Blue Bay After Labor Day: How East Shore Neighbors Can Still Get In on Fall Mack Days

Most years, the campground at Blue Bay off Highway 35 runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This fall it stays open for one group, the anglers bringing lake trout to the headquarters of Fall Mack Days.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes sponsor the contest, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks sanctions it. It started Thursday, Sept. 10 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. Starting from Thursday, Oct. 22, three weekends are left: Oct. 23–25, Oct. 30–Nov. 1, and a final weekend that ends on Nov. 8. On the East Shore, the most important check-in station on the lake is a short drive down the highway. This fall, the contest is also part of a statewide argument over how many lake trout anglers should be allowed to keep.

The Count Is the Point

The prize money draws anglers, but the event exists to reduce the number of lake trout. In its 2026 rules, CSKT says the goal is to cut lake trout numbers and their predation on other species, while keeping some large lake trout around for a viable fishery and working toward a more diverse one. A July 2026 Bonneville Power Administration document describes the full suppression program. Gillnets are set for 16 to 20 hours at a stretch, four days a week, from March through December, and the spring and fall Mack Days contests are the paid-incentive side of the same effort. The fish it protects are bull trout, which are listed under the Endangered Species Act, and westslope cutthroat trout, which the document calls a state-listed species of concern.

The weekly totals show how fast anglers are working. By the Lake County Leader's Oct. 1 update, anglers had entered 5,632 lake trout over the first three weeks. A week later, the Leader's week-four report put the total at 11,225. That means 5,593 fish came in during week four alone, about as many as in the first three weeks put together.

As of that Oct. 8 update, 17 tagged fish worth a combined $2,300 had been turned in, and the $10,000 fish was still in the lake. According to the Leader's Oct. 1 story, that fish has been caught only three times since the contest began in 2002. Terry Krogstad led the overall standings with 875 entries. Julie Perkins led the women's division with 240 and Lincoln Gauci led the youth division with 21. Nobody had yet entered a fish in the largest-fish competition.

Blue Bay's Hours, and Where Else to Check In

Blue Bay is the event headquarters and the only place to check in fish from Monday through Thursday. The events page lists weekday check-in from noon until 30 minutes before sunset, with a drop box after 6 p.m. From Friday through Sunday, Blue Bay takes fish from noon until 30 minutes before sunset or 9 p.m., whichever comes first. The 2026 rules document gives a different weekday window, 10 a.m. to dark, so check with the event before you plan a morning around it.

On weekends, short check-in windows also open at boat ramps around the lake:

The final day works differently. On Sunday, Nov. 8, the poster says all entries must be in by 3:00, and only at Blue Bay. The rules list separate awards and cash drawings for that day.

The event says the weekend times may change. Pickups at Big Arm and Salish Point only happen if anglers call 406-270-3386 to say they are out fishing. For East Shore anglers, the table is really a question of geography. If you fish out of Finley Point or Blue Bay, the headquarters is right there every day of the week. From Woods Bay and Yellow Bay, Wayfarers in Bigfork gives you a half-hour weekend option to the north.

The weekly schedule also affects what you can win. The event page says Monday-through-Thursday fishing counts toward tagged fish and bonus totals. Friday-through-Sunday fishing adds the lottery drawings and the special categories, including top angler. Prize awards run from $950 down to $200 for the top 20 anglers, with $300, $200 and $100 awards in both the women's and 70-plus categories, plus youth awards, weekday and weekend drawings, and a $500 large-fish award.

The rules list one $10,000 tagged fish, two $5,000 fish, five $1,000 fish and more tags worth $100 to $500. The event poster shows three $5,000 fish instead of two, so confirm the current prize chart with CSKT.

Fishing Licenses and Event Entry

The Flathead Indian Reservation boundary runs across the lake. In its suppression-program document, the Bonneville Power Administration describes the southern half as Reservation water and the northern half as state-managed.

The CSKT 2026–27 regulations for nonmembers list a south-half Flathead Lake fishing license for the Reservation portion of the lake. For Montana residents, including Montana residents who live on the Reservation, it costs $19 plus a $2 Prevention Pass. For nonresidents of Montana, it costs $19 plus a $14 pass.

The contest has its own paperwork, but no entry fee. The event poster says applications are free. The entry form asks for contact details, and your name has to match your Social Security card. Each angler must enter their own fish on the day they were caught. Fish cannot be pooled, and donated fish have to be kept clean and on ice.

The Rule Change That Would Split the Lake

The Flathead Beacon reports that the tribes changed their lake trout regulations in 2025 to match FWP's. That matching is what lets a contest headquartered at Blue Bay also run check-ins at Somers and Wayfarers.

In early October, the Flathead Beacon reported that Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Ian Wargo, who represents Region 1, had proposed changing the lake trout limit on Flathead Lake. His amendment would cut the daily limit from 100 fish to 20 a day and 40 in possession, and widen the protected release slot from 30 to 36 inches to 26 to 36 inches. According to the Beacon, Wargo pointed to Mack Days numbers. Tournament totals ran about 38,000 to 52,000 fish a year from 2012 through 2024 and reached about 79,000 in 2025, while the average length of fish brought in has dropped since 2010. He noted that the totals are not a population estimate and called his proposal "an interim adjustment."

FWP's response, as the Beacon reported it, is that the lake trout population is large and crowded. Liberal harvest of small fish and protection of fish over 30 inches are meant to speed growth, and the agency credits the suppression strategy with keeping bull trout populations stable for 25 years. FWP also said anglers regularly take 100-fish limits at Mack Days, and that the amendment would end lake-wide consistency unless the tribes changed their rules to match. The Beacon traces the lake trout boom to the mysis shrimp state managers introduced about half a century ago. Commenters disagreed. Some guides asked for lower limits and bigger fish, and Montana Trout Unlimited backed lifting the possession cap.

The contest's organizers commented directly. Before the vote, mackdays.com told anglers: "If these changes are adopted, it would be difficult to administer Mack Days and its benefits would be lost." The proposal covered only the water north of the Reservation boundary. Because the contest runs across the whole lake, the organizers saw it as a threat to the event as a whole.

The commission took up the 2027–28 fishing regulations at its Oct. 14 meeting, with Wargo's Flathead Lake amendment on the agenda. The outcome and meeting materials are posted on FWP's commission page. The proposal concerns the 2027–28 regulations, so this fall's contest runs under the current rules either way.

What the Fish Are Doing This Month

For the weekends left, Snappy's Oct. 1 regional fishing report said Flathead Lake lake trout were moving shallow to spawn, with many caught at 60 to 80 feet. White tube jigs tipped with cut bait were working best.

1. Fill out the free entry form at mackdays.com before your first trip.
2. Keep your catch clean and iced, and bring it in the same day.
3. If you plan to check in at Big Arm or Salish Point, call 406-270-3386. The same number handles Blue Bay campground fees for anglers staying overnight.
4. On Sunday, Nov. 8, have your fish at Blue Bay by 3:00.

Fishing a single day still gets you into the lottery drawings.

I spent nearly a decade running charters on this lake, and the weeks when Blue Bay's check-in line fills up are still some of my favorite on the East Shore. If you're weighing a home on this side of the lake and want to know which shoreline sits closest to the launches and check-in stations you'd actually use, Dalon Pobran is happy to walk it with you. Let's Connect.