It has been a long time since George Perry caught his behemoth Georgia bass, a world record largemouth caught on June 2, 1932 that weighed 22 pounds, four ounces -- a fish that has stood as the International Game Fish Association's (IGFA) benchmark for the species over the past 77 years.

But it could be time for Perry's great lunker to finally move over; there's a new contender to the throne.

Various Internet outdoor media sites began to boil with reports and pictures on Thursday about Japanese angler Manabu Kurita's behemoth largemouth reported to weigh 22 pounds, five ounces, on certified scales no less, that has been said to have been caught in recent days at Japan's Lake Biwa.

Kurita, a pro said to represent Deps Tackle Company in Japan, caught the bass on the massive 259-square mile Lake Biwa, a water body where largemouth bass were introduced some time ago as a sport fish.

While there is no information yet on how or with what lure Kurita caught the big bass on, I wouldn't be surprised if the lunker was caught on a swimbait.

Why? Because they seem to be all the rage in big bass fishing circles these days.

In fact, BASS Publications senior writer Ken Duke reported on Bassmaster.com yesterday that the previous Japanese bass record tipped the scales at 19.15 pounds, a fish that was caught by Kazuya Shimada from Lake Ikehara on April 22, 2003 on a swimbait.

Now keep in mind that while the Kurita bass reportedly weighs an ounce more than George Perry's current world record, Perry's name still may not disappear from the No. 1 spot.

Because if the Kurita bass is confirmed to weigh 22 pounds, five ounces as reported, then the IGFA rule book will come into play.

"I heard about it, but we don't have any details," said Jason Schratwieser, the IGFA's fishing records and conservation director, to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Ed Zieralski on Thursday.

Schratwieser indicated to Zieralski that the Kurita bass would have to be two ounces heavier than Perry's long-ago catch to establish a new world record.

"It will tie (Perry's fish) it if that's the weight," Schratwieser said.

Why is that?

Schratwieser told Zieralski that IGFA rules "...stipulate that for record fish weighing less than 25 pounds, the replacement record must weigh at least two ounces more than the existing record."

That Japan may have produced a world record size bass shouldn't be that surprising to anglers who have watched the largemouth bass -- particularly the Florida-strain -- be introduced in a number of other places down through the years. Japan and South Africa are two countries that have been stocking the All-American fish for a number of years.

Closer to the U.S., Cuba has long been thought to be a contender to the bass fishing throne, thanks to a number of undocumented largemouths that have reportedly weighed up to 24 pounds.

Just south of the Texas border, northern Mexico has several lakes that have provided enough double-digit bass in the past two or three decades to warrant speculation that they could eventually cough up a world record lunker.

The spectacular Lake Huites, arguably the most beautiful bass fishery in the world in my opinion, is one of those spots.

Trophy Bass Lodge, partially owned by Sherman bass angler Brett Graham, sits on Huites' considerable shoreline with an abundant double digit bass population and plenty of underwater nooks and crannies for big bass to wait in ambush on panfish and tilapia that swim in the lake.

With numerous Huites' lunkers in the 10-pound plus range caught each year, an abundant forage base, plenty of habitat, and very little recreational fishing pressure, I would never be surprised to see this water body give up a behemoth from its depths.

Stateside, Texas has often been rumored as a potential world record contender, thanks to the incredible double-digit bass fishing found on water bodies literally from one end of the Lone Star State to the other.

And of course, perhaps the best Texas big bass prospect of them all is an hour and a half southeast of Sherman and Denison, the world renowned lunker factory at Lake Fork where Barry St. Clair caught his 18.18 pound state record largemouth in January 1992.

California has also been a prime world record suspect, thanks to a number of rainbow trout stocked lakes that produce mammoth largemouths. In fact, in March 2006, California angler Mac Weakley shook up the bass fishing world when he foul-hooked a 25 pound, one ounce bass on Dixon Lake north of San Diego. Because the fish was foul-hooked, Weakley elected not to try for the IGFA world record mark.

Florida is another spot that has been on the serious bass angler's map down through the years, thanks to legions of fish over 10 pounds being pulled from the state's swampy waters like the St. John's River or the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes near Orlando.

But while there have been plenty of contenders in and around the U.S. over the years, Japan's Lake Biwa may be the one that has finally produced the bass angling catch literally heard round the world.

Stay tuned as this potential world record largemouth bass story continues to develop.