Kalispell's Turner leads Spring Mack Days
Week two of the 2021 Spring Mack Days Fishing Event on Flathead Lake ended with winds bringing anglers off the lake early on Sunday before the predicted high winds began.
A National Weather Service Advisory was heeded by many anglers, who wisely decided to stay safe off the wild white capping waters and did not venture out at all.
At the end of the day Friday, the total came to 1,177 and at the end of the day Saturday, the total was 1,083. With 242 lake trout entries turned in on Sunday, the weekend total was 2,502 lake trout entries. The two-week total for weekends came to 6,088 plus the Monday to Thursday fishing of 676 brings the final count to 6,764 lake trout entries.
Kolton Turner of Kalispell had a perfect 100 on Saturday. He came close on Friday with 95 and turned in 77 on Sunday. Catching 100 fish a day is no small task. It is a good day when everything goes right - no tangled lines, no large fish that take time to bring up and release, etc.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes sponsor the Mack Days Fishing Events to allow anglers to play a roll in reducing non-native lake trout in and preserving and increasing the native fish populations in Flathead Lake.
Native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout populations are important to the history of the Flathead Lake fishery, the history of tribal people, and the state of Montana.
There is up to $225,000 in cash and prizes available to anglers participating the event. All they need to do is turn in one lake trout entry to be entered in the lottery drawings that begin at $1,000 at the conclusion of the event. There are several categories that anglers may enter. Ladies, Youth-13-17 and 12 and under, Over 70, Smallest and Largest Lake Trout, etc.
Check out the categories on the website www.mackdays.com . Once an angler turns in their 11th entry they begin to earn bonus amounts. The bonus chart is in the rules page under the events tab on the website. The higher the total the more in bonus dollars earned.
Jaws, the $10,000 tagged lake trout, is still out there, too. There are also three $5,000 fish, five $1,000 tagged lake trout and 9,000 with values from $100-$500.
Turning in $100 tagged lake trout the second week were: Kalispell anglers-Brodi Smith (12-and-under), Travis Banyai, Hank McLeod, and Clint Speer-Carey Hauser-Lakeside, and Richard Kreis of Huson. Sam Cusker of Bigfork turned in a $200 tagged laker.
There were three perfect 100 fishing limit days turned in the second week of the event.
Jason Mahlen of Kalispell turned in perfect scores on Friday and Saturday. Mahlen chose not to go out on Sunday because of the high wind warning.
These anglers are intense and focused the whole day. Many anglers are hitting the water at dawn and do not come in until dark. They put a lot of time, work, money and effort into fishing
the events.
Entries will be taken until the last day of the event and there is no entry fee. Currently 721 anglers are registered with one or more lake trout. Safety on the water is very important. Know the daily weather report and watch for changes, have safety equipment available on board, keep your cell phone in a sealed bag, and have a plan!
For more information please visit www.mackdays.com.