Hawk Lake Lodge: is located on Hawk Lake and proud to be the home of the World Record catch & Release Walleye as well as the World Record Catch & Release Smallmouth Bass. Hawk Lake is located approximately 45 miles east of Kenora. From camp, you have Hawk Lake and 19 other private trophy lakes to fish, which are teaming with Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike and Lake Trout. They have beautiful lakeside cottages, great fishing boats and offer wonderful home cooked meals. www.hawk-lake.com

David Mohler's Smallie Facts: 24" Smallmouth Bass 8 Pounds 10 oz Caught at Hawk Lake Lodge, September 22, 2007 at 2:15PM Caught on a Lindy rig/minnow, 14# test, Bass Pro Shops Extreme Woo Daves XPS 7'4" & Shimano Calcutta 200TE The fish was officially certified by the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame on October 15th, 2007 as the 14# line class and All Tackle (tie) World Catch and Release Record for Micropterus Dolomieu (Smallmouth Bass) The fish was also recognized as the All Tackle and 14# line class Catch and Release World Record by In-Fisherman The angler and fish received mention on page 6 of "The SPLASH" magazine, Volume 31, No4 (Winter 2007) which is the official publication of the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame The fish was recognized on May 6, 2008 as 8# 1Oz by the International Game Fish Association Copies of the World Record and Master Angler Certificates hang on the wall near the lodge office and gift shop

David's Story: It was a beautiful fall day, light winds, broken clouds, and warm sunshine. We were trolling and Bridget was immediately rewarded with a large Northern Pike with a distinctive lump in its stomach. We decided after some discussion that the big pike had been eating smaller bass and that we should try another spot. Once we moved to another spot, we started fishing again and suddenly my lure just stopped. When I set the hook, as we have learned to do even if it could be a snag, it was clear that it was a large fish because it began taking line and staying on the bottom. I slowly moved the fish toward the boat and was certain that it had to be a large Walleye because it stayed right on the bottom. As the fish tired a bit, I started gaining line. Suddenly, the line went limp which I knew either meant that I lost the fish or it was headed for the surface and fast. I reeled like crazy and a moment later a very large smallmouth rolled on the surface. This is when the real battle started. I was nervous with a trophy smallie on the line and the fish was fighting hard for its freedom. The fish fought very hard all the way to the boat and was finally netted. We measured and photographed the fish and released it quickly. I had to sit for a few minutes afterward because my heart was pounding, and I was still in shock that my big "Walleye" was the biggest smallmouth that I had caught in over 40 years of fishing for my favorite species. We made so much noise hooting and hollering in celebration of the catch that no other fish played ball with us that afternoon and we hiked back to the main lake and went in to celebrate with some cold beers.