I'm reading every blog, news site, and forum about the fish caught in Japan at 22-5 yesterday. There's no news beyond what Greg posted here this morning (thank you Capt. G). And in reading around I'm feeling for the pulse of the angling community. It's a community that has been beaten down by world record rumors in the past, but there's a sense that this time - it's real.

And I agree. I think this fish is going to certify and share the title of world record largemouth bass. But the word share has so many interesting implications. Because if the IGFA calls it a tie, it makes me feel like now we're going in to overtime. Now we're in the 10th inning. Because in real sports like baseball and bass fishing, there are no ties.

This isn't soccer where everyone gets tired late in the game and calls it good at 1 to 1. This is bass fishing, where the heaviest five takes the tournament, and if it's a tie it goes to the guy with the big bass in his limit. If its still a tie there's a fish-off until a winner is declared and it doesn't matter if its raining or windy - bass fisherman fish until the end.

I've given a lot of thought to this 2oz differential rule the IGFA has for certifying a new record. The rule is there for a reason. The reason is because when you weigh an animal that lives in water, there's room for variation. We aren't weighing sacks of flour here. We're weighing slippery wet bass that dry out and poop out and spit up. Take the same 20 pound fish, weigh it 10 minutes apart and you just might get a 2oz difference.

None of this is to detract from this incredible catch. What a catch! Manabu Kurita, who ever you are congratulations! It is so hard to bring huge bass to the boat without losing them. What a tremendous accomplishment.

My point is that this catch could signal a new era in the quest for the world record bass. It could be an era where two countries share the record, and fanatical bass maniacs like you and me strive to claim the undisputed heavy weight bass championship. I'm ready to share in the quest. There are passionate trophy bass anglers in Japan who lay up at night just like you and me dreaming about the biggest of the big. This bass just lights the fire even stronger. Let's go fishing!

I can think of two big posatives that could come from this.
#1 Maybe the Japanese government will change there opions of the LMB and stop trying to eradicate it. Doubtfull but you never know.
#2 now all those guys who wanted a CALI bass to not count because they eat trout or they were originaly stocked from FL fish will want the record to come home. Now they will be cheering for a CALI record.

One more thing about the 2oz rule. I belive Perry weighed his fish after it rode in the back of a truck for a while and surly lost some weight.So the 2oz rule is not the worst thing ever. However it is not Manabu Kurita's fault Perry didnt weigh his fish right away so he should get the #1 spot and not have to share it, but those are the IGFA rules. Japan will still have thier record listed at 22.5 while ours is 22.4.

www.mattlures.com

I was finally able to get into the Deps blogs. My translation program isn't kicking out anything other than....

ROD: DEPS SIDEWINDER THE DOM DRIVER F / E
LINE: TORAY SUPER HARD STRONG 25lb


and this nice dinosaur pic : ) I wonder what the age & growth analysis tests would unveil on this beast. I've not seen orange coloring on fins like this before. What's it from munchin' too many Biwa Trout in the post spawn? LOL
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5499/depsokumura12465867501.jpg

I live about 45 minutes from Lake Biwa, and I or one of my crew is on the water several times per week. I do not personally know the angler who landed the giant, Mr. Kurita. Mr. Okamura of Deps (who did the TV interview of the angler) is a personal friend.
That said, I received many calls and emails from a variety of sources regarding the big fish. Of course there is more to the story, but nothing out of the ordinary in this extraordinary event. I was asked to reveal only the certified weight, length, and place caught, so that is what I did. That is what is really important until the gentleman who caught the grand fish issues a formal media release.

Catching the fish in Lake Biwa presents several challenging issues.
The law against catch and release is a complicated issue as well.
Very few anglers in Japan can legally catch and release bass in the restricted areas. I am one of the few non JB Bass tournament fishermen in Japan that can legally release bass; perhaps 95% of the anglers who fish Lake Biwa can not. Proper handling and transportation, and finally possession of the fish is yet another complicated issue
From what I have been told, for Mr. Kurita to release the giant fish would have been illegal.
Yes, I have skirted the issue of what (lure) the fish was caught on.
Again, Mr. Kurita will most likely issued a complete account of what went down soon. Again, this will not be a bit surprise; some of you probably already know.

The aforementioned are the facts that have come from a variety of reliable sources. The following is my opinion/thoughts:
I seems like like this is the real deal-I have heard of no major conflicting or potential discrepancies.
. I think that the angler, and the good people who are advising him, such as Mr. Okamura, are just making sure to dot all the "I's" and cross all the "T's".

Congratulations to Mr. Kurita. Whether it becomes a joint WR or not, he has made his mark in bass fishing history.



>I'm reading every blog, news site, and forum about the fish
>caught in Japan at 22-5 yesterday. There's no news beyond
>what Greg posted here this morning (thank you Capt. G). And
>in reading around I'm feeling for the pulse of the angling
>community. It's a community that has been beaten down by
>world record rumors in the past, but there's a sense that this
>time - it's real.
>
>And I agree. I think this fish is going to certify and share
>the title of world record largemouth bass. But the word share
>has so many interesting implications. Because if the IGFA
>calls it a tie, it makes me feel like now we're going in to
>overtime. Now we're in the 10th inning. Because in real
>sports like baseball and bass fishing, there are no ties.
>
>This isn't soccer where everyone gets tired late in the game
>and calls it good at 1 to 1. This is bass fishing, where the
>heaviest five takes the tournament, and if it's a tie it goes
>to the guy with the big bass in his limit. If its still a tie
>there's a fish-off until a winner is declared and it doesn't
>matter if its raining or windy - bass fisherman fish until the
>end.
>
>I've given a lot of thought to this 2oz differential rule the
>IGFA has for certifying a new record. The rule is there for a
>reason. The reason is because when you weigh an animal that
>lives in water, there's room for variation. We aren't
>weighing sacks of flour here. We're weighing slippery wet
>bass that dry out and poop out and spit up. Take the same 20
>pound fish, weigh it 10 minutes apart and you just might get a
>2oz difference.
>
>None of this is to detract from this incredible catch. What a
>catch! Manabu Kurita, who ever you are congratulations! It
>is so hard to bring huge bass to the boat without losing them.
> What a tremendous accomplishment.
>
>My point is that this catch could signal a new era in the
>quest for the world record bass. It could be an era where two
>countries share the record, and fanatical bass maniacs like
>you and me strive to claim the undisputed heavy weight bass
>championship. I'm ready to share in the quest. There are
>passionate trophy bass anglers in Japan who lay up at night
>just like you and me dreaming about the biggest of the big.
>This bass just lights the fire even stronger. Let's go
>fishing!

