Seventy-seven years and counting. That’s how long George Perry has sat atop the record books in the large-mouth bass category, but he may be sharing his perch if a recently caught Japanese bass is as big as has been reported.

The story comes out of Lake Biwa in the Shiga Prefecture of Japan. The bass reportedly weighs 10.12 kilograms or a little less than 22 pounds, 5 ounces and measured 73.5 centimeters (nearly 29 inches). No girth measurements are available at this time.

Manabu Kurita, 32, is reportedly the fortunate angler. Early reports are that the fish was caught just before noon on July 2 on live bait (either a bluegill or a native fish similar to a bluegill). His rod was a Deps model (he is sponsored by the Japanese fishing tackle manufacturer), his reel was a Shimano Antares DC7 and his line was 25-pound-test Toray fluorocarbon.

A Japanese television clip featuring Kurita and his catch recently surfaced on YouTube.com. To see it, click here. At the time of the video, the fish was alive, but it is now reportedly dead and frozen. In the video, Kurita says, “I knew it was big fish, but I didn’t think it was this big. I did not know if it was a new world record or not.”

Kurita has experience with big bass. Last year he reportedly caught an 18 1/2-pound largemouth from Biwa on a large swimbait.

The video also notes that Kurita has been fishing for 18 years and will submit an application for world record recognition to the International Game Fish Association. If Kurita’s catch holds up, it would be the biggest legally caught certified largemouth in history (Perry’s fish weighed 22-4) … and a tie with Perry’s catch as the IGFA’s all-tackle world record.

A tie? That’s right. According to IGFA regulations for record fish weighing less than 25 pounds (such as all of the black bass subspecies), the replacement (record applicant) must weigh at least two ounces more than the existing record. The Japanese fish that is subject of such interest and inquiry today outweighs Perry’s fish by less than an ounce.

“A catch which matches the weight of an existing record or exceeds the weight by less than the amount required to defeat the record will be considered a tie,” according to the IGFA.

Lake Biwa is the largest lake in Japan, covering some 259 square miles, and is said to be one of the oldest lakes in the world. It is surrounded by mountains and renowned for its beauty and deep (more than 300 feet), crystal clear waters.

Biwa and its bass population have been in the news in recent years as Japanese officials work to ban and eliminate invasive (nonnative) species from the lake. In fact, the Lake Biwa Museum restaurant offers black bass as a menu item.

The previous Japanese bass record weighed 19.15 pounds and was caught by Kazuya Shimada from Lake Ikehara on April 22, 2003, on a swimbait.

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[Thanks, Hunter]

This came to me via email. This is the description of what happened:

They were traveling in southern Arkansas , between Mena and Dequincy. Oncoming car clipped a deer and sent it straight up into the air. The deer came down head-first into Clayton’s brand new truck. The deer’s head went thruough the front windshield, cutting the head (plus some) off, and landed in Jill’s lap. The body of the deer flipped up, smashed in the top of the truck, and landed in the bed. Clayton couldn’t see Jill from his side, because the top of the truck was smashed in so horribly.
He got out of the truck, went around, and opened the door on her side…only to start flipping out, because she was literally drenched in blood. However, neither one of them was hurt. Her parents were following in a separate vehicle and didn’t see it happen..but drove up on it right afterward. I can’t imagine what they were thinking!

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Meet the wiliest of all coyotes.
When a brother and sister struck a coyote at 75mph they assumed they had killed the animal and drove on.  They didn’t realize this was the toughest creature ever to survive a hit-and-run.
Eight hours, two fuel stops, and 600 miles later they found the wild animal embedded in their front fender – and very much alive.  Daniel and Tevyn East were driving at night along Interstate 80 near the Nevada-Utah border when they noticed a pack of coyotes near the roadside on October 12.  When one of the animals ran in front of the car, the impact sounded fatal so the siblings thought there no point in stopping.

‘Right off the bat, we knew it was bad,’ Daniel explained. ‘We thought the story was over.’  After the incident around 1:00am, they continued their 600 mile drive to North San Juan – even stopping for fuel at least twice.

