Outdoor Report

World-record bass caught in Japan

Documentation for a much-talked-about 22-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass, caught from Japan's largest lake in July, has arrived at the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) headquarters for world record recognition.

IGFA, the 70-year old non-profit fisheries record-keeping body, received the application for the largemouth bass caught July 2 by Manabu Kurita, 32, of Aichi, Japan.

IGFA rules for fish caught outside the U.S. allow anglers 90 days to submit their applications from the date of their catch.

IGFA conservation director Jason Schratwieser said the World All-Tackle application is currently under review after it was received through the Japan Game Fish Association (JGFA).

Schratwieser said the application stated the bass weighed 10.12 kilograms (22 pounds, 4 ounces), and was pulled from Lake Biwa, an ancient reservoir northeast of Kyoto.

Photos and video were also submitted with the written documentation. Kurita's fish would tie the current record held for over 77 years by George Perry caught on Georgia's Montgomery Lake, June 2, 1932.

In North America the largemouth bass record is considered by millions of anglers as the "holy grail" of freshwater fish because of its popularity and the longevity of Perry's record.

Largemouth bass have also been introduced in many countries, and in Japan, fisheries officials consider it an invasive species. In addition, because bass are not native and are stocked in Japan, many speculated that the big bass was a sterile triploid.

However, when biologists in Japan examined the ova of the big female, they concluded that the fish was not triploid. IGFA World Records Coordinator Becky Wright reported Kurita's fish measured 27.20 inches in length and an almost equal girth of 26.77 inches.

She said Kurita was using a live bluegill as bait.

A decision by the IGFA of whether Kurita's fish will tie Perry's record may take up to a month.