Spring Mack Days begins March 13
Brodie Smith of Kalispell displays a large lake trout he caught during last year's Mack Days. (Courtesy photo)
Spring Mack Days on Flathead Lake begin next Thursday, March 13, and continued through May 10 with nine weeks of lake trout fishing on one of the northwest’s most beautiful freshwater lakes.
Mack Days are sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The biannual events are part of fisheries management tools used to decrease the non-native lake trout and increase the native bull trout and westslope cutthroat populations in the lake. Up to $225,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the event to the anglers who participate in this important fish conservation effort.
Lake trout were introduced into Flathead Lake in 1905. Their population remained low until the Mysis shrimp were introduced in the upper Flathead watershed lakes for the benefit of the popular non-native kokanee fish, which were introduced in 1916. By 1940, kokanee were the most sought-after fish in most areas.
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