with 261 fish. Ken Varga, is seventh with 250 fish. Scott Bombard of Missoula is ninth with 242 fish and Scott Mahlen of Kalispell is 10 th with 221 fish.

Top 10 anglers have seven weekends left to increase their numbers and averages. Anglers will be ranked on their best 15-day average instead of the usual 18-day average for the longer spring events.

Boat ramps open on Flathead Lake at this time are Blue Bay, Yellow Bay, Wayfarers and Westshore.