But it was only when they finally reached their destination at 9:00am did they take time to examine what damage they may have sustained.  At first it looked as though it was going to be quite gruesome.  ‘[Daniel] saw fur and the body inside the grill,’ Tevyn East said. ‘I was trying to keep some distance. Our assumption was it was part of the coyote – it didn’t register it was the whole animal.’

Daniel East got a broom to try and pry the remains out of the bumper and got the shock of his life.  ‘It flinched,’ Tevyn East said. ‘It was a huge surprise – he got a little freaked out.’

'We knew it was bad': Tevyn East, who was in the car when it hit the coyote, bends down to take a look at the fur poking through the fender

Fur Pete's sake: What Mr. East spotted as he bent down to inspect the damage to his car - the body of the coyote poking out through the radiator

Wily coyote: The animal's head can be seen as rescuers took apart the front fender to save it after it was struck by the car at 75mph

Miracle escape: As the animal struggled, wildlife protection officials put a loop around its neck to prevent it from further injuring itself

And voila! Tricky the toughest coyote ever rests in a cage after its ordeal - which it survived with just some scrapes to its paw

Check out these photos of a badger caught in a bale of hay.  Reportedly, the badger was still alive when the photos were taken.

Badger Caught in a Bale of Hay

Badger Caught in a Bale of Hay

Seems like we’ve covered this before on this blog.  Oh yeah, here it is.

Don’t forget this recent gem.

Greetings to everyone from River Run Guide Service.

In 20 years of fishing the Middle/Upper Brazos River, I can honestly say that I have never encountered a venomous snake (pit viper) within the riverbed. However, as I tell my clients, go outside the riverbed and that can be a very different story.

Obviously, just because I have never come accross a venomous snake in the river, does not in any way mean they are not there. In fact, I always remain vigilant and on the lookout knowing that I’m simply overdue for my first encounter.

The way I look at it, Texas , venomous snakes and the outdoors will always go hand in hand.

So, I wasn’t too suprised when I observed a juvenile rattlesnake headed accross the river while I was in my kayak flipping a jig for bass.

I continue fishing. However, I can’t help to notice the rattler has changed it’s course and is headed straight for my kayak.

At this point, I’ve pretty much quit fishing and have my attention focused on the intentions of this potentially pesky pit viper.

While tracking the rattler’s movement, I couldn’t help but think, from a fish’s point of view, how enticing the serpentine motion of this snake looked while in the water.

Suddenly, I am jolted back to reality by the fact the rattler is now along side my kayak and is lifting it’s head out of the water in an apparent attempt to come aboard.

No way I’m having this ill intentioned reptilian hitchhiker nosing around the kayak. So, with a couple whacks of the paddle, it’s now docile as can be.

Now my mind begins to wonder…Hmmmm.

This rattler looks like mighty good big bass bait!!!

I put him in one of the footwells on the kayak and paddle over to a series of submerged river laydowns so I can begin to put my plan into action.

Here is my “Superstar” getting warmed up in the bullpen.

Put me in, Coach!!!

I now cautiously rig the snake by hooking it through the bottom of the jaw and through the top of the head onto a weedless black 3/4 oz. jig.

On my sixth cast into the snag infested laydown my jig n snake combo gets destroyed on the fall as indicated by a telltale “thump” that reverberates all the way down my rod blank. I set the hook hard and immediately feel stiff resistance on the other end from what I know is a solid fish.

What happens next is something I’ll likely never forget as I watch my bass come cartwheeling out of the water with the rattler hanging out of it’s mouth!

The LMB gave a really good account of itself and I eventually get her alongside the kayak. I cautiously lip the opposite side of the cavernous mouth where the fish is hooked.

I now take a moment to pose with my oversize snake eating river bass before returning her back into the river depths.

I admit, my curiosity might have gotten the best of me on this one. However, I just couldn’t help it.

In the end…

It was just another Kayak Fishing Adventure on the Brazos River, Tx..

What a great story. I’m glad I was able to share it with you.

Coyote and NASCAR don't mix.

Read about it here.

For more photos of deer locked horn-to-horn, or more precisely, antler-to-antler, check out these posts.