Possible new world record bass

[TCook]

Cought in Japan on Lake Biwa today, unconfirmed weight is 22-5  . Sounds like we will know for sure tomorrow. Whats interesting about these weights is by IGFA rules it must beat the prior record by atleast two ounces to be considered a new record. So its looking like it will be a tie when its all said and done.

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/bass-club/150107-news-flash-world-record-largemouth-contender.html

[TCook]

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/news/story?page=b_BigBass_record_Japan_20090702

[1javelin]

 

[Durand Dan]

It looks like it's ready to explode

[TCook]

Video of the giant

[dashaver63]

It's hard watching that fish laying there to die, but I guess rules are rules. Someone needs to add subtitles to that video. Truly an amazing fish.

[dashaver63]

George Perry's bass

[TheFishinPollock]

Personaly I feel that 2 oz rule is bubpkis.   It weighs more than the previous one. simple as that.      Ya don't tie if ya bring in an ounce heavier fish anywhere else.   Rules are rules, but some rules are kinda silly

[josh617]

thats sad. even the world record bass aint made in america any more.

[bassmandan]

its not a new world record its just under 22-5... i did the equivalencies and 10.12kg is 22-4.8 SO in my opinion its a 22-4 and the article says it tied it. the world record bass WAS made in america it just got to old for someone to catch her again  and it does seem that japan is catching up

[TCook]

The rule that the fish's weight must be 2 ounces heavier than the prior record is rediculous. Although in this case its weight equates to just under 22-5 and thus should be considered a tie I think.
   It does seem like Japan is catching up to the US in the big bass catagory atleast Lake Biwa is. From what I understand Lake Biwa was stocked with Florida strain largemouth back in the 70s and this fish is likley a result from it. This is no fluke there has also been reports of a 25 pound bass cought in a fishermans net on Lake Biwa awhile back, there are obviously monsters in that lake.

[djkimmel]

Might be very lucky timing for this angler if everything holds since movements in Japan for some time now have been attempting to eradicate all 'invasive' species from their water INCLUDING the introduced largemouth bass. If these conservative movements have their way, largemouth bass will be killed off in Japan.

I'm going to keep trying in Mexico. Japan is a lot farther away and there much, much heavier fishing pressure on many of their lakes.

[djkimmel]

More information - slow in coming (probably because Japanese fishing media will have first dibs at the story, maybe Lure magazine?) - on bassfan.com - http://www.bassfan.com/docktalk.asp?id=6482

Will the apparent tie and location of the catch make this the most anti-climatic climax in bass fishing history?

[gr@ssmonkey]

i'm just glad that these size fish keep showing up in the world,i'm bummed that it wasn't caught in the U.S.A but not a poor sport about it it is called the "world record" so i know the american sticks in the west and south will be stepping it up!!!!!!!!!

[djkimmel]

That's one of my thoughts - this might really heat the pursuit up more than a few notches!?! I wonder if a bass could get this big on Comedero? I plan on going back this winter to look. If there was a 19 pounder... maybe a 23??

[Get Some Bass]

The IGFA will probably certify the Japanese bass as a tie. But is it? A natural fish caught by a poor farm boy in 1932, or an alien invader feed on bait fish in a country it shouldn't be in. More on that here...

[bassmandan]

just to play devils advocate...what about the trout fed bass in cali...those are practically raised to grow big, just saying

[djkimmel]

A lot of dedicated effort is being put into raising the next world record by the state of Texas too along with countless individual and group efforts. I don't have a problem with any of that. I am curious about the opinions of others and more than a little surprised there is less discussion than there has been.

Bass have been put into Mexico and Africa and way back the original exotic attempt to raise a new world record was Cuba. I remember stories about U.S. anglers risking criminal prosecution to sneak into Cuba for a shot at a record fish.

[delawarebass]

MY TAKE ON ALL THIS TALK SO FAR.

The first reports came out about a possible new world record largemouth bass caught in Japan on July 2, 2009, and it weighed 22 pounds, 5 ounces, which was one ounce more than the 77 year old record of George Perry.

Here is what I reported first on my website on July 2, 2009, just a few hours after the bass was first caught.

Congrats to the angler on a fine catch.

Lake Biwa shocked the bass world a couple years ago by producing a bass that was well over 18 pounds (The Japan record was caught at Lake Ikehara, and weighted over 19 pounds.).

