surferman
07-19-2009, 11:58 AM
Bass record crosses the Pacific
Tom Stienstra (tstienstra@sfchronicle.com)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The most hallowed of all fishing records - the world record for largemouth bass - has been broken in Japan, pending certification. But the West's top fishing experts believe a new record will be set in California, perhaps in the Bay Area.
Images
http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2009/07/16/sp-outdoors19_ba_0500381697_part1.jpg (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/07/19/SP7818Q8LC.DTL&o=0) http://imgs.sfgate.com/graphics/utils/plus-green.gif View Larger Image (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/07/19/SP7818Q8LC.DTL&o=0)
A 22-pound, 5-ounce bass was caught earlier this month in Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, by a 32-year-old angler named Manabu Kurita. That fish tops the epic 22-4 bass caught in 1932 in Georgia by George Perry, the mailman who certified the weight of the fish at his post office.
Most anglers believe that a bigger bass is already out there in the south San Joaquin Delta east of Brentwood. This is where Dee Thomas, a pro bass fisherman inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame, hooked, played and saw a bass he said was likely a world record. At the time, Thomas was testing a new lure with undersized hooks. Catching the big fish was an accident, he said, and when it made a diving burst, it dislodged the small hook.
In addition to the delta, the list of lakes that could produce a world-record bass include several from the Bay Area: San Pablo Reservoir, Lake Chabot and Del Valle in the East Bay hills; Berryessa and Spring Lake in Napa and Sonoma counties. Then there's Dixon, Casitas, Miramar, Hodges, Wohlford, Morena, Miramar, Castaic and Isabella in Southern California. These lakes have all produced some of the biggest bass in history. Other lakes in Texas, Florida and across the south are also in the running.
"We have everything in California that's needed to produce a world-record bass," said Dan Bacher, editor of the Fish Sniffer. "We have Florida-strain bass that get huge, trout plants for food, and a mild climate for a long growing season." That's why 16 of the 20 biggest bass ever verified were from Southern California.
"The chances of a new record right here are excellent," said Jonah Li, a bass expert who fishes with pro anglers and owns Hi's Tackle Box in South San Francisco. "But watch what happens," he added with a laugh. "Catching it will probably be an accident."
Pat McDonell, Southern California editor of Western Outdoor News, agreed: "The person who catches the world-record bass will probably be some happy little kid who catches a trout on Power Bait. Then the giant bass grabs the trout and chokes on it and that little kid brings up the fish, and says, 'Look daddy, look at my big fish.' Who are the luckiest fishermen on Earth? Little kids. It will never be somebody who actually tries for it."
The biggest bass ever verified weighed 25 pounds, 1 ounce, a female full of eggs, which was foul-hooked (snagged) and then released at Dixon Lake near Escondido in 2006. It was named "Ol' Spot" for a black spot near its head. The same fish, identified by the spot, floated up dead last year, but weighed 2 pounds less because it was no longer in spawning mode.
According to Ken Duke of Bassmaster, who first reported the 22-5 bass in Japan, it was caught on a live fish similar to a bluegill. The bass was not released, but taken home and frozen. In a YouTube video, Kurita says: "I knew it was a big fish, but I didn't think it was this big. I did not know if it was a new world record or not."
To verify it as the record-setter, according to the report, Kurita said he is sending the required paperwork to the International Game Fish Association, which certifies world records. According to the association, the fish would officially rank as a tie with the current 22-4 because new record fish must weigh 2 ounces or more than the listed record.
This is no issue, says Bacher, because he believes a far bigger bass is growing out there right now:
Here are additional insights provided by Bacher, McDonell and Li:
Bacher: "I really do think a world-record bass will come out of California. A number of lakes have rich food chains, even some of the smaller ones. I believe the place it happens will be a surprise, someplace like Rancho Seco (about 20 miles from Sacramento). It has planted trout, Florida-strain bass, and has a way of growing big fish. The delta could do it."
McDonell: "It's going to be real hard to beat the record because it has to be a spawning fish and an old fish. I look for a record bass to be caught in a small, trout-laden lake with deep water. We'd already had a world record (at Dixon) if it hadn't been snagged. I think definitely, within 10 years, we'll have another record, but everything has to be a Perfect Storm for it to happen."
Li: "I think we have that chance to set the record here. You'd have people dancing in the streets. The lake has to be warm enough, with enough feed. I like San Pablo Dam Reservoir, Chabot, Del Valle, a few others, where they have big bass and planted trout. The delta is about perfect because the fish have so many places to hide. Dee Thomas had that big fish (that got away), hah, but he won't tell anybody where he hooked it."
Loftiest lunkers
WORLD
22 pounds, 5 ounces: Lake Biwa, Japan, 2009
22-4: Montgomery Lake, Georgia, 1932
22-0: Castaic Lake (Los Angeles County), 1991
21-12: Castaic Lake, 1991
21-11: Dixon Lake (San Diego County), 2003
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/19/SP7818Q8LC.DTL#ixzz0LilxuSWq (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/19/SP7818Q8LC.DTL#ixzz0LilxuSWq)
Tom Stienstra (tstienstra@sfchronicle.com)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The most hallowed of all fishing records - the world record for largemouth bass - has been broken in Japan, pending certification. But the West's top fishing experts believe a new record will be set in California, perhaps in the Bay Area.
