16-year-old finishes atop Spring Mack Days

POLSON - For a 16-year-old to put in a 12-day total of 714 lake trout and take the honors of top fisherman in the 2009 Spring Mack Days tournament might seem like an astonishing feat, but for those who have shared Flathead Lake with him, it may not have been a huge surprise that Pablo's Stephen Naethe did just that.

Last Fall, Naethe hit third place, his first time sitting in the midst of the very best. On Sunday, he became the champ.

Naethe has won a lot of prizes, a lot of money, around $2,700 in total this year — but putting a price tag on all of his sweat and blood, not to mention very costly fishing and boating equipment — that's impossible.

And yet, being number one covers all of those expenses, he said.

"What I get out of it in the end is worth far more than everything that I put into it," Naethe said. "So personally, it was just wonderful."

Besides catching the most fish overall, Naethe finished as the top youth angler for the fifth time in a row, caught the smallest fish — yes that's a worthy of a prize in this tournament — caught a couple of tagged fish and won a couple of lottery prizes, which the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes gives every angler who submits a fish a chance to win.

With the prize money, Naethe plans on bettering his chances next year with improved fishing equipment and boat maintenance.

Mack Days is sanctioned by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and CSKT sponsors the tournament in an attempt to reduce the number of non-native lake trout to restore the population of native species like the westslope cutthroat and bull trout. Once the dominant species in the lake, the native trout are "part of the heritage of the state and the tribes," CSKT fisheries manager Cindy Benson said.

Anglers, caught a total of 12,651 lake trout in this 21-day spring season effort. As Benson said, it is the anglers who make the monumental goal of shifting Flathead Lake toward a natural balance a possibility.

"They start hitting the water at 5 a.m. and some don't come in until 9:30 p.m." Benson said. "They are out in all weather conditions for up to 21 days."

Seven anglers did fish all 21 days and one of them was Naethe.

Mother Nature didn't always cooperate, and Naethe can attest to that.

He remembers days when the snow blew, there were 4 or 5-foot swells and he was soaked to the bone.

"But I stuck it out," he said. "And being able to say that I'm tough enough to do it means a lot."

While building his character is important to Naethe, soaking in the character of the other anglers and sponsors is what means the most.

"The thing I like best about it is the team effort that goes into it," Naethe said. "The organizers and the fishermen both work equally hard. I think it's a really important event. What I like best about it is the camaraderie and sportsmanship of all the anglers. For me that's worth more than the prizes. I know most of the fishermen out there and they're just great people."

From the top dogs like Naethe, to those who only come away with a fish or two, the ultimate cause benefits the Lake.

"They all count and they are all an essential part of Mack Days," Benson said of the involved anglers.

The top ten anglers catch 30 to 40 percent of the fish, said award ceremony host Mark Ward, the Captain of the Montana Outdoor Radio Show, on the prize dock at Salish Point in Polson.

Those anglers, dubbed the "elite ten," were (in order of how they placed based on a 12-day average): Stephen Naethe (714), Paul Haines of Ronan (556), Mike Benson of Hot Springs (381), Dean Vaughan of Charlo (432), Dan Smith of Hot Springs (384), David McDaniel of Polson (306), Roger Smart of Ronan (346), Greg Karlson of Missoula (309), Don Peters of Florence/Polson (284) and Dan Long of Columbia Falls (297).

The top female anglers were Nicole Peters of Florence/Polson (252), Debbie O'Hara of St. Ignatius (121), Susanne Albrecht of Polson (120), Cindy Howe of Kalispell (103), Deana Knipe of Polson (61) and Terry Biere of Butte (61).

The top youth anglers were Naethe, Garrett Vaughan of Charlo (75), Terry Biere of Butte (61), Tanner Murry of Columbia Falls (50), Alexander Brown of Lakeside (36), Daniel Hunt of St. Ignatius (33), Brady Weible of St. Ignatius (28), Keegan Noyd of Missoula (24), Tamarah Ivanoff of Arlee (24) and Austin Ross of Missoula (23).

The smallest trout runner-up, after Naethe's 110-millimeter fish, was caught by Joe O'Hara (173 millimeters).

The largest trout was taken by Captain Bob Orsusa of Mo Fisch Charters in Lakeside. That big guy weighed in at 31.1 pounds.

This Spring Mack Days was the most successful of any spring event since they began in 2003 in terms of total lake trout harvested, CSKT head fisheries biologist Barry Hansen said.

And there is still a long way to go.

CSKT biologists estimate exceeding the lake trout recruitment rate can be achieved with a fish harvest total of 60,000 lake trout. At that point, the population is estimated to be able to start reducing, Hansen said.

Fall Mack Days begin on Oct. 2.