Spring weather greets anglers
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News from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
The 2017 Spring Mack Days nineweek fishing event on Flathead Lake continues through May 14.
Week two of 2017 Spring Mack Days ended with 136 hard-fishing anglers catching a twoweek total of 10,557 lake trout using all the fishing finesse, knowledge, and tricks they have in their tackle boxes.
Weather changed and the fish seemed to change with it, bringing rain, wind, sleet, sun, and varying temperatures all weekend long. Top lady angler Julie returned to California knowing what a mid-March surprise dip in Flathead Lake feels like. She fell in while pushing her dock from the boat. If anyone hooks onto a high dollar rod and reel, reported overboard on Saturday, we know who the owner is.
Finding a lake trout at the end of the line with a clipped adipose fin is a bonus. Thirty lucky anglers have caught tagged fish with values of $100-$200. There is one $10,000 tagged fish out there plus three $5,000, five $1,000, and more than 6,000 with values from $100-$500.
One of the many ways to win an award during the event is to be a Top Ten Angler at the end of Mack Days. These anglers fish as many days and hours as they can going out at daylight and staying until dark trying to keep their numbers high enough to earn them a spot in the Top Ten category. Scott Bombard leads the top ten anglers after the second weekend with 465.
All it takes is one fish entry to get a ticket in the lottery style drawing where the awards will begin at $1,000 and go down to $400.
Mack Days on Flathead Lake, sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, runs from March 17-May 14. The event is a tool to reduce the non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake and increase the number of bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout, which are native to the waters and are part of the cultural history of the tribes and the state of Montana.
Anglers are required to have an AIS boat inspection done before entering any fish. The inspections can be done in Pablo seven days a week from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. or by calling 406-270-3386 to arrange an inspection at Blue Bay.
Spring weather is very unpredictable. We remind anglers to think safety first and be aware of changing weather patterns.
Go to www.mackdays. com for information on the rules, bonus amounts, prizes, safety, fish ID, etc.
Results, week two
Total fish
Men 465- Scott Bombard 458- Michael Benson 402- Sam Cusker, Felix Gauci 363- Steven Benson 323- Larry Karper 305- Ryan Shima 300- Jason Mahlen 293- Danner Shima 238- Travis Banyai
Women 120- Julie Woolley
94- Julie Vacca
91- Brandy Hilde
33- Janine Kowalski
Youth age 13-17
158- Tyler Vauga
65- Jack Paul
30- Leah Benyai
13- Abby Hodgson
12- Dylan Hodgson, Myles Tripp
Youth age 12 and under
48-Matt Guckenberg Jr.
33- Rylan Koch
11- Kayne Kirwan
3- Logan Lang
Age 70-plus
323- Larry Karper
129- Bob Christensen
77- Gary Perleberg
52- Bill Violette
46- Bernd Albrecht
$100 tagged fish
Gary Perleberg, Larry Karper (2), Felix Gauci, Terry Krogstad, Kolton Turner, Devinney/Bundrick, Cliff Herbert, Sou Thao, David McDaniel, Jerry Benson and Larry Ashwell
$200 tagged fish
Michael Benson