"Known as the person who introduced swimbait fishing to Japan"

taken from BassFan.com

"Record intel: pretty quiet 7/3/2009

The day has dawned in Japan and there's not much more to report on the Biwa fish other than it was caught by Manabu Kurita at about 12:00 in the afternoon on live bait. The indication is it wasn't a sight-fish. It was 73.5 cm long and weighed 10,120 grams (28.94 inches – 22 pounds, 5 ounces).

Kurita is a big-bass hunter who caught an 18 1/2-pounder last year, which is the second-largest bass on record in Japan.

The IGFA is reportedly in the process of certifying the fish.

It won't be a surprise if information remains scarce, as it appears that Japanese media – likely Lure magazine – has first crack at the story details."

Maybe live bait! Thats huge to me. Obviously everybody wants to know what it was caught on. One can only wonder if the truth will ever come out? I mean whoever was there to witness the catch, thats the only people that know the truth. Truth could be stretched. What if it was netted? Obviously the details of the exact lure, bait and catch and who witnessed it are all important.

http://www.calfishing.com/gallery/v/members/bigreenjobass/

Hey guys, not trying to be difficult here, but as this poster mentioned, that is the way the Japanese media works.
I have been a professional angler for several bass magazines, and am currently still a writer for a fishing newspaper. As I mentioned, I@was given a ton of info from my media and fishing contacts with the condition that I release only the weight, length, angler, and Lake caught (ie..the press release for the TV interview ). If I were to breach that confidentiality, would get pretty much "kicked out" of the system. Pls. respect my position and conditions of confidentiality of details that Mr. Kurita wants to release himself.

I thought people in America, especially California, would be happy to hear the news, as I was. Wrong. I got emails that the weight was a fraud, that the fish in the two pics was different; people even made ridiculous (sorry, that is that way I see it) comments how it sucked that the pending record was caught in Japan.
I don't care if it was caught in S. Africa, I would have nothing but congratulations and high fives for the angler, whether he be black, Japanese, or a Californian.

I reported the facts that came from press releases, the Japanese media, the Japanese Fishing Tackle Industry, and regulars that were there when the fish was caught and weighed.
As I mentioned, the two most important requirements, the weight, and that the fish was legally caught (not snagged, etc.) appear to have been me.

Perhaps the only other major piece of info that has not been released by Mr. Kurita was what it was caught on. As was posted, Mr. Kurita is in the business of selling lures, specifically one that has gained a lot of attention the past 2 years--the "Mother".
Don't you think that if he caught the fish on his own creation (the Mother) he would have said so in the TV interviews?
The is a@reason he did not; let's give him a chance to tell his story the way he wants to tell it and in a time frame that is acceptable to him.

I have seen him on the lake, and he is as serious as they come. He has been hunting this, and several other big fish for months. Although he likes to catch big fish on his own lures, he is prudent to know when to use something else. He is especially adept at one method, and that is what he caught this giant on. After he discloses this, and if you have some understanding of bass fishing in Japan, you will realized why he did what he did.
Whatever details need to be filled in after his complete story is released by him, I will be happy to provide, or answer questions.
It is his moment of glory--for me to take even a small part of that away by prematurely releasing info that he himself wants to be the first to release is not professional.

So, please be a little patient--let's hear the story straight from the horses mouth, so to speak.

Finally, here are some "nots", which will answer/dispel some of the rumors circulating:

The fish was NOT a bed fish. The fish was NOT caught on a bed on a soft plastic, or jig. The place were the fish was taken is NOT in shallow water--it is not even remotely close to an area which bass spawn. The fish was NOT caught off natural structure; I have driven over the spot where the fish was caught dozens of times.
Salmon are NOT a species of fish in the lake, nor do the bass feed on them. These big fish do NOT eat the Biwa Trout to get big. The Biwa Trout is an extremely rare trout indigenous to Lake Biwa. I have fished Lake Biwa for 18 years, and have only seen two; most bass anglers have never seen one, let alone caught one. Also, the Biwa Masu (trout) lives in the deeper Northern part of the lake--this fish was caught in "Nanko" or the shallow southern part of the lake. So those that have written that this is just another trout stuffed bass are NOT correct. I am not a biologist, but there is a very good chance that that fish has never eaten a trout. The Biwa Masu is much like a Kokanee Salmon--it lives in a much different part (deeper) than most bass that are found in the lake.

So, sorry for the long rant; my purpose was to inform all of you that a really giant bass has been legally taken on rod and reel in the southern part of Lake Biwa, Japan. A truly remarkable feat, in my estimation.

"Known as the person who introduced swimbait fishing to Japan"

Well I think it is awesome. No matter where that fish was caught it is worthy of record books. And as for the angler....big props to him. He obviously takes it serious and has put in the time and effort it takes. I am glad some joe blow didnt catch it while fishing for trout. Who would have ever dreamed that the world record would be caught in July??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXOyXArL9rw
check this out