Benson wins Mack Days title

Mike Benson of Lonepine earned his sixth straight Fall Mack Days win over the weekend, turning in 1,150 lake trout entries with an 18-day average of 54.72 per day. This is the ninth overall Fall Mack Days win for Benson.

Second place in the event, which is sponsored by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes as a tool to help reduce the number of non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake, went to Larry Ashwell of Missoula (931 entries, 44.489 average). In third place was Felix Gaucie of Stevensville (767, 42.61), fourth went to Jerry Benson of Plains (645, 33.89), fifth was Terry Krogstad of Kalispell (665, 30.89), sixth was Scott Bombard of Missoula (528, 29.33), Larry Karper of Florence was seventh (510, 28.33), in eighth place was Julie Perkins of Kalispell (511, 26.22), Richard Kreis of Huson finished ninth (500, 23.28) and in 10th place was David McDaniel of Polson (440, 23.28).

Laurie Kris of Huson finished first among the woman anglers with 339, in second was Kim Mack of Helena (12), third was Janet Myer of Riverton, Wyoming (93), fourth Debby Sacchi of Thompson Falls (35) and Connie Jones of Kalispell finished fifth with 14 entries.

Ali Putzler of Kalispell won the age 13-17 category with six entries, second was Matt Kreis of Huson with five, third Marcus Lucas of Polson and Shelbie Peterson of Columbia Falls with three each. In the 12 and under category, William Grob of Missoula won with 20 lake trout entries, Kysen Incashola of St. Ignatius was second with seven, third was Baylie Peterson of Columbia Falls with two, and fourth Terrace Dieterich of Kalispell with one.

Jack Kirkland of Missoula came in first place in the 70 and over category with 376 entries, second place was John Gauci of Florence with 260 entries, third place was Mike Cosby of Thompson Falls with 87 entries, fourth place was Marty Herak of Polson with 75 entries and Glenn Hoffman of Missoula was fifth with 62 entries.

Winning the largest lake trout category was Carey Hauser of Lakeside with a 21-pound, 36.5-inch lake trout. Bretz RV and Marine sponsored the $500 prize for the largest lake trout. Smallest lake trout award went to Jim Flinchbaugh of Kalispell with a 145mm lake trout and Mark McMillin of Missoula with a 155mm lake trout. Awards for smallest lake trout were $250 each.

A total of 13,901 lake trout were entered in the nine-week fall event. The Spring Mack Days will begin March 17, 2023, and end May 15. For more information, visit http://www.mackdays.com.