News Flash--World Record Largemouth Contender

[Slater]

Nice green bass! Just curious the bass in Japan, are they Florida strain or northern? How does that effect world record or does it? A pig that large ide assume its a Floridian...

[Capt. G]

I have　been getting calls from people here in Japan and asking how many ounces over the existing record a fish has to be, and I though I would contact the IGFA expert (YOU!).

You saved me an email.

How many ounces over for fish OVER 25 pounds, Sensei?

Originally Posted by BiggestT

That's a monster. Any idea what it was caught on? Did you get a girth measurement? Funny how against the scale it just looks big, but when the guy is holding it, it looks huge.

It at least ties the George Perry All Tackle Record. IGFA rules state that to replace a record for fish less than 25 lbs, it needs to weigh at least 2 ounces more than the existing record.

What a catch

[One_Leg]

The bass in this pic looks dead as a doornail. Gray lifeless eye instead of jet black.

A number of sores and many damaged scales.

Appears to have been laying on the ground for ten minutes.

Something about the fins doesn't look right to me either.

Did they kill that pig in order to weigh it and get the Photo Ops?

[Jason]

They ate it? It is okay to eat bass you know... And that bass in particular could be a million dollar bass. I would keep it too.

[rza007]

This will make everything legit

[fongster]

I hope it wasn't accidently snagged a la Dixon lake, lol. We don't need any controversy this round.

[BiggestT]

Originally Posted by Capt. G

I have　been getting calls from people here in Japan and asking how many ounces over the existing record a fish has to be, and I though I would contact the IGFA expert (YOU!).

You saved me an email.

How many ounces over for fish OVER 25 pounds, Sensei?

Greg, to replace a record for fish over 25 pounds, it must weigh one half of one percent (0.5%) more than the existing record.

Just in case, I went through the metric conversions in detail to see if there might be some rounding benefit. It comes out to 22.311 lbs, or 22 lbs 4.97 oz.

For fun, I solved for the girth using the IGFA formula: (LxGxG)/927 = 22.311 and I get 26.52" for the girth. Given the length, that seems to be about right. I recall Mike Long's 21.3 Dixon fish being 27" x 27". So when I see the photos, note the measurements, there's really nothing to question except what lure he caught it on? I'm hoping it was on one of yours.

[BiggestT]

Originally Posted by One_Leg

The bass in this pic looks dead as a doornail. Gray lifeless eye instead of jet black.

A number of sores and many damaged scales.

Appears to have been laying on the ground for ten minutes.

Something about the fins doesn't look right to me either.

Did they kill that pig in order to weigh it and get the Photo Ops?

Legally, they are not allowed to catch and release largemouth bass in Japan. They are considered an invasive species and anglers must kill them. If you follow Capt. G's reports, he is one of the few with permission to C&R largemouth in Japan.

So you're correct in your observation, the fish is undoubtedly dead. Not a big deal as at that size it's seen it's better days and contributed mightily to the gene pool. I really don't see the sores you're referring to. The tail has rounded lobes, but then again, that fish has been around the block many times and used that tail to dig out untold nests.

[duanediego]

wow.

[WAR]

Thanks for the reporting. Great to see.
I hope it holds out as a new WR.

[SealBeachKid]

K A B L A M O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O H.

[Jighead]

Thats awesome.