1 / 18

Manabu Kurita’s world record tying catch of a 22-5 largemouth from Lake Biwa in 2009 put Japan front and center in the bass fishing world for nearly a year (Here he is with an 18-pounder, the previous Biwa record). His catch brought tremendous notoriety to bass fishing in the Far East, where the green invaders are treated as an outlaw’s gamefish. Regardless of the light they’re seen in, bass are well-established in Japan and are thriving. Proof is in the following slides.