You don’t have to catch a state-record bass to qualify for a state Skillful Angler Award. For more information, go to the state’s Web site at NjFishAndWildlife.com Photo by Tim Lesmeister.

Few things are more exciting than a largemouth bass smashing a topwater lure. And the good thing about it is, a bass attacking a surface lure is not an uncommon event. It's well within the realm of reality. Probably most of you reading this have experienced that thrill enough times to unequivocally say, "That'll get the ol' pump into high gear."

It seems that when seeking trophy-class bronzebacks or bucketmouths, the only applicable rule is there are no set and fast rules. As often as not, the largest bass will show up to smash a lure in the most unlikely of places. But to enhance your chances of hooking into one of the big boys, it's best to check the waters where prize-size bass were most recently taken.

As to the "There are no rules" scenario, New Jersey's state-record largemouth was taken from a pond --actually, a 62-acre body of water that's more like a lake. Back in 1980, angler Robert Eisele was fishing the Menantico Sand Wash Pond, located near the town of Millville, in Cumberland County.

Now that pond may offer the local gentry some mighty fine bass fishing, but one would have to admit that when it comes to trophy-class fish, this particular body of water isn't exactly on the tips of the tongues of every bass fisherman in New Jersey.

But it was just such a waterway that offered Eisele the state-record largemouth, tipping an official scale at 10 pounds, 14 ounces -- just 2 lousy ounces shy of 11 pounds!

Now, that's a big bass. And even though that record is going on nearly three decades old, it still stands. Just goes to show there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to seeking out a record fish.

Yet you can place a figurative thumb on the scale to at least tip the odds a bit in your favor by checking out where most -- or at least some -- of the biggest bass are coming from. These waters are usually no surprise. We'll cover these waters as well as several other "good bets." But first, let's look at some of the trophy-class bass and from whence they came.

That state-record smallmouth has been mentioned in this publication before, and it deserves all the mention it can garner.

In 1990, Carol Marciniak was fishing at Round Valley Reservoir, in Hunterdon County. That's when she hooked into and boated her state-record 7-pound, 2-ounce bronzeback. This record has stood the test of time for 17 years.