Hawk Lake the Perfect Storm - Episode 476

Hawk Lake the Perfect Storm – Episode 476

One of the absolute best perks we here at Fish’n Canada get is the privilege to visit many great fishing destinations. Since we’re always on the lookout for new locations, we keep our eyes and ears open. About five years ago we heard of a place that sounded too good to be true. A high-end drive-to lodge with gigantic Walleye that lurk the depths of the surrounding waters? This, we had to check out.

“I met Ted Putnam, the owner of Hawk Lake Lodge, a while ago,” says Angelo, “and we immediately hit it off. Especially after he talked about the facility and the fishing.”

After that initial meeting, our team tried their best to hook up with Ted and his crew. It took five years for the stars to align, but finally it happened.

Angelo Viola finesses a jig in the cool waters of Hawk Lake

A SMALL PRICE FOR GIANT RESULTS

As usual, our timing for this shoot was a week or two away from ideal. Nonetheless, we still ended up with an awesome Fish’n Canada episode. In fact, the evening before our departure, the current lodge guests started posting up some impressive fish. This was very promising—hopefully some of these giants would still be hungry in a couple days.

“As for our success,” says Pete, “the bad news is we only caught two small Walleye. Not too impressive, eh? Oh, but let me finish. The good news is all the rest ranged from four-pounders up to tanks!”

Our drive to Hawk Lake Lodge was a lengthy one (we live in Southern Ontario), but trust us: It’s a small price to pay for giant results.

The meals were outstanding, the accommodations were perfect, the staff was excellent, the boats were extremely well-equipped and Ted was a real character. They even have a Happy Hour every night before supper with a wide selection of beverages—an inclusion that not too many other lodges offer.

THE BEST OF THE BEST

As for the fishing, all we can say is, “Wow.” Where else in the world can you fish on a relatively small drive-to body of water and have a legitimate chance of catching a 30+ inch Walleye? The odds of somebody in your group landing such a trophy are almost as good here as they are on the Bay of Quinte or Lake Erie! Seriously, this place competes with the best of the best.

On our first evening there after a late day check-in, Ted took us to one of his personal hotspots and on the very first cast, we popped an eight-pounder. That’s very impressive.

Pete with a giant Hawk Lake Walleye he caught on a jig-head tipped with a leech

One of 2 great camp mascots… Nutmeg and Ginger

By the end of our trip (during which we endured some truly horrendous weather conditions for fishing), we caught some gorgeous Walleye, anchored with a beauty well over 30 inches long.

Our bait of choice for these somewhat fussy Walleye was a jig-head tipped with either a minnow or a leech. Yes, we use live bait. Especially for Walleye.

“When we hit a lake like Hawk that has true trophy fish potential,” Angelo says, “we want all the odds in our favour. And live bait does that for us.”

INSANE SMALLMOUTH BASS FISHING

Something else to add about Hawk Lake is the insane Smallmouth Bass fishing that is too often overshadowed by the fantastic Walleye fishing. There are loads of smallies here and lots that are big. During our Fish’n Canada shoot, we would take mid-day breaks from the Walleye and go for pre-spawn Smallmouth. We caught many three-and-a-half to four-pounders, and spotted many even bigger followers.

And in case you need yet another reason to go to Hawk Lake: The Bass season here is open all year long. So if the Walleye are off or you need a break, pull out the topwaters and Senkos; you’re guaranteed to hook up.

PRETTY HARD TO LEAVE HAWK LAKE

Finally, for a different look, the lodge offers 19 other smaller lakes to fish with big Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth, Crappie and more.

“But I’ll tell you,” Pete says, “no matter how good the outback lakes are touted, it’s pretty hard to leave Hawk with all those pigs lying around!”

With all these trophy fish populating the waters, it’s no surprise that Hawk Lake lays claim to two live release records: a 37-inch Walleye that weighed approximately 20 pounds, and a 24-inch Smallmouth Bass estimated to weight around nine pounds. Impressive to say the least.