Next, let's turn to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife's (DFW) Skillful Angler Awards records to see where big fish have hailed from of late. Keep in mind, an angler doesn't necessarily have to catch a state-record fish to qualify for the yearly award. All that you need to do catch the largest of a particular species for that year -- and meet minimum-weight requirements for that species to qualify -- to be included among the awards recipients.

RECENT SKILLFUL ANGLER AWARD CATCHES
Lake Assunpink is the first water on our list. That's where Paul Peteria of Cookstown caught, landed and weighed a 9-pound, 2-ounce largemouth that took the 2005 Skillful Angler Award. Peteria was fishing a spinnerbait, and his fish taped an amazing 25 inches with a 17 3/4-inch girth. That's one bass that came fairly close to the nearly three-decade-old state record.

Greenwood Lake is another body of water that's certainly no dark horse when it comes to surrendering big fish.

In 2004, David Deans of Hewitt was fishing a Zoom June Bug when a lunker bucketmouth grabbed his lure. That 7-pound, 3-ounce fish taped 23 inches with a 16 1/2-inch girth. That was good enough to win the 2004 Skillful Angler Award for largemouth bass.

Then, in 2003, it's back to Assunpink Lake located in Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, which straddles both Mercer and Monmouth counties.

That was a good year for Sebastiano Stia of Mercerville. He was using a Rapala minnow lure when a bucketmouth grabbed the lure.

His 9-pound, 8-ounce fish taped 24 1/2 inches and had an 18 3/4-inch girth -- good enough to take the 2003 Skillful Angler Award.

Also in 2003, David Deremer of Phillipsburg was plying the waters of Round Valley Reservoir when a 4-pound, 12-ounce smallmouth grabbed the tubeworm he was working. Turns out, that big bronzeback was good enough to take that year's Skillful Angler Award. His fish taped 21 inches and had a girth of 15 inches.

THE DELAWARE RIVER
One waterway isn't even mentioned in the annual awards for wall-hanger fish, but that's where we are going to start. It's the Delaware River.

Undeniably, some hefty record fish have been taken from what anglers refer to as the "Big D." But none of those records are smallmouth or largemouth bass.

The Big D has a well-earned reputation for some of the finest bronzeback fishing in the Northeast. And that isn't limited to only one or two regions. Fine fishing action can be found upstream from just north of the Trenton/Philadelphia region, to as far north as the junctions of the east and west branches.