It was the perfect morning to be on the water. The cloud ceiling was low, and the air was calm and still.

Local bass pro John Hampel has 20-fish days catching smallmouths that average 3 pounds on South Fork Reservoir. Photo courtesy of John Hampel.

I knew it would only be a matter of time before the gurgling pitch of my 1/4-ounce buzzbait would be interrupted by a sudden flush. I had been there only a few minutes and had already witnessed several shad become a morning snack.

The resident bucketmouths were having their fill, and I hoped those locals would give a look at my white imitation bubbling across the surface.

As I eased towards the rocky point, I slung my buzzbait in its direction. Past experience had taught me that places like this are prime early-morning spots.

No sooner had my bait hit the surface and started gurgling in my direction that the expected happened.

My bait disappeared under the surface with a loud flush. A second later, my 14-pound-test tightened, and my All Star rod doubled over as I played the first surface slam of the morning, lipped her and then released her back from where she came.

That same scenario played out several times, and with each surface smash that morning, the largemouth residents seemed to add inches.

So began a perfect day of angling in the Southwest.

MAKING BASS HISTORY
In southern Nevada, tournament bass fishing was put in the spotlight in 1971 when Lake Mead hosted the first-ever BASS Masters Classic.

Bobby Murray won that historic event with 17 bass that totaled 43 pounds, 11 ounces. This winner-take-all-event netted him $10,000.

Although not known for spitting out monsters, Nevada does offer several quality warm-water fisheries with solid bass numbers, plus a few where your 12-pound mono could be tested.

In fact, Nevada's state-record bass weighed an even 12 pounds, and most resident anglers will tell you that record is due to be broken.

A NEW RECORD?
Where could the new state record come from? Three lakes would certainly be at the top of the list. All offer their own characteristics, from deep gin-clear water to shallow weed-infested bowls. But best of all, each one is loaded with bass, and your chance of possibly holding a 7-plus pounder -- and maybe the next state record -- is very real.

Here's a look at what each one has to offer this spring and how to take advantage of its feeding bigmouth residents.

LAKE MEAD
The first in this Triple Crown is Lake Mead. Just like during the days of the first BASS Classic, Mead is still producing record stringers for professional bass anglers.

Last August, the WON U.S. Open Bass Tournament was held here, the largest professional bass tournament west of the Rockies.

Over the three-day event, some 900 bass were weighed in, and in the end, Justin Kerr of Simi Valley, Cal., brought it home. His tournament-winning weight tipped the scales at 27.31 pounds.

Even more impressive is that all of the top 21 anglers all caught total weights of over 20 pounds. Bass are averaging 13 to 15 inches, with ones longer than 17 inches on the scales regularly. Without a doubt, Mead is one of Nevada's top bass fisheries.

Nevada Department of Wildlife fisheries biologist Jon Sojberg has been looking after the lakes in the southern region for years.