Weather hampers Mack Days

Blustery winds and rain hampered Mack Days anglers over the weekend. The winds brought an end to leader Jason Mahlen’s streak of perfect 100-fish days. Anglers are at the half waypoint of the 2020 Spring Mack Days Extended Fishing Event.

Friday was the calmest day of the weekend with a total of 1,564 lake trout entries. Saturday anglers pulled in their lines and headed for shore early. The total for Saturday was 1,281 entries. Sunday quitting time was an even earlier as stronger winds blew across huge white capping waves.

Jasons total on Sunday was 47 when he had to head to shore early knowing it is better to be safe than sorry. Sometimes it is just better to reel up your lines. Total for Sunday came to 536. Total for the event so far is at 16,929 with 2,672 of those from Monday to Thursday fishing. The Friday-Sunday fishing total is 14,257. We caution all anglers to pay attention to weather and be prepared with proper PFD’s and safety equipment.

Up to $225,000 in cash and prizes sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will be awarded to anglers at the conclusion of the event. Sunday June 28th will be the last day lake trout entries will be taken. There are several ways to win. One fish is all it takes to have a chance to win one of the lottery drawings that begin at $1,000 and go to $450. Other category prizes include Top Ten Anglers, Ladies, Youth, Weekend Prizes, Largest Lake Trout, Smallest Lake Trout. Go to the website http://www.mackdays.com for information and the entry form. Entries will continue to be taken until the last day of the event.

There is still an elusive $10,000 tagged lake trout, three $5,000, five $1,000 and over 6,000 with values from $500 to $100 lurking in the lake just waiting for any angler.

Bob Turner of Kalispell turned in a $500 tagged lake trout on Saturday making his rough ride across the water seem a little less stressful. Matt Guckenberg, Sr., of Kalispell was a $200 winner during the weekend.

Turning in $100 tagged fish were Kalispell anglers Ken Varga, Terry Krogstad, Colton Marron, Mike Benson, Scott Bombard, Will Best, Peter Dayton and Brad Ivanoff.

Saturday was the second of three days of the Heaviest Bucket of Fish category. Anglers put their four heaviest lake trout in a bucket and a weight is taken. Winner was Jens Gran of Polson with a 24.7 pound bucket. There was a tie for second and third with 16.5 pounds, the T. Krogstad boat and Paul Soukup of Polson coming in with two exact weights. Same scenario for fourth and fifth places with 16.45 pounds in the Varga boat and Ludahl’s of Kalispell. The last day of Bucket Fish will be the June 21. Points are given for places for each day. Winners are boats with the most points or in case of a tie, the heaviest weight is used.

Jason Mahlen of Kalispell leads the Top 10 Anglers with 947 entries. Second is Kolton Turner of Kalispell; third, Mike Benson of Lonepine (755); fourth, Bob Turner with 733; fifth Sam Cusker of Bigfork (669); sixth is Larry Karper of Florence with 462; Scott Bombard of Missoula is seventh with 409; in eighth place is John Gauci of Florence with 396; Larry Ashwell of Missoula is ninth with 394; and tenth is Ken Varga of Kalispell with 378.

Larry Karper is in the lead in the 70 and over category with 462, second is John Gauci (396 entries) and third is Larry Ashwell (394). Anglers can win in just one category and these three are in the Top 10 group also. The next two weeks will tell the story with these anglers.

Julie Perkins has 254 to pace the ladies, second is Connie Jones of Kalispell (54), third is Debbie Paine of Polson with (49), Nicole Peters of Missoula is fourth (28) and Savannah Popper of Kalispell has 20 for fifth.

Youth angler Matt Guckenberg Jr. of Kalispell is first in the 12-17 group with 258, Leah Banyai of Kalispell has 23, Madison Mahlen of Kalispell is third with 17, fourth is Allison Hotchkiss of Missoula with 11, and fifth is John Ross Jr. of Missoula has wtih six lake trout. Brodie Smith of Kalispell is first in the 12 and under group with 103.

Anglers are hoping to see warmer, calmer weather for the remainder of the two weekends left. Come out and join in the fun. Entries continue to be taken until the last day of the event. Go to http://www.mackdays.com and click on the events tab for information. If you have questions or concerns, contact Cindy Benson at (406) 270-3386 or (406) 883-2888, extension 7294.