I just read about this today. Holy shit that's a big fish. in Japan of all places?!
Photo courtesy of IGFA via The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press
The world largemouth record may have been tied or broken by Manabu Kurita's 22-pound, 4.96-ounce catch.
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BY BYRON STOUT - The (Fort Myers , Fla.) News-Press
Tags: outdoors | sports
Oh! Irony of ironies.
The 77-year-old world record for largemouth bass -- long called the Holy Grail of fishing -- appears to have been broken. Officials of the International Game Fish Association are reviewing the record application.
No record in fishing is considered to be a greater pinnacle than the 22-pound, 4-ounce bass caught in Georgia in 1932 by George W. Perry. That's because no record has endured so many assaults.
Bass have always been a popular sport fish in the South, and nowhere more than in Florida, home of the largest and longest-lived strain of largemouths.
Since 1967, however, bass have become a phenomenon. That's when Ray Scott founded BASS, an organization for fishing tournaments that has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry.
More than a half-million anglers belong to the BASS federations, and even more participate by the thousands in local club tournaments each year. Meanwhile, the famed Florida strain of largemouths has been transplanted as far west as California, and even to the Far East, in Japan.
Which brings us to our irony.
Given the universal popularity of bass fishing, no one really expected the record to be broken by a good ole boy named Bubba. But neither did anyone expect George's record to be bumped by a Manabu.
That would be Manabu Kurita, who caught a 22-pound, 4.96-ounce bass July 2 in Lake Biwa, a Japanese reservoir near Kyoto.
The real irony is that although there are quite a few bass anglers in Japan, they're not exactly in the mainstream, so to speak. Dave Precht, senior director for BASS Publications, said bass are considered by the Japanese environmental community to be invasive exotics that should be exterminated.
"Catching a record bass over there is not something that would bring you a lot of fame," Precht said.
It has long been speculated that a record bass, if caught on tackle made by major manufacturers, could bring big bucks in endorsements. But Kurita said he caught the monster while trolling a live bluegill-type fish.
Nor will Kurita make his fortune via appearances around the United States with his megabass in an aquarium, for all to ogle. His bass, as it is said, sleeps with the fishes (on ice).
And the record application is being scrutinized for angling irregularities.
Actually, at just less than 1 ounce larger than the Perry fish, the Japanese bigmouth didn't technically break the record. The IGFA requires records for fish less than 25 pounds to be broken by 2 or more ounces, so it would be a tie.
Ties, as noted by BASS senior editor Ken Duke, are like kissing your sister.
Even so, there hasn't been so much buzz in bass fishing since the invention of the buzzbait. When the story broke on Bassmaster.com, traffic on the Web site more than doubled.
But Japan! Say it ain't so, Joe.
Photo courtesy of IGFA via The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press
The world largemouth record may have been tied or broken by Manabu Kurita's 22-pound, 4.96-ounce catch.
EMail Print Order Reprint
Share: Yahoo! Buzz
Text
tool name
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BY BYRON STOUT - The (Fort Myers , Fla.) News-Press
Tags: outdoors | sports
Oh! Irony of ironies.
The 77-year-old world record for largemouth bass -- long called the Holy Grail of fishing -- appears to have been broken. Officials of the International Game Fish Association are reviewing the record application.
No record in fishing is considered to be a greater pinnacle than the 22-pound, 4-ounce bass caught in Georgia in 1932 by George W. Perry. That's because no record has endured so many assaults.
Bass have always been a popular sport fish in the South, and nowhere more than in Florida, home of the largest and longest-lived strain of largemouths.
Since 1967, however, bass have become a phenomenon. That's when Ray Scott founded BASS, an organization for fishing tournaments that has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry.
More than a half-million anglers belong to the BASS federations, and even more participate by the thousands in local club tournaments each year. Meanwhile, the famed Florida strain of largemouths has been transplanted as far west as California, and even to the Far East, in Japan.
Which brings us to our irony.
Given the universal popularity of bass fishing, no one really expected the record to be broken by a good ole boy named Bubba. But neither did anyone expect George's record to be bumped by a Manabu.
That would be Manabu Kurita, who caught a 22-pound, 4.96-ounce bass July 2 in Lake Biwa, a Japanese reservoir near Kyoto.
The real irony is that although there are quite a few bass anglers in Japan, they're not exactly in the mainstream, so to speak. Dave Precht, senior director for BASS Publications, said bass are considered by the Japanese environmental community to be invasive exotics that should be exterminated.
"Catching a record bass over there is not something that would bring you a lot of fame," Precht said.
It has long been speculated that a record bass, if caught on tackle made by major manufacturers, could bring big bucks in endorsements. But Kurita said he caught the monster while trolling a live bluegill-type fish.
Nor will Kurita make his fortune via appearances around the United States with his megabass in an aquarium, for all to ogle. His bass, as it is said, sleeps with the fishes (on ice).
And the record application is being scrutinized for angling irregularities.
Actually, at just less than 1 ounce larger than the Perry fish, the Japanese bigmouth didn't technically break the record. The IGFA requires records for fish less than 25 pounds to be broken by 2 or more ounces, so it would be a tie.
Ties, as noted by BASS senior editor Ken Duke, are like kissing your sister.
Even so, there hasn't been so much buzz in bass fishing since the invention of the buzzbait. When the story broke on Bassmaster.com, traffic on the Web site more than doubled.
But Japan! Say it ain't so, Joe.