A 25 lb. bass was caught as by catch in a fisherman's net earlier this year, so many thought it would be just a matter of time before a record size fish was taken from Japan's largest (over 70 miles long) natural lake.

More updates from the Deps site:

As best I can summarize before the actual translating: He (reporter) was returning from a previous trip and had been out late that night. The next day around 12 he got a call about the big bass and to hurry as it was over 20 pounds. He arrived with a camera crew. The fish was originally kept in a recirculating livewell but as the day wore on the power died and so did the fish ultimately. Originally they thought of donating the fish live to the local museum for tourism purposes. The fish is now frozen and awaiting certification process.

When the fish was landed, the hook(s) fell out right as he got it in the net. It is still unclear even from the translator whether it is a lure or live bait that was used.

It apears to not have been caught on the "Mother" swimbait as was originally speculated. It also appears to have been caught in deep open water.

ROD: SIDEWINDER THE DOM DRIVER F / E

LINE: TORAY SUPER HARD STRONG 25lb

Then on July 4, 2009, I received this update on the staus and a video surfaced which i posted to my site.

It's amazing how quiet it is in Japan after the news that Japanese angler Manubu Kurita may have tied the more than 77-year-old all-tackle world record for bass with a 22-pound, 5-ounce largemouth he caught from Lake Biwa in the Shiga Prefecture of Japan.

Jon Storm of BassFan.com said the lack of news could be because the rights for the story have been locked in by a magazine there. Storm has reported the bass was caught on live bait, but there's also a report that Kurita used a $300 swimbait. He represents Deps Tackle Co., a Japanese firm. Storm has been told that Lure Magazine in Japan might have secured the rights to this fish story, so the details of the catch could be a while in coming.

I was excited at this point with all the commotion surrounding this catch, and the fact that we may have a new world record, even though I assumed it was going to come from California like so many others also thought, but it was still exciting to see such a monster finally weighed and certified, so I thought.

Then came the news that they had certified the scales in Japan and it was over the 22.4 mark of the Perry bass, and that the Japanese media, DEPS lure company, and LURE magazine in particular, had secured the rights to the story and were witholding any other information at all to the public because they were going to sell the DVD in Japanese later in the year and run an article in Lure magazine. Hmmm. seems strange that they wouldn't want to capitalize on the biggest money making opportunity to hit bass fishing in 77 years, I thought.

At this point I was wondering what was going on along with everyone else.

Then came the ICAST 2009 show in Florida, and the rumors started to fly about the bass being caught in an off-limits area of Lake Biwa and the IGFA does not allow world records from what it calls "Sanctuaries".

After hearing this, I started examining the photographs a lot more closely. I ran the video in slow motion and after about 2 hours started to really question the big red marks all over this bass. They really looked familiar to me but I couldn't figure out from where. That was until my cousin, who is a commercial fisherman came over and looked at them, and said "Those marks on that bass look just like the ones on the fish I catch in my Gill Nets!".

Now I knew where I had seen these before. I tried as hard as I could to discount this theory by trying to find some type of predator in Lake Biwa that may have caused those marks, but I couldn't. Then I tried to find any other bass with those marks that lived in lakes that had a high level of contamination, but I just didn't see it. I have had people tell me they have caught bass with these marks on them in Korea before. If they prove not to be marks from a net, then they must be an infection of some sort that I am not familiar with, but then my next question is raised, which is: "Why are they serving these and other fish from Lake Biwa on the restaurant menu with those types of infections on them? I know I certainly wouldn't want to eat anything that had those marks on it. If that's what you can see..What is in it that you can't see?

Now I am not going to say that I know conclusively that this is what they are, but it seems strange that the IGFA has not received any paperwork on this bass at all as of today, July 23, 2009, and neither has any other organization in Japan that I am aware of. There is no news, no comments by Japanese media, nothing! We will just have to wait and see what happens, but at this point I am really skeptical! You can view all these photos and videos yourself and you be the judge at Delaware Trophy Bass.



Given all the controversy surrounding Manubu Kurita’s pending World Record Largemouth Bass, Bounty Fishing decided to pass the picture along to the Forensics Team for me. Using the picture below, it was conlcuded that this fish was 28.27″. While this may break the BountyRecord, it falls quite short of the 29.4″ called.

