Yamaha Marine Group announced today that Manabu Kurita, who officially tied the world record for the largest bass ever caught, has joined the Yamaha/Skeeter pro staff and will display his catch at the Yamaha booth during the Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans, Feb. 17-20.
“I am very happy to be a Yamaha pro,” said Kurita, from his home in Kyoto, Japan. “I caught the fish in a Yamaha-powered Skeeter. The outboard has served me well.”
Said Yamaha promotions and events manager Cindy Thompson: “We are pleased to have a record-setting angler on our team. We look forward to working with him.”
Kurita will unveil the mounted bass for spectators at the Yamaha booth at 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18. He will also be on hand at times throughout the weekend to sign autographs at the Yamaha and Skeeter booths.
As a Yamaha/Skeeter pro, Kurita will continue his quest to find an even larger, record-breaking bass, which he believes lives in Japan’s Lake Biwa, an ancient reservoir northeast of Kyoto.
“I have seen even larger bass in Lake Biwa than the one that I caught,” he said. “I know I will be able to find one again.”
On July 2, 2009, Kurita pulled a largemouth from Lake Biwa that weighed 22 pounds, 4.97 ounces. The IGFA verified on Jan. 8, 2010 that the fish had officially tied the record set 77 years earlier by George Perry, who caught his fish on Montgomery Lake near Jacksonville, Ga.
Kurita’s fish was slightly heavier than Perry’s, but according to IGFA regulations, a record fish weighing less than 25 pounds must be surpassed by 2 ounces or more.
