Benson regains lead in Fall Mack Days Tourney
Anglers have turned in a total catch of 11,615 lake trout entries at the Fall Mack Days fishing tournament.
A total of 1,878 lake trout were turned in last week from Monday to Thursday. The weekend total from Friday to Sunday was 9,767 lake trout entries. Friday’s catch was 401, Saturday’s catch was 323, and Sunday’s total was 178.
Montana fall weather has begun. Waves were rough and very relentless on Sunday — one of the worst days ever on the water.
Anglers continue to use all methods of fishing this time of the year — trolling, jigging, long lining and casting.
The last of the three Bucket of Fish Days is Sunday, Nov. 7. Weights are taken from the four heaviest fish under 30 inches.
Shore anglers have a chance to be real competitors in this category. This is the best time of the year to catch large fish from shore. Winner of a Bucket Day receives a $200 prize. There is a tie for best overall buckets — Rick Skates and Jens Gran are both tied at 18 points at this time.
Top 10 anglers category is a horse race going into the last two weekends of the competition.
Mike Benson of Lonepine is leading in number of entries with 867. Only behind by 10 fish is Felix Gauci with 857. The Top ten anglers are placed by their best eighteen days. Felix has an average of 47.61 which has him in first, and Mike has an average of 46.56 for second place. Stay tuned, there are only six days left to tell the story.
Third place is held by the ever-popular Larry Karper of Florence with 657 and average of 35.56. Fourth place is seasoned Missoula angler Scott Bombard with 508 27.28, fifth Jack Kirkland of Missoula-491 27.0, sixth Terry Krogstad of Kalispell 489 and 25.89, seventh Larry Ashwell of Missoula 470 and 25.67, eighth Julie Perkins of Kalispell with 478 and 25.28, Sam Cusker of Bigfork is ninth with 440 and 25.88, and tenth is John Gauci of Florence with 430 and 23.83.
Larry Karper leads the 70 and over group with 657; in second with 491 is Jack Kirkland; third Larry Ashwell with 470; fourth John Gauci 430, Paul Grove of Wyoming, IL is fifth with 101.
Julie Perkins has a total of 478 for first in the ladies category; second Laurie Kreis of Huson with 327, Kim Mack of Missoula is third with 102, Gina Schiff of Whitefish 67, and Debby Sacchi of Thompson Falls has 51.
The 13-17 leader is Blake Williams of Big Arm with 9; second Ashlin Peters of Polson-2, and third Kaden Blowers of Missoula. The 12 & under leader is Bryn Blowers with 3 and second Wyatt Best of Florence with one.
Tagged fish turned in during the week were Paul Soukup of Polson-$100, Larry Ashwell-$100, Justin Underwood of St. Ignatius-$100, and Mike Benson-$100 and $200. Weekend winners: Jack Kirkland-$200, Mark McMillin-Missoula, Todd Wood-Ronan, Sam Cusker, and Mike Benson at $100.
Week eight is coming up, the weather forecast is looking good so far. Cool but no wind. Hoping for warm sun and calm lake waters. Come out get some tickets in the drawing. One ticket and you could be a winner! Entries continue to be taken until the last day of the event. Go to the website www.mackdays.com or call (406) 270-3386 to find all the information on the event, fish ID, weather, entries, etc