Images
http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2009/07/16/sp-outdoors19_ba_0500381697_part1.jpg (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/07/19/SP7818Q8LC.DTL&o=0) http://imgs.sfgate.com/graphics/utils/plus-green.gif View Larger Image (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/07/19/SP7818Q8LC.DTL&o=0)
A 22-pound, 5-ounce bass was caught earlier this month in Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, by a 32-year-old angler named Manabu Kurita. That fish tops the epic 22-4 bass caught in 1932 in Georgia by George Perry, the mailman who certified the weight of the fish at his post office.
Most anglers believe that a bigger bass is already out there in the south San Joaquin Delta east of Brentwood. This is where Dee Thomas, a pro bass fisherman inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame, hooked, played and saw a bass he said was likely a world record. At the time, Thomas was testing a new lure with undersized hooks. Catching the big fish was an accident, he said, and when it made a diving burst, it dislodged the small hook.
In addition to the delta, the list of lakes that could produce a world-record bass include several from the Bay Area: San Pablo Reservoir, Lake Chabot and Del Valle in the East Bay hills; Berryessa and Spring Lake in Napa and Sonoma counties. Then there's Dixon, Casitas, Miramar, Hodges, Wohlford, Morena, Miramar, Castaic and Isabella in Southern California. These lakes have all produced some of the biggest bass in history. Other lakes in Texas, Florida and across the south are also in the running.
"We have everything in California that's needed to produce a world-record bass," said Dan Bacher, editor of the Fish Sniffer. "We have Florida-strain bass that get huge, trout plants for food, and a mild climate for a long growing season." That's why 16 of the 20 biggest bass ever verified were from Southern California.
"The chances of a new record right here are excellent," said Jonah Li, a bass expert who fishes with pro anglers and owns Hi's Tackle Box in South San Francisco. "But watch what happens," he added with a laugh. "Catching it will probably be an accident."
Pat McDonell, Southern California editor of Western Outdoor News, agreed: "The person who catches the world-record bass will probably be some happy little kid who catches a trout on Power Bait. Then the giant bass grabs the trout and chokes on it and that little kid brings up the fish, and says, 'Look daddy, look at my big fish.' Who are the luckiest fishermen on Earth? Little kids. It will never be somebody who actually tries for it."
The biggest bass ever verified weighed 25 pounds, 1 ounce, a female full of eggs, which was foul-hooked (snagged) and then released at Dixon Lake near Escondido in 2006. It was named "Ol' Spot" for a black spot near its head. The same fish, identified by the spot, floated up dead last year, but weighed 2 pounds less because it was no longer in spawning mode.
According to Ken Duke of Bassmaster, who first reported the 22-5 bass in Japan, it was caught on a live fish similar to a bluegill. The bass was not released, but taken home and frozen. In a YouTube video, Kurita says: "I knew it was a big fish, but I didn't think it was this big. I did not know if it was a new world record or not."
To verify it as the record-setter, according to the report, Kurita said he is sending the required paperwork to the International Game Fish Association, which certifies world records. According to the association, the fish would officially rank as a tie with the current 22-4 because new record fish must weigh 2 ounces or more than the listed record.
This is no issue, says Bacher, because he believes a far bigger bass is growing out there right now:
Here are additional insights provided by Bacher, McDonell and Li:
Bacher: "I really do think a world-record bass will come out of California. A number of lakes have rich food chains, even some of the smaller ones. I believe the place it happens will be a surprise, someplace like Rancho Seco (about 20 miles from Sacramento). It has planted trout, Florida-strain bass, and has a way of growing big fish. The delta could do it."
McDonell: "It's going to be real hard to beat the record because it has to be a spawning fish and an old fish. I look for a record bass to be caught in a small, trout-laden lake with deep water. We'd already had a world record (at Dixon) if it hadn't been snagged. I think definitely, within 10 years, we'll have another record, but everything has to be a Perfect Storm for it to happen."
Li: "I think we have that chance to set the record here. You'd have people dancing in the streets. The lake has to be warm enough, with enough feed. I like San Pablo Dam Reservoir, Chabot, Del Valle, a few others, where they have big bass and planted trout. The delta is about perfect because the fish have so many places to hide. Dee Thomas had that big fish (that got away), hah, but he won't tell anybody where he hooked it."
Loftiest lunkers
WORLD
22 pounds, 5 ounces: Lake Biwa, Japan, 2009
22-4: Montgomery Lake, Georgia, 1932
22-0: Castaic Lake (Los Angeles County), 1991
21-12: Castaic Lake, 1991
21-11: Dixon Lake (San Diego County), 2003
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/19/SP7818Q8LC.DTL#ixzz0LilxuSWq (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/19/SP7818Q8LC.DTL#ixzz0LilxuSWq)