Outdoors
Hot Springs angler Mike Benson has taken all the suspense out of the 2010 Fall Mack Days. With only two days of fishing left to determine the 2010 Fall Mack Days top angler, Mike Benson’s best 12-day average is 47.75 fish. His closest competitor is Scott Bombard, who’s averaged 37.25. He is followed by Stephen Naethe (36.58) and David McDaniels (35.33). The final day of the seven-weekend event is Sunday and is a separate day than the rest of the tournament with prizes given for the heaviest fish under 30 inches and drawings for cash prizes. Fish caught on Sunday will still go toward the anglers total bonus amounts. There will be a fish fry and awards at 4 p.m. at the Blue ...
It looks like six weeks of rain washed out any prospects of a good pheasant hunting season in the valley. It appeared that the local pheasant population was on the rise last year after a mild-weather hatching season. Even with a warm and dry hatching season last year it was going to take so...
If anyone ever needed any extra incentive to go out to the lake on a beautiful fall day in search of a trophy lake trout, the Confederated Salish and Tribe have given them one. The prize money in the 2010 Mack Days has doubled from 2009. The CSKT will be giving out $100,000 in cash and prizes in the 2010 ...
The elk and deer numbers appear to be on the rise in the upper northwest corner of the state, while the elk population in the Bitterroot, Clark Fork and Blackfoot drainages remain extremely low, according to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spring surveys. Region 1 After a mild winter the whitetail...
POLSON — About 15 local artists signed up for the Plein Air Paintout on Sept. 11, which turned out to be sunny. The group gathered at Riverside Park at 9 a.m. but then scattered, with some going to the Travis Dolphin Dog Park, one man going to the Polson Fly-In and four artists remaining at Riverside P...
Pablo teenage angler Stephen Naethe won his third Mack Days title in a row, but just barely. Entering the final weekend of the 11-week event, Naethe had already had his third title dating back to the 2009 fall event sewn up, but had to wait and see if anybody could tie him. Columbia Falls angler Steven...
After the penultimate weekend of the 2010 Spring Mack Days, Columbia Falls’ Steven Benson still has a chance to catch Stephen Naethe for the top angler, but he will need to be perfect in the final weekend. Benson caught 50 of the 1,321 lake trout turned in Friday and was one of three anglers to reac...
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 fish...
A windy Sunday kept the window open, however slim, for somebody other than Pablo teenager Stephen Naethe winning the 2010 Spring Mack Days. Naethe, who is also in the lead for largest fish, was trying to bring his 15-day average to the perfect 50-fish limit Sunday, but the winds put his plans on hold for ...
Anglers continued to add to the record number of lake trout caught in the Mack Days’ eight-year history. Through seven weekends, the 1,095 anglers – also a Mack Days’ record, have turned in 20,829 mackinaw, which shatters the previous high of 14,451 caught in the 2007 Fall Mack Days. Wit...
