Mack Days anglers get back on Flathead Lake

Anglers were back on Flathead Lake last week for the 2020 Spring Mack Days event, sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The event has been extended until June 28 after being suspended for several weeks due to COVID-19. A total of 3,631 lake trout were turned in over the weekend bringing the total to 12,925 for the event so far. There were 792 on Friday, 1,475 on Saturday and Sunday’s total was 1,364.

Jason Mahlen of Kalispell continues his winning ways with more 100-fish days added to his Mack Days story. One hundred-fish days are fun but also a lot of exhausting hard work for the anglers. They know how many fish they need to catch during the morning bite and how many per hour throughout the rest of the day to get that perfect number. They don’t stay if they aren’t catching; they move to other spots they have found over the years. They have put in the time finding those areas and know what time of day to move to them. Being a successful lake trout angler on Flathead Lake takes effort, time and patience to learn what works and what does not. Mahlen has seven 100-fish days, Mike Benson of Lonepine has four, Scott Bombard of Missoula, Sam Cusker of Bigfork and Kolton Turner of Kalispell each have two and Andy Reed of Kalispell, Scott Mahlen of Kalispell and Larry Karper of Florence each have one 100-fish day.

Two large lake trout have been entered for the coveted large fish prize. First one in was by Ber Yang of Missoula. Exciting times for him. His fish measured 39.25 inches and it weighed 24.5 pounds. Then came Paul Jochim of Stevensville with a 38.5-inch lake trout that weighed in at 25.25 lbs. His boat included two young anglers who were not much taller than the fish was long. The largest lake trout award goes to the heaviest fish. The category ends on the last day of the event.

Tagged fish with $200 values were turned in by Marty Herak, Travis Banyai, and Will Best. Tags worth $100 were caught by Terry Krogstad, Josh Morigeau, Sam Cusker, Matt Guckenberg, Matt Guckenberg Jr. and Luke Smith.

Results as of Monday are:

Top 10 Anglers: 1, Jason Mahlen, 700 entries; 2, Benson, 603; 3, Turner, 585; 4, Bob Turner, 481; 5, Cusker, 419; 6, Bombard, 344; 7, Karper, 319; 8, John Gauci, 318; 9, Tyler Varga, 300; 10, Larry Ashwell, 294.

Ladies: 1, Julie Perkins, 197; 2, Debbie Paine, 49; 3, Connie Jones, 43; 3, Savannah Popper, 20; 4, Rebecca Lester, 19.

Age 13-17: 1, Matt Guckenberg, Jr., 177; 2, Leah Banyai, 18; 3, Madison Mahlen, 17; 4, Allison Hotchkiss, 11; 4, John Ross, Jr., 6.

Age 12 and Under: 1, Brodie Smith, 79; 2, Tsimmiej Yang, 11; 3, Mike Ross, 8; 4, Arley Grandchamp, 2.

Go to http://www.mackdays.com for more information.