by Jack Spaulding
Outdoors WriterMention the name George Perry to fishermen, and those worth their salt will know it. Perry has intrigued bass anglers for 77 years with the 22-pound, 4-ounce monster he pulled from Montgomery Lake near Jacksonville, Ga. Bass anglers regard Perry’s world-record largemouth bass as the “holy grail” of the fishing world.
After more than seven decades and agonizing months in the documentation process, it finally happened! Perry’s 77-year-record has been tied. The fish was genetically tested and determined to be a “Florida” strain largemouth. But, where the fish was caught, and by whom, is unexpected and interesting.
Perry’s record was tied by Manabu Kurita of Aichi, Japan. His largemouth bass came from the country’s biggest lake on July 2, 2009. The fish (Micropterus salmoides) was caught from Lake Biwa, an ancient reservoir northeast of Kyoto.
The 32-year-old was fishing with a Deps Sidewinder rod and a Shimano Antares DC7LV reel loaded with a 25-pound Toray line when he pitched his bait, a live bluegill, next to a bridge piling. It was Kurita’s first cast into the piling where he had seen a big bass swimming. He only twitched the bait a couple of times before the huge bass devoured it. After a short, three-minute fight, he had the fish in the boat.
Kurita was quoted as saying, “I knew it was big, but I didn’t know it was that big.”
But big it was. Using certified scales, his fish weighed in at 10.12 kilograms or 22 pounds, 4 ounces. When measured, it had a fork length of 27.2 inches and a girth of 26.7 inches.
Kurita submitted the paperwork to the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) and the association received his application and documentation on Sept. 19, 2009. It was months before the IGFA officially declared Kurita’s catch as tying Perry’s record. The association even requested Kurita take a polygraph test, which he passed with flying colors.
Perry’s record-breaker was caught June 2, 1932, and won Field and Stream magazine’s big fish contest and 46 years later, when the IGFA took over freshwater records from the magazine, it became the All-Tackle record — one of over 1,100 fresh and saltwater species the IGFA monitors.
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. His catch undoubtedly helped to spawn a billion dollar industry and a significant part of recreational sport fishing.
IGFA Conservation Director Jason Schratwieser said, “The moment Kurita weighed his fish, word spread like wildfire. We knew this would be significant, so we immediately contacted the Japan Game Fish Association (JGFA) for more information.”
Established in 1979, the JGFA compiles and translates all record applications of fish caught in Japan before forwarding the information to the IGFA.
Almost right away, rumors began to circulate that Kurita may have caught his fish in a “no-fishing zone.” In response, the IGFA immediately corresponded with the JGFA to speak with the angler about this issue and to investigate whether Kurita violated any rules.
The investigation confirmed the location of the catch was not a no-fishing zone, but anchoring or stopping there was prohibited. This spurred more correspondence with the JGFA and the angler, including affidavits asking the angler if he stopped his boat at anytime. Again, the testimony and affidavits indicated Kurita did not violate any laws and his catch was indeed legitimate.
It didn’t end there.
A considerable amount of time and correspondence continued between the IGFA, JGFA and Kurita — a primary reason it took so long to come to a decision. During the delay of confirmation, the IGFA was besieged with letters and e-mails from the bass fishing community, according to Schratwieser.
“Many were incredulous the All-Tackle record could be tied from a fish in Japan,” Schratwieser said. “Others beseeched the IGFA to approve the record and give Kurita the credit he deserves.
“Six months may seem like a lot of time to determine if a fish ties a record,” said Schratwieser. “Hopefully, people now understand the amount of due diligence the IGFA conducted on this record. Although we treat all records with equal rigor, the All-Tackle largemouth bass record is nothing less than iconic and the bass angling community deserved nothing less.”
For over seven decades the record stood as bass fishing fanatics theorized when and where the record would be broken. In the past, some American anglers have come close.
In 1991, Robert Crupi caught a 22-pound bass in Lake Dixon, Calif. Crupi’s largemouth bass still reigns as the 16-pound line class record and the third heaviest approved bass record in IGFA history. According to Schratwieser, until Kurita’s tie, the seven heaviest documented bass behind Perry’s fish came from California lakes.
Schratwieser said, “Although not native to California, it appears transplanted bass have adapted quite well to the deep, clear lakes and reservoirs and the abundant trout forage found in some of them. Little did people know largemouth bass grew big in places besides California, and there are true monsters swimming on the other side of the world in Japan.”
till next time,
Jack Spaulding is a state outdoors writer and a consumer of RushShelby Energy from Milroy. Readers with questions or comments can write to him in care of Electric Consumer, P.O. Box 24517, Indianapolis, IN 46224; or e-mail jackspaulding@hughes.net.