Yamaha Marine Group announced today Manabu Kurita, who officially tied the world record for the largest bass ever caught, has joined the Yamaha/Skeeter® professional fishing staff and will display his catch at the Yamaha booth during the Bassmaster® Classic in New Orleans, Feb. 17-20, 2011.
“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.”
“We are pleased to have a record-setting angler on our team,” said Cindy Thompson, Yamaha Promotions and Events Manager. “We look forward to working with him.”
Kurita will unveil the mounted bass for spectators at the Yamaha booth at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18. He will also be on hand at points 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,” Kurita said. “I know I will be able to find one, again.”
Kurita will attempt to do so in a new Skeeter® FX21 powered by a Yamaha VMAX SHO®. In addition, Kurita will be working with Yamaha on promotional activities in both Japan and the United States.
On July 2, 2009, Kurita pulled a largemouth bass from Lake Biwa that weighed 22 pounds, 4.97 ounces.
The IGFA®, a non-profit fisheries conservation, education and record keeping body, verified, Jan. 8, 2010, 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 fish, but according to IGFA® regulations, a record fish weighing less than 25 pounds must be surpassed by two ounces or more.
Yamaha Marine products are marketed throughout the United States and around the world. Yamaha Marine Group, based in Kennesaw, Ga., supports its 2,000 U.S. dealers and OEM partners with marketing, training and parts for Yamaha’s full line of products and strives to be the industry leader in reliability, technology and customer service. Yamaha Marine is the only outboard brand to have earned NMMA®’s C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception. Visit www.yamahaoutboards.com.
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