#1a Manabu Kurita
Manabu Kurita and his record setting largemouth bass in Japan.
| Rank | Weight | Angler | Location | Date |
| 1a | 22 lb 4 oz | Manabu Kurita | Lake Biwa, Shiga, Japan | July 2nd, 2009* |
| 1b | 22 lb 4 oz | George Perry | Montgomery Lake, Georgia, USA | June 2nd, 1932* |
| 3 | 22 lb 0 oz | Robert Crupi | Castaic Lake, California, USA | March 12th, 1991 |
| 4 | 21.75 | Michael Arujo | Castaic Lake, California, USA | March 5th, 1991 |
| 5 | 21.688 | Jed Dickerson | Lake Dixon, California, USA | May 31st, 2003 |
| 6 | 21 lb 3 oz | Raymond Easley | Lake Casitas, California, USA | March 4th, 1980 |
| 7 | 21 lb 0 oz | Robert Crupi | Castaic Lake, California, USA | March 9th, 1990 |
| 8 | 20.938* | Dave Zimmerlee | Miramar Reservoir, California, USA | June 23rd, 1973 |
| 9 | 20.86 | Leo Torres | Castaic Lake, California, USA | February 4th, 1990 |
| 10 | 20.75* | Mike Long | Lake Dixon, California, USA | April 27th, 2001 |
| 11 | 20.25 | Gene Dupras | Lake Hodges, California, USA | May 30th, 1985 |
| 12 | 20.25* | Johnny Garduno | Miramar Reservoir, California, USA | March 25th, 1990 |
| 13 | 20.125 | Fritz Friebel | Big Fish Lake, Florida, USA | May 19th, 1923 |
| 14 | 19.7 | George Coniglio | Lake Mission Viejo, California, USA | March 21st, 2006 |
| 15 | 19.5 | Mark Balloid | Castaic