Men have devoted much of their lives to it. Entire books and Web sites are dedicated to the topic. Millions, if not billions, of dollars have been spent in pursuit of it. Many have even gone so far as dubbing it the “Holy Grail” of freshwater fishing.

It’s the pursuit of the next world record largemouth bass and the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) is currently reviewing an entry which may rival the current champ which has reigned supreme for 77 years.

For decades, experts have speculated that a new world record would be caught from lakes like Castaic, Dixon, or El Salto in the United States or Mexico. Imagine their surprise when a largemouth large enough to go toe-to-toe with the current world record was caught in Japan.

According to the IGFA, Manabu Kurita caught the monster bass July 2, from the waters of Lake Biwa. While rumors quickly spread through the fishing world about a possible new world record, it wasn’t until September 15 that the IGFA received documentation to have the fish entered into the record books.

While the bass is a contender for the title, it apparently isn’t quite big enough to surpass it. The Japanese entry is 22 pounds, 4 ounces, exactly the same weight of the existing world record fish George Perry caught in Georgia in 1932.

IGFA World Records Coordinator Becky Wright reported Kurita’s fish measured 27.2 inches in length with an almost equal girth of 26.77 inches. She said Kurita was using a blue gill as live bait trolling through a canal.

Interestingly, the largemouth which may soon share the official world record title with Perry’s bass was caught in a country which considers the fish to be an invasive species. Official reports from Japan claim illegally stocked populations of largemouth and smallmouth bass, and bluegill — all brought over from North America — have caused at least six of their native species to become extinct or nearly extinct.

IGFA conservation director Jason Schratwieser said “the World All-Tackle application is currently under review after it was received through the Japan Game Fish Association (JGFA).” The IFGA’s decision on whether Kurita’s fish will tie Perry’s record may be announced anytime.

For more information log onto www.igfa.org.