Mom nets monster during 9th weekend of Mack Days
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Mother’s Day is a day that you’re supposed to put the fishing pole and tackle away and spoil mom for a day – unless your mom is Nicole Peters.
Peters, the top lady angler in the 2009 Fall Mack Days and leading women in the spring event, caught a 45-inch, 38.4-pound lake trout, while fishing with her husband and son Sunday. Peters’ trophy catch took nearly 45 minutes to bring in and was longer than the Montana record caught by Ruth Barber in 2004. Barber’s catch measured 42.5 inches, but weighed 42.6 pounds.
Peters’ catch, which she released after it was measured, was the largest fish caught through the ninth weekend of the 11-weekend event. Peters’ trophy catch, which could be up to 40 years old, pushed Stephen Naethe out of the lead for the largest fish.
The Pablo teenager shouldn’t be too downtrodden. Naethe ensured himself of another Mack Days’ title after catching the 50-fish limit Friday. Naethe now has the perfect 50-fish for 15 days and has caught 1,174 fish through 27 days of fishing.
With the top angler being determined by the best 15-day average, the question is no longer if Naethe will win Mack Days, but if somebody can join him as the 2010 Spring Mack Days’ top angler. Columbia Falls’ Steven Benson has the best chance. Steven has caught 1,016 lake trout and has a 48.93 15-day average. He is followed by Polson’s David McDaniels (45.73), Arlee’s Charles Forgey (41.4) and Michael Benson (41.13).
The ninth weekend was the best weekend for the spring event, with 4,130 fish being caught. Through nine weekends 28,647 lake trout have been caught.
Mack Days is sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as part of the Flathead Lake Co-Management Plan to balance the fishery of Flathead Lake by slowly reducing non-native lake trout and increasing numbers of native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Anglers are competing for $100,000 in cash and prizes to be given away at the conclusion of the event.
As their totals go up anglers receive more in bonus amounts at the end of the event but all it takes is one ticket in the drawing to win one of the cash prizes that will be drawn. The cash prizes begin at $1,000 and go to $200. There are several ways to win – smallest fish, largest fish, most fish. The event ends May 23 with a fish fry and the awards.
Check the website at www.mackdays.com for more information on entries, totals, and anglers standings in the event. For questions or comments call 883-2888, ext. 7294.
