Spirit of the Sportsman

Manabu Kurita of Aichi, Japan was bass fishing in July of 2009 in Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake when he caught a 22-pound, 4-ounce largemouth. Kurita’s catch matched George Perry, whose 22-4 lunker was taken from Georgia’s Montgomery Lake on June 2, 1932!

There was some delay in certifying the catch with the US-based International Game Fish Association perhaps due to the fact that the catch happened outside the USA or perhaps due to nationalism. Kurita’s timely and detailed documentation of the catch ensured his record won certification:

“When measured, the bass had a fork length of 27.2 inches and a girth of 26.7 inches. IGFA rules for fish caught outside the United States allow anglers 90 days to submit their applications from the date of their catch. The documentation was received through the IGFA’s sister association, the Japan Game Fish Association. IGFA conservation director Jason Schratwieser said Kurita’s application was meticulously documented with the necessary photos and video.”

Congratulations to Manabu Kurita on an amazing catch!

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The Asian Carp is an invasive species and is spreading inside of US waterways threatening some of the largest American sport-fishing habitat.

We have evidence this species has breached an electronic fence designed to contain them.

“A monster is loose. It eats 40 times its body weight per day, can grow up to 4 feet long, weighs up to 100 pounds and is known to launch itself out of the water at high velocity like a missile, frequently striking boaters and PWC operators who happen to be passing by.

Silver carp have the ability to jump high into the air and often hit boaters on the Missouri River. These fish were filmed in action as they seemingly mounted an attack on University of Missouri television producer Kent Faddis, filming them from aboard a U.S. Geological Survey research boat.

This hungry invasive species — the Asian carp — is believed to have breached a shock-producing electric barrier designed to prevent the giant invader from upsetting the ecosystem in the Great Lakes and jeopardizing a $7 billion sport fishery, officials said.”

Monster fish

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The National Geographic channel brings us famed bill fisherman Chris Fisher. He thinks it’s fun to catch great white sharks. We think it’s fun to watch:

“Avid billfish angler and TV outdoor fishing adventurer Chris Fischer never thought he’d actually be living a scene much like that from Jaws as he kneeled face-to-face handling a huge, live 4,600 pound great white shark. As a sportsman Fischer has caught and safely released lots of giant black marlin each weighing about 800 lbs, but this great white and the other giant toothy predators that followed were the biggest he’s ever caught, examined and then released 15 minutes later unharmed.”

Great

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California is going bankrupt, crime and traffic are still high, unemployment is among the highest in the nation and for the first time in the state’s history, more people are moving-out than moving-in.

So what does the government focus on?

Fishing

“A state blue-ribbon panel unanimously approved landmark fishing restrictions Tuesday for Southern California, creating a patchwork of havens for marine life designed to replenish the seas while leaving some waters open for anglers.”

Golden State?

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Congratulations to Caden Smith on catching a near-record size catfish.

“For the rest of his life, Caden Smith will probably relish the time he caught a catfish weighing more than himself—a feat he will quite likely never surpass. That’s because last weekend Caden, a 40-pound 4-year-old, caught and released a 45-pound flathead catfish from Texas’ Trinity River.

Caden was fishing with his family near his home in Joshua, Texas when he hooked the fish of his short lifetime.

“He battled for his life,” his uncle Dan Smith told the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Proud mom Natalie said the fish was as big as her son.

“When they got it out, he hugged it,” she said. ”

Big

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The good people of the state of Montana have honored a historical Montanan.

“On Sunday, a monument honoring the central character in the story, minister and fly fisherman John Maclean, was dedicated at the First Presbyterian Church on Fifth St. in Missoula, Montana. It was in this Western city that Maclean presented his first sermon as pastor of the congregation one hundred years ago this year, in February 1909. He planned and oversaw the building of the current house of worship, which was completed in 1915.

Rev. Maclean, his wife Clara, and son Paul—around whose 1938 murder the book’s plot is constructed—are all buried in the church cemetery.”

“He told us about Christ’s disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume…that all great fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fisherman and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.”

Rev. John Maclean

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The National Geographic channel series “Hooked” brings us even more episodes of fishing at it’s best. From monster-sized fish throughout the world to extreme fishing, “Hooked” has us fascinated.

New episodes Mondays at 10 on the National Geographic Channel.

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Clench your bum-cheeks

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Now this is a catch…you can tell by the TEETH MARKS ON THE BOAT.

“FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A massive shark was caught off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, and it was all captured on video.

A group of friends were fishing about 18 miles off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale Sunday when they stumbled across 10-foot-long, 750-pound shark feeding on a swordfish.

Jamie Bunn, who videotaped the event, watched as his three friends tried to capture the creature.

“I vividly remember the quote ‘We might as well get this thing. Someone’s dying today,’”

The carcass was butchered and distributed for eating…well done!

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Texas bow-fisherman have fished gar for decades. Apparently it makes for excellent fishing and good eating. Numbers are low and that means throttling limits.

“North America’s largest freshwater fish, the predatory alligator gar, is now protected to preserve its numbers”

“The gar is no ordinary fish. It combines the head of a Tyrannosaurus Rex with the body of a medium-sized shark.

In the fish-eat-fish world of Texan evolution, it has nothing to fear but man.

Feeling my own leather-soled brogues slipping beneath me on the deck of the boat, and struggling to pull back the drawstring on the bow, I could see no reason why it should not follow its last 100 million years or so of evolution with another 100 million.

If the alligator gar has an evolutionary weakness (apart from a pleasant taste and a tiny brain, of course) it is the fact that it needs to come to the surface of the water to breathe.

It achieves this with a sinuous manoeuvre that recalls the elegance of an Olympic swimmer’s tumble turn.

If you are an outsider to this kind of thing, like me, the moment when they break the surface before diving back into the darkness in a silvery rush, is a moment to contemplate the complexity of the vast eternal plan which holds us in delicate balance on our fragile planet.”

Fish gar

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