ummm.... thanks, but not to sound like an ass, but this is quiet old news, never saw that video before though, cool!
[signature]
Your right it is old news, the IGFA just made it official on Jan. 8, 2010 But the Video is worth a look!
[signature]
I heard it was kind of controversial because it was taken out of a private pond where they had fed the fish with "special food". I don't know if this was true or not but either way what a cool fish.
[signature]
"Today the IGFA approved Kurita’s application for the fish caught from Japan’s largest lake on July 2, 2009. The 70-year old non-profit fisheries conservation, education and record-keeping body, received Kurita’s application and documentation on Sept. 19, 2009. The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), was caught from Lake Biwa which is an ancient reservoir northeast of Kyoto."
Dos'nt sound like a pond or special food to me
[signature]
It was a pond and special food. Not very cool that it is compared with records in the U.S.
I'm thinking asterisk.
![[Image: dumb.gif]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/dumb.gif)
[signature]
I'm surprised they approved the submission. Any record fish caught in Japan should be suspect since they fish farm millions of fish each year.
[signature]
From Wikipedia, Lake Biwa is of [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tectonic"]tectonic[/url] origin and is one of the world's oldest twenty lakes, dating to almost 4 million years ago. This long uninterrupted age has allowed for a notably diverse [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem"]ecosystem[/url] to evolve in the lake. Naturalists have documented about 1100 kinds of living things in the lake, including 58 [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemism"]endemic[/url] species, which means they are found nowhere else on earth. Lake Biwa is also an important place for water birds. About 5 thousand water birds visit Lake Biwa every year. Recently the [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity"]biodiversity[/url] of the lake has suffered greatly due to the invasion of foreign fish, the [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_bass"]black bass[/url] and the [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluegill"]bluegill[/url]. Bluegill were presented to the Emperor and later freed in the lake as a food source for other fish. Black bass were introduced as a sport fish. In July 2009 a largemouth bass weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces was caught in the lake by Manabu Kurita. If certified by the IGFA this would tie the current world record held by George Perry for over 77 Years.
[signature]
I'd like to have a private pond like that one...
It's the biggest lake in Japan.
Approximately 30 miles long, 14 miles wide at it's widest point. That's a whole lot of "special food".
UT Lake, as a comparison, is about 24 / 13.
U.S. or not, it's a big fish from a big lake.
[signature]
I stand corrected. Catatafish is right, I wish I could catch something that big.
[signature]
Japans' ministry of the environment (government) wants all black bass killed when caught. They view the bass as a nuisance because they eat the prey of other species. Gill netters are being paid to catch and kill black bass in Japan and anglers are being pressured to catch and kill, soon to be law. The black bass is not being farmed in Japan.
It doesn't make any sense to me. Rods, reels, lures, motors and even some of the best bass fishermen in the world come from Japan. The only reason I can think of may have something to do with separating Japan from western culture.
[signature]
. . . and spending thousands of dollars to condition a large bass to eat your hand fed bait still doesn't bother you. Nice.
[url "http://assets.espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/bassmaster/magazine/bonus_mag_featured_Jan10.pdf"]http://assets.espn.go.com/...g_featured_Jan10.pdf[/url]
[signature]
Manabu Kurita is one wacky Kincoo. So his live Bluegill and chumming thing would not be legal in Utah, I still would like to fish Lake Biwa
[signature]