It took more than three quarters of a century, but the most coveted of all freshwater fishing world records has finally been matched.

Manabu Kurita of Aichi, Japan, hoists the giant bass he caught on Lake Biwa in July 2009. It has been recognized by the IGFA as tying the world record. Photo courtesy of the IGFA.

Catching a bass bigger than George W. Perry's world record largemouth has been the Holy Grail chased by thousands of bass anglers for many decades. Fishermen in California had come close in recent years, boating several bass that topped 20 pounds. All the money was on a fish from that area, if the record was to be broken.

Yet, it turned out to be a fish from halfway around the world that almost did the trick. On July 2, 2009, Manabu Kurita of Aichi, Japan, was fishing in Lake Biwa near the city of Kyoto when he boated a bass that dragged the scales down to 22-pound, 4-ounces to equal Perry's catch.

As you might expect, there is an interesting story behind each of these largmouths. In the case of the Perry bass Game & Fish Magazine had a part in the saga. So, let's take a look at both of these record fish.

THE KURITA BASS
Against the background that the largemouth bass record is undoubtedly the most sought after prize in the angling world, it's not surprising the Manabu Kurita's catch took almost half a year to be certified. Pundits for years have predicted that the angler shattering that record would automatically cash in on a million dollar payday through endorsements. That fact alone would merit all the time that was invested in making sure the facts were checked before the largemouth gained its exalted status.

One thing is for certain, however, the angler was not a novice depending on beginner's luck. The 32-year-old Kurita had been chasing big bass in Japan for the better part of two decades. A year before his record catch he reportedly boated an 18 1/2-pound lunker on a swimbait on the same lake. Also, Kurita is sponsored by the Japanese tackle company DEPS.

As for the fish turning up in Lake Biwa in Japan, largemouth bass were first imported to that country from California back in 1925. More recently Florida strain largemouths were reportedly stocked in Biwa. Bluegill were also imported, and both species are considered invasive by the Japanese government. In fact, it is illegal to release a bass caught from the lake.

Earlier in 2009 a commercial fisherman reportedly netted a largemouth from Biwa that tipped the scales at 25 1/2 pounds. Obviously this old, massive and deep lake offers some good bass habitat.

On the day Kurita caught his record bass he was fishing with a DEPS Sidewinder rod and a Shimano Anteres DC7LV reel. The rig was spooled with 25-pound-test Toray line. He used a live bluegill for bait.

The hook up with the big bass was no accident. The angler reported seeing the behemoth swimming near a bridge piling. He then tossed his first cast next to the piling, and let it settle. After he twitched the bait a couple of times, the big bass inhaled the bream and the battle was on. Surprisingly, the monster fish took just 3 minutes to bring in.

Just after the catch, Kurita said he put the bass on a set of certified scales and it weighed 22 pounds, 5 ounces, which was an ounce heavier than the world record. However, the International Game Fish Association, which is the custodian of the official record books, requires that any record fish weighing less than 25 pounds must break the standing mark by at least 2 ounces. At any rate, the announcement by the IGFA of the certification of the bass listed the weight at 10.12 kilograms or 22 pounds, 4 ounces earning it just a tie for the world record.

On one point Manabu Kurita proved that anglers all over the world are cut from the same mould.