12-29-2009, 09:31 PM
There still has not been any ruling on the pending record bass caught by Mr. Kurita at Lake Biwa.
It has been half a year; usually records are either approved or disapproved within a couple of months at best.
A new Japanese Yellowtail record (over 100 pounds!) was caught on Oct. 24, 2009, and it has already been approved...
But yellowtail record submissions do not have all the politics that largemouth black bass record submissions do here in Japan.
One of my sources in the know tells me that there is no way the JGFA will allow the grand fish to become a new Japan record--especially since it comes from "catch and kill" (catch and release of bass is illegal) Biwa Lake.
Interestingly enough, the IGFA is an autonomous body, and is supposed to make decisions regardless of what other (ie. JGFA) organizations allow/disallow.
Yet the IGFA has not rendered a final decision on this fish.
Steve Mras, multiple IGFA WR holder, emailed me the following:
No decision yet on possible record bass caught in Japan
The IGFA is still waiting additional information before making a decision for world record recognition on a 22 lb 4 oz largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), caught by Manabu Kurita, 32, of Aichi, Japan, from that country’s largest lake July 2. IGFA conservation director Jason Schratwieser said the World All-Tackle application is still under review after it was received in mid-September through the Japan Game Fish Association (JGFA). “We’ve been corresponding with the angler via our sister organization, the JGFA,” said Schratwieser. Besides being a non-profit fisheries, education and conservation organization, the 70- year old IGFA has long been the world’s recognized record-keeping body for over 1100 salt and fresh water recreational fish species. Schratwieser said the bass weighing 10.12 kg (22 lb 4 oz) was pulled from Lake Biwa an ancient reservoir northeast of Kyoto. Photos and video were also submitted with Kurita’s written documentation. If approved 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, near Jacksonville, Georgia. In North America the largemouth bass, and especially the All-Tackle 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.
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Mr. Kurita has made a complete submission, with more info provided than many submissions that became records with no problem.
It makes one wonder what "additional information" the IGFA could be possibly be waiting for?
I have met Mr. Kurita several times in my tackle store in Aichi, Japan. He is an avid bass angler, with a passion for hunting big fish; it seems very unfortunate that such a fine catch that should bring so much controversy.
Nobody I talked to here can remember a JGFA record submission that has taken this long. I am not going to hold my breath on a ruling anytime soon.
[inline "Manabu World Record sign.jpg"]
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It has been half a year; usually records are either approved or disapproved within a couple of months at best.
A new Japanese Yellowtail record (over 100 pounds!) was caught on Oct. 24, 2009, and it has already been approved...
But yellowtail record submissions do not have all the politics that largemouth black bass record submissions do here in Japan.
One of my sources in the know tells me that there is no way the JGFA will allow the grand fish to become a new Japan record--especially since it comes from "catch and kill" (catch and release of bass is illegal) Biwa Lake.
Interestingly enough, the IGFA is an autonomous body, and is supposed to make decisions regardless of what other (ie. JGFA) organizations allow/disallow.
Yet the IGFA has not rendered a final decision on this fish.
Steve Mras, multiple IGFA WR holder, emailed me the following:
No decision yet on possible record bass caught in Japan
The IGFA is still waiting additional information before making a decision for world record recognition on a 22 lb 4 oz largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), caught by Manabu Kurita, 32, of Aichi, Japan, from that country’s largest lake July 2. IGFA conservation director Jason Schratwieser said the World All-Tackle application is still under review after it was received in mid-September through the Japan Game Fish Association (JGFA). “We’ve been corresponding with the angler via our sister organization, the JGFA,” said Schratwieser. Besides being a non-profit fisheries, education and conservation organization, the 70- year old IGFA has long been the world’s recognized record-keeping body for over 1100 salt and fresh water recreational fish species. Schratwieser said the bass weighing 10.12 kg (22 lb 4 oz) was pulled from Lake Biwa an ancient reservoir northeast of Kyoto. Photos and video were also submitted with Kurita’s written documentation. If approved 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, near Jacksonville, Georgia. In North America the largemouth bass, and especially the All-Tackle 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.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\
Mr. Kurita has made a complete submission, with more info provided than many submissions that became records with no problem.
It makes one wonder what "additional information" the IGFA could be possibly be waiting for?
I have met Mr. Kurita several times in my tackle store in Aichi, Japan. He is an avid bass angler, with a passion for hunting big fish; it seems very unfortunate that such a fine catch that should bring so much controversy.
Nobody I talked to here can remember a JGFA record submission that has taken this long. I am not going to hold my breath on a ruling anytime soon.
[inline "Manabu World Record sign.jpg"]
[signature]