A 22-pound, 5-ounce largemouth bass (picture) has been caught by Manabu Kurita, a pro staffer representing Deps Tackle Co. in Japan. This breaks George Perry’s old record from June 2, 1932. The bass caught by Perry in Montgomery Lake, Georgia 77 years ago weighed 22-pound, 4-ounce – just a tad less than the new Japanese record bass. Kurita’s bass was 29.4 inches long (no girth measurements have been released). It was reportedly weighed on a certified scale.

Kurita caught his 22-pound, 5-ounce bass in Lake Biwa (琵琶湖, Biwa-ko), in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture. Formed by tectonic shifts almost 4 million years ago, Lake Biwa is one of the world’s twenty oldest lakes and home to a very rich ecosystem that includes 58 described endemic species. It is the largest freshwater lake in the country and covers nearly 259 square miles.

After holding the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle world record for 77 year, it seems as if Perry might have to if not step down then at least share the first place with his fellow Japanese angler. IGFA rules stipulate that a bass must weigh two ounces more than the current record holder to break the record, so Kurita’s fish will only tie it.

“It will tie [Perry’s record] if that’s the weight,” says Jason Schratwieser, record andconservation director for the game fish association. “For record fish weighing less than 25 pounds, the replacement record must weigh at least 2 ounces more than the existing record.”

In 2006, Mac Weakley caught a 25-pound, 1-ounce bass in Lake

Dixon, California, but he didn’t pursue the record since he accidently foul-hooked the fish, i.e. he didn’t hook the fish in the mouth.