Until recently, the IGFA world record for largemouth bass was a tie between the famed George Perry (left inset) bass caught in Georgia in 1932 and the Kurita Manabu bass (right inset) caught in Japan in 2009. But a recent change in scientific understanding has changed all of that and updated record books now reflect a new world order for largemouth bass and Florida bass.
April 08, 2025
By Lynn Burkhead
In the long winding tale of George Perry's world-record largemouth bass taken at Georgia's Lake Montgomery on June 2, 1932, there's yet another twist nearly 100 years after it was caught.
And that twist includes a new chapter in the American story of big bass, one that scrambles the International Game Fish Association's rankings of the world’s biggest bucketmouths.
Let us explain.
As most bass-history buffs believe, Perry's IGFA world record—lauded by some, scoffed at by others since it was caught in the southern portions of the Peach State —was tied on July 2, 2009 when Manabu Kurita caught a 22-pound, 5-ounce largemouth at Japan's Lake Biwa.
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While that was actually one ounce heavier than Perry's monster, it wasn’t enough to satisfy an IGFA rule that states: “To replace a record for a fish weighing less than 11.33 kilograms (25 pounds), the replacement must weigh at least 56.69 grams (2 ounces) more than the existing record.”
Since Kurita’s bass didn’t do that, the IGFA considered Perry’s and Kurita’s catches as a statistical dead-heat that left both fish tied atop the IGFA World Record Book . Until just recently, that is, because Perry’s bass now sits alone at the top of the IGFA record book and Kurita’s bass is No. 1 in another category.
George Perry (right) caught the world record largemouth on June 2, 1932 at Georgia's Lake Montgomery. While some observers think that the bass Perry is holding (left) isn't the world record, others believe that it is. (Photos courtesy IGFA/Bassmaster) How is that Possible? Perry’s bass is now the record-book king for the IGFA’s Largemouth Bass (Micropterus nigricans ) category. Kurita’s behemoth now sits alone at the top, too, and is the recognized world record in the IGFA’s new Florida Bass (Micropterus salmoides ) category.
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The pathway for the change began last summer when the IGFA announced in a news release that there would be changes after significant scientific findings. "In February 2024, IGFA staff and biologist Dr. Andrew Taylor of the University of North Georgia co-authored a scientific article in the American Fisheries Society journal Fisheries , titled “Updating Angling Records to Advance Sport Fish Conservation: A Case Study of IGFA’s Black Bass World Records,” the IGFA said. “This groundbreaking study reviewed the current science related to black bass genetics to update IGFA record keeping for this important species group.”
That study revealed that there were distinct identities of Florida bass and largemouth bass, species that were often indistinguishable from one another without genetic testing. That realization would cause a change in the IGFA’s record-keeping system.
“Effective immediately, Florida bass (Micropterus salmoides ) are eligible for line class, tippet class, junior, and length records under the category: 'bass, largemouth (Micropterus nigricans/salmoides ),'" stated the IGFA news release. “Genetic testing will not be required for submissions in this category. While the standing All-Tackle Record for largemouth bass (Micropterus nigricans ) will remain unchanged, any new All-Tackle record submissions for these species will require genetic verification. Because the genetic testing process varies by region, anglers interested in submitting a potential world record should contact their corresponding local agency for additional information.”
For a number of years, Manabu Kurita's big largemouth bass caught from Japan’s Lake Biwa on July 2, 2009, was tied with George Perry's bass as the IGFA world record. Recent DNA confirmation of Kurita's fish as a Florida bass has now placed it atop the IGFA's new category for that species. (Photo courtesy of IGFA) Such scientific wheels are already in motion. And after testing in Texas concluded, the IGFA issued another news release last July that proclaimed the first world-record under the Florida bass listing, a 15-pound, 13-ounce bass pulled from Texas' Lake O.H. Ivie by Kyle Hall on March 21, 2024.
"With this fish Kyle has set the IGFA All-Tackle World Record for the species. This is the first world record submission for Florida bass (Micropterus salmoides ) since IGFA reorganized black bass records to match modern genetic classifications," noted the Dania Beach, Fla. based group . "Kyle was able to work with the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife to provide the results of a genetic study confirming the identity of his record bass."
Wait ... What ... Why? All is well, right? Well, not for long, as it turned out.
One veteran bass-fishing observer, Ken Duke, had the foresight to see the potential turmoil coming to the record book. In an article by Duke and Josh Sakmar, co-authors of the Dec. 2024 Bassmaster.com story "New bass, new record, old problems," the pair asked a couple of rhetorical questions.
Concerning Hall's newly minted record, the pair wrote "A new Florida bass world record has been certified by IGFA out of Texas at just 15 pounds, 13 ounces. Does anyone believe that should be the standard bearer?" And concerning Kurita's longstanding record, they queried "And what if — stay with us here! — what if we had DNA from Kurita’s 22-5 bass out of Japan in 2009 that proves his giant had Florida genes? What might that do to the apple cart? Well, as it turns out, it was enough to upset that apple cart because DNA from Kurita's 22-5 bass did in fact exist. While Hall’s big Florida bass remained at the top of the new IGFA category, Kurita’s bass soon forced a changing of the guard.
Why the Change? Lab Work, That's why Texan Steve Bardin, a private fisheries biologist, reported on his Facebook page in January 2025 about findings that would pave the way for the most recent change in the IGFA bass record book.
"If you are into the science and history of the world-record largemouth bass, the Bass After Dark show last week dove deep into the Manabu Kurita's 22 lbs 5 oz fish," stated Bardin in his social media post . "In the episode we cover a genetic study of a sample taken off of the skin mount of the fish. The results were announced from FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and Redhills Fish Hatchery … and maybe not surprisingly they found the Kurita fish to be a pure Florida Largemouth Bass. So pure it could have qualified into the Florida hatchery program!!!!"
Because of those findings, the Kurita bass was soon on the path to becoming the IGFA's world-record Florida bass. And after the Kurita bass changed its IGFA record-book address, the Perry bass has once again become the sole holder of the world-record mark for largemouth bass.
When Kyle Hall caught this O.H. Ivie Lake bass in March 2024, he had no idea it would actually become a new International Game Fish Association world record. But when the IGFA adopted new scientific data that separated largemouth bass and Florida bass into separate categories, Hall's 15.82 pound bass--the 37th heaviest in Texas history--became the first IGFA Florida Bass world record for a short period of time. Is all of that as clear as mud? Same here, and all of this brings a few more questions.
Will another good old-fashioned largemouth bass ever challenge the Perry fish as the world record? How long until the test tubes, microscopes and machinery of a DNA lab give us another record-book update? Will the state of Florida ever produced a world-record Florida bass? Only time will tell on those answers, but the roller-coaster ride of record largemouth bass—and Florida bass, too—rolls on.
Stay tuned, because this story undoubtedly has more twists and turns ahead. In the meantime, you should go bass fishing. Or is that Florida bass fishing?
