IGFA’s current public largemouth-bass database lists an All-Tackle record of 22 lb 4 oz. Historically, that mark was shared by George Perry’s 1932 Georgia bass and Manabu Kurita’s 2009 Lake Biwa fish. Modern taxonomy now recognizes largemouth bass and Florida bass as separate species, and a 2026 fisheries-management paper reports that Kurita’s fish was genetically verified as Florida bass—creating a new wrinkle that record systems are still absorbing.
The two fish that defined the record
George Perry — 1932
Montgomery Lake, Georgia. Perry’s catch became the benchmark that survived for decades and remains the standing historical All-Tackle largemouth mark in IGFA materials.
Manabu Kurita — 2009
Lake Biwa, Japan. IGFA accepted the fish as a tie under the then-existing largemouth category because record rules required a heavier fish to exceed the standing mark by the necessary margin.
Why the record story changed
When Perry and Kurita caught their fish, record keeping treated “largemouth bass” under the older taxonomy. Genomic work published in 2022 recognized the Florida bass as a separate species, Micropterus salmoides, and applied Micropterus nigricans to largemouth bass.
IGFA responded in 2024 by revising black-bass categories. Its current rules combine largemouth and Florida bass for line-class, tippet, junior and length records, while new All-Tackle claims require genetic verification.
A newly published 2026 North American Journal of Fisheries Management paper adds another development: it states that genetic verification performed after earlier record-list updates showed Kurita’s 2009 fish was a Florida bass, leaving Perry as the largemouth record and Kurita as the Florida-bass record in the scientific record framework it discusses.
Record timeline
Famous giants that were not the All-Tackle record
| Fish / Angler | Weight | Why it matters | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Crupi — Castaic Lake | 22 lb | One of the greatest documented California giants; IGFA recognizes Crupi’s historic line-class records. | Historic record-class giant |
| Dottie — Dixon Lake | 25+ lb estimate / famous 25-lb catch | Perhaps the most famous potential record-sized bass in modern fishing history. | Did not become the All-Tackle record |
| Kyle Hall — O.H. Ivie | 15 lb 13 oz | Genetically confirmed Florida bass accepted by IGFA as the first All-Tackle Florida-bass record after the category reorganization. | Official Florida-bass record at time of certification |
Historic Top 10 documented giant largemouth bass
This is the ranked giant-bass list that circulated for years through B.A.S.S., Western big-bass archives and the original Bass Fishing Facts site. It is useful history, but it should not be read as a list of ten equivalent current IGFA All-Tackle records. Taxonomy, record categories and the documentation surrounding individual catches differ.
| Rank | Weight | Angler | Waterbody | Date | Modern context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 22.311 lb | Manabu Kurita | Lake Biwa, Japan | July 2, 2009 | Historical IGFA tie under the former category; recent fisheries literature reports Florida-bass genetics. |
| 1B | 22.25 lb | George Perry | Montgomery Lake, Georgia | June 2, 1932 | Historic largemouth benchmark. |
| 3 | 22.01 lb | Bob Crupi | Castaic Lake, California | March 12, 1991 | One of the best-documented California giants. |
| 4 | 21.75 lb | Michael Arujo | Castaic Lake, California | March 5, 1991 | Contemporary reporting described state biologist verification. |
| 5 | 21.688 lb | Jed Dickerson | Dixon Lake, California | May 31, 2003 | Dottie; same individual central to the later 2006 25-pound story. |
| 6 | 21.2 lb | Raymond Easley | Lake Casitas, California | March 4, 1980 | Historic California record giant. |
| 7 | 21.01 lb | Bob Crupi | Castaic Lake, California | March 9, 1990 | Crupi’s earlier 21-pound Castaic fish. |
| 8 | 20.938 lb | Dave Zimmerlee | Miramar Reservoir, California | June 23, 1973 | Historically listed; old accounts include disputed-catch allegations. |
| 9 | 20.86 lb | Leo Torres | Castaic Lake, California | Feb. 4, 1990 | Historic Castaic giant. |
| 10 | 20.75 lb | Mike Long | Dixon Lake, California | April 27, 2001 | Dottie; later revelations about Long make independent documentation especially important. |
The underlying dataset is also available as historic-giant-largemouth-bass.csv so photo rights, source confidence and modern taxonomy can be tracked separately from display copy.
How we evaluate other giant-bass claims
The finished version will treat “biggest bass” as a database rather than a single top-10 article. Each fish can carry fields for weight, date, waterbody, species/genetic status, official record status, documentation level, source links and notes about disputed claims.
IGFA Largemouth Bass Length Records
Weight records and release-based length records are different systems; this explains the length side.
Nick Dulleck’s Record Bass
A useful case study in how record classifications can change when taxonomy changes.
Primary & authoritative sources
View IGFA record page
Read IGFA announcement
Read article
Read taxonomy study
Historical giant-bass context
Arujo / Crupi contemporaneous report
Historical Top-20 compilation and context