Tomorrow night I am having diner with Manabu Kurita. He is fishing with Mike Long in the morning throwing swimbaits and we are having a get together in the evening . Do you guys have any questions you would like me to ask him. He doesnt speak english so he has an interpreter with him.  I am sure if you read the articles you can find most of your answers but there are always a few things missed so let me know

I would like to know if someone mentored him or is he self taught? Did he read books or watch videos on concepts and expand from there with trial and error?

My question for Manabu:

What do you think is the potential weight that

might be caught in Japan over the next several

years?

Kudos Matt, you are certainly an 'IN' fisherman!

I'd be curious to know about the most productive water depth and vegetation in Lake Biwa.

Roger

If you get the opportunity ask Manabu if crawdads are a common prey for Japanese giant bass and if so; do they fish old school hair jigs with pork rind trailers?

WRB

PS; Robert Munoz is back to painting bass mounts and has new spectacular colors.

1. How does he feel about the fact that a world record has to be 2 ounces bigger than the last world record to be an actual solo record?

2. His most productive artificial bait over the years as well as his most productive live bait for big bass?

3. How is his life different than it was before he caught the world record?

I just got back from Mike's house. He invited a bunch of guys including myself, Jerry Rago, John Kerr and few others. We hung out in his garage and Mike was showing us boxes of baits. He has more swimbaits then I do! Manabu had a couple of his own boxes loaded with very interesting huge swimbaits. Poor guy couldnt speek english so as we were busting jokes he had to here them from his interpretor Michi Oba who is an Editorial writer for THE Japanese magazine.

Both were very polite and humble.

Ok so I wrote down the questions you guys asked.

#1 He is a self taught fisherman

#2 He says he believes he has seen a 30lber. It came up and looked at his mother swimbait but did not hit it. He says the fish was 4 times the size of his bait and he guestimated it at 36inches

#3 His favorite depth is 16ft

#4 Yes Biwa has crawdads. Yes he fishes jigs but not hair jigs, his biggest jig fish is 12lbs

#5 I asked him about the 2 oz rule. I also told him I felt he should have the record outright. He said it didnt bother him as he is going to catch a bigger one.

#6 He could not answer what his favorite artificails were, or what his favorite live bait is. He said with artificails he has too many to pick a favorite. With live bait he says he uses several different types depending on the season

#7 How has catching the WR changed his life? He said he is in Amerca meating his hero(Mike Long) because of that fish. He also said financialy his life has not changed. He hasent even been given free line from the company he used. Shimano has also given him nothing for using their reel.

I am going to try and help him with having his fish molded by a big american taxidermy Co to see if he can make a little royalty money.

One thing I can tell you is this guy is a huge bass catching machine. He pulled out a bunch of pics and WOW he has caught many BIG bass. The record was definatley no accident.

To cool. 8-) Thanks for taking the time to ask our questions.

Great stuff - thanks.

Bad news that he's not getting any endorsement deals or sponsorships...

It's a crying shame that he caught/catches such giants, with no financial recognition, from the companies he is sponsoring directly or indirectly.

Don't they realize the efforts he has put into this sport? This kind of dedication and hard work is probably on par with our Olympian athletes. I don't understand their dis of him.

Yeah, thanks for doing this Mattlures.

For those that missed Manabu's Bassmaster interview and excellent article back in January, you can check out all of the back issues with the Digital Bassmaster features.

Most of these questions are answered in that article. It's very interesting. There's a free 30 day trial, and then it's $3 a month.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/members/insider/index

Sick!  Thanks!

I just got back from Mike's house. He invited a bunch of guys including myself, Jerry Rago, John Kerr and few others. We hung out in his garage and Mike was showing us boxes of baits. He has more swimbaits then I do! Manabu had a couple of his own boxes loaded with very interesting huge swimbaits. Poor guy couldnt speek english so as we were busting jokes he had to here them from his interpretor Michi Oba who is an Editorial writer for THE Japanese magazine.

Both were very polite and humble.

Ok so I wrote down the questions you guys asked.

#1 He is a self taught fisherman

#2 He says he believes he has seen a 30lber. It came up and looked at his mother swimbait but did not hit it. He says the fish was 4 times the size of his bait and he guestimated it at 36inches

#3 His favorite depth is 16ft

#4 Yes Biwa has crawdads. Yes he fishes jigs but not hair jigs, his biggest jig fish is 12lbs

#5 I asked him about the 2 oz rule. I also told him I felt he should have the record outright. He said it didnt bother him as he is going to catch a bigger one.

#6 He could not answer what his favorite artificails were, or what his favorite live bait is. He said with artificails he has too many to pick a favorite. With live bait he says he uses several different types depending on the season

#7 How has catching the WR changed his life? He said he is in Amerca meating his hero(Mike Long) because of that fish. He also said financialy his life has not changed. He hasent even been given free line from the company he used. Shimano has also given him nothing for using their reel.

I am going to try and help him with having his fish molded by a big american taxidermy Co to see if he can make a little royalty money.

One thing I can tell you is this guy is a huge bass catching machine. He pulled out a bunch of pics and WOW he has caught many BIG bass. The record was definatley no accident.

Thank you taking the time to ask the questions and posting the answers.

It's a shame that this historic catch doesn't get the attention or recognition is deserves. Making money from a record catch isn't automatic and will take a lot of marketing skills.

It's is a difficult task to interact with someone who doesn't understand the local terminology, let alone the language and culture. Being reserved is a sign of not understanding of what is being asked, Manubu looks to very animated in his own surroundings.

Again thank you for asking a question that was not related to the products you make. Any bass over 30" long will more than likely exceed 24 lbs.

Congratulations Manabu and good luck.

WRB

No problem Tom. Manabu  seems like a regular guy. Not cocky and not over the top actualy seemed very grounded. He was excited to meet us.

Their culture is a little different. When he went fishing he was wearing a pink shirt and  a cap with rinestones on it. Mike kept teasing about that.  He wasnt wearing the hat at Mike's house  and he had a jacket on ;D ;D. He was like a little kid, how excited he got when we gave him baits and he was looking at the millions of swimbaits Mike had.

I have said for a long time that I hoped who ever broke the record, worked for it. I can tell you, he worked for it. It was no fluke and luck played no part. I am glad it happened that way. Of course I would rather it happen in the USA but I am genuinly happy for him. He earned it.

One interesting note, Michi said he paid $1500 a month for his apartment which he said was the size of Mikes dining room. On top of that he has to pay $500 a month for parking, OUCH!

Mike doesn't need to worry about Manabu fishing his spots. Did they stick any good fish?

Tom

It's a crying shame that he caught/catches such giants, with no financial recognition, from the companies he is sponsoring directly or indirectly.

Don't they realize the efforts he has put into this sport? This kind of dedication and hard work is probably on par with our Olympian athletes. I don't understand their dis of him.

I think you are overlooking the fact that largemouth

bass are "officially" considered trash fish in Japan.

Every fish caught is suppose to be killed, never released.

Given the current status of the bass, potential sponsors

seem well advised to keep their distance. They still

profit from equipment sales without the stigma associated

with confronting the law.

It's a crying shame that he caught/catches such giants, with no financial recognition, from the companies he is sponsoring directly or indirectly. Don't they realize the efforts he has put into this sport?

Monetary gain is the underlying goal of "spectator sports" such as football and baseball.

With respect to "participant sports" like hunting and fishing, money moves in the opposite direction,

where our rewards come from the thrill of the hunt and victory.

Fortunately, being the holder of a world-record fish is a reward that money can't buy.

Roger