Wyoming angler leads fall Mack Days
121 lake trout anglers out of 329 registered have turned in a total of 12,889 lake trout entries in 2023 Fall Mack Days.
Friday's catch was 555, and Saturday there were 463 turned in.
Sunday's total was 364 as it was one of the rock and roll fishing days with many anglers coming in early.
Total for the weekend was 1,382. Monday to Thursday fishing total is at 2,957.
There are three weeks left in the event. All you need is one fish to be entered in the lottery drawings that begin at $2,000.
The $10,000 tagged lake trout is still in Flathead Lake and hasn’t been enticed to the end of anyone’s line yet. There are also three $5,000, six $1,000 tagged fish, including one $1,000 tagged fish sponsored by Bretz RV and Marine.
Turning in $100 tagged lake trout the sixth week were Cole Williams of Kalispell, Larry Karper of Florence, and Mike Benson of Lonepine.
David Myers of Riverton Wyo., regained in the first place position in the top-20 angler category on Sunday with his total of 962 lake trout entries. His entries on Friday were 38, Saturday 32, and Sunday 53, including the Monday to Thursday fishing days he has fished all 39 days of the event in 2023 Fall Mack Days with a total fish count of all days at 1,784.
Monday to Thursday fishing is not included in the placing of the Top Twenty anglers but the total fish count is used for the bonus amounts at the conclusion of the event.
Some anglers choose not to fish during the week and some fish a few days.
Felix Gauci of Stevensville is in second with 953; and in third place is Michael Benson of Lonepine with 796.
Laurie Kreis of Huson is first in the ladies category with 221. Debby Sacchi of Thompson Falls is second with 133, and Julie Perkins of Kalispell is third at 111.
Paisley and Blaine Helvey of Thompson Falls each have 18 in the 12 & Under Category.
Lucia Savoia of Missoula has a total of 11 in the 13-17 Category.
Felix Gauci leads the 70 and Over with 953.
Larry Karper turned in a small 149mm (6”) lake trout that is a contender in the smallest lake trout category. Paul Grove’s 141mm laker is the other contender.
There has been no large lake trout entry. Largest Lake Trout has to be 36” or over and at least 20 pounds.
Trolling and casting seem to be the most popular method of fishing at this time. Some anglers are jigging and getting good numbers of the smaller lake trout.
Unexpectedly hooking onto a lure or line in the water is a surprise or a hassle sometimes but you may gain a lure for the tackle box if they are still in good shape.
Jim Schreiber of Bigfork brought one up that he recognized as a lure he might have lost months ago. Sure enough he had painted on it with his wife’s nail polish and the polish was still on it. The lure went back into the tackle box along with a couple others he found. Ladies, if you have been missing polish you may want to check out the tackle box.
Weather is expected to turn colder soon. We remind everyone to keep informed of changing weather conditions, have the proper safety equipment on board, wear your PFD’s, keep cellphones dry and charged.