[delawarebass]

UPDATE 8/27/09





Here is an email Matt Lures received from a very reliable source. He lives in Japan and owns a tackle store there. his name is Greg Vella

I have come to the conclusion that Japan will probably not allow the big bass to become a record (JGFA). There is just too much (political)　at stake, with the recent push to make all of Japan "catch and kill" for bass and bluegill. The Japanese government has spent millions of dollars on this program, which includes supplementing the income of the commercial fisherman at Lake Biwa.

> Letting Mr. Kurita's fish become the new Japan record (JGFA) will send the wrong type of message to the taxpayer, and draw unwanted attention to the positive aspects of bass fishing.

>

> Here is where we stand:

>

> I mentioned before a about the distance from the bridge restriction ( the bass was caught near the Biwako Bridge)–It seems that his boat was not within the restricted area, but now they are saying they are going to DQ him because he CAST into the restricted area (which is not legally a "restricted" area anyway). I don't understand? Lake Mission Viejo has a 20 foot from the dock no fishing zone, but that means your boat must not be withing 20 feet when fishing, not your cast. Another example would be the buoy line at Perris, or Casitas. As long as your boat is outside the buoy line, you can cast wherever you want.

> This is weak.

>

> What is weaker is that they are now saying the he "broke the law" to catch the fish due to his bait (a bluegill). Bluegill are not illegal to be used for bait (nobody cares), but they are illegal to release back into the lake alive. The bass "No Release" law includes bluegill and everybody is aware of this due to posted signs all over the lake. But they are now saying that Mr. Kurita "released" a bluegill back into the lake when he pinned it on his hook, and tossed it in front of the giant bass.

>

> This is really pushing it, IMO.

>

> What they don't know, and I just found out today, is that Mr. Kurita is registered, like I am, to be able to release bass and bluegill.

>

> Even so, I sure they will make up something else; they do not want this fish to become a record, because:

> As of two days ago, the paperwork has not even been submitted to the IGFA.

> JGFA is saying that it must pass their scrutiny before he is "allowed" to submit to the IGFA; it should not be this way, as the IGFA is a separate entity.

> It seems it is catch 22 for Mr. Kurita.

>

> There is so much misinformation going around that it is sad, at best. The same type of people that said the Biwa Lake grow fat on all the salmon (there are none) are giving opinions on stuff they know nothing about.

>

> Hope all is going well for you,

> Capt. G

And here is something else that crossed my mind today. If he used Live Bait, which was a Coi, it weighed at least 4 ounces, probably more, and you would think that the bass swallowed it after being caught, which means it had at least 4 ounces added to it artificially by the angler when it was weighed. Should this really count?


GENERAL GUIDELINES for WORLD RECORD APPLICATIONS:

FOR ALL CATCHES: Care should be taken to carefully preserve the fish, either alive or on ice. Proper documentation of the catch is crucial, so take plenty of pictures or even a video if possible. Save and preserve the line, leader, and tackle used.

Witnesses: At least one witness is highly desirable.

Time limits: All-tackle records have no time limit. Catches made in U.S. waters have 60 days from the date of catch, and 90 days for out of country.

Weighing: The fish must be weighed by an official weigh master, an IGFA official or a recognized local person familiar with the scale. If an IGFA representative or an IGFA officer is available, he or she should witness the claim. The scale must be checked and certified by a government agency or other qualified and accredited organization within the last 12 months, or submitted to IGFA with the application for testing.

Tackle: At the time of weighing, the actual tackle used must be exhibited to the weigh master and weight witness.

Line: For line class records: The entire leader, double line, and 50 feet of line is required for submission and must be intact and connected. Fly fishing records must be accompanied by the lure, entire tippet, entire leader and one inch of the fly line, and these components must also be intact.

Photographs:

Required: 1) The certified scale 2) The rod and reel 3) The full length of the fish 4) The angler with the fish.

Recommended: 1) The angler and fish at the time of the catch. 2) The fish displayed on the certified scale with the weight visible 3) The fish on a flat surface with a ruler beside the fish 4) A video of the catch.

Common disqualifications include but are not limited to: Using wire line, umbrella rigs, leaving the rod in the rod holder, resting the rod against the gunwale, entangling the line with another line, anyone touching the rod, reel, or line once the fish has taken the bait.



This is a general overview. Many details are involved for a properly completed IGFA application. For complete details, you may go to http://delawaretrophybass.com

Note: This information was reviewed and approved by the IGFA February 2008.