The Stunning Number of Fish it Took to Win a Montana Tourney

I think I can safely say I have not caught anywhere nearly as many fish in my entire lifetime that the top finishers caught in just 9 weeks.

And while the winning number is downright mind boggling, the tourney champ needed darn near every one of them to keep the second place finisher at bay.

Congratulations to all the competitors who participated in one of Montana's most unique fishing tournaments, the Spring Mack Days Lake Trout Tourney on Flathead Lake. A few of the things that make it so unique are that there are no entry fees, it spans across about 9 weeks, and thanks to special tags, an angler could be a money winner by just catching one fish.

But to take the big cash prize, Kalispell angler Colton Turner needed lots more than one fish. And he made a statement!

Turner finished first, coming in 2,320 lake trout entries! It was Mack Days win number five for Kolton.

A close second place was Jason Mahlen of Kalispell with 2,243 entries.

ROUNDING OUT THE TOP 10

3rd Place: Bob Turner of Kalispell, 2,142.

4th Place: David Myers of Riverton WY, 2,182.

5th Place: Clint Speer of Kalispell, 1,586.

6th Place: Larry Ashwell of Missoula, 1,330.

7th Place: Jerry Benson of Plains,1,517.

8th Place: Terry Krogstad of Kalispell, 1,447.

9th Place: Patrick Casey of Townsend, 1,456.

10th Place: Steve Andrachick, Kalispell 1,372.

This spring's tourney wrapped up on May 10. 2025 Spring Mack Days is sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. This spring's tourney shattered the 2019 record of 40,362 lake trout with a total of 60,138 entries turned in over the nine weeks of fishing on Flathead Lake.

A total of 206 anglers out of the 562 registered anglers turned in one or more lake trout. Moe details on both Spring and Fall Mack Days Tournaments can be found here.