Two Fernie fishermen have become the first Canadians ever to win the Mac Attack competition in Montana, with a trout over a metre long.
Randy Cooke and Andy Hofer scooped the top prize of $1,000 in the 13th annual Great Montana Mac Attack two-day tournament, held in Somers, Montana, every summer.
The pair pulled a Mackinaw (lake trout) weighing nearly 23 lbs (10.4 kg) and measuring 41.5” (105.5 cm) long out of the Flathead Lake in the competition on August 6 and 7.
This year was the first time the pair have entered the competition and only the second derby they have ever entered.
“It is the biggest lake trout I have ever caught, although Andy had a big one to the surface earlier this year and we lost it at the boat,” said Randy. “The largest fish before that was a 15lb lake trout caught by Andy earlier this year in March. My biggest prior was 10.5 lbs, last summer.”
For the fishermen readers, Randy was happy to share his technique.
“I caught the prize trout using techniques that Captain Bob Orsua from MoFisch Charters taught us - 125 feet deep, trawling using a flat fish and bouncing it off the bottom at one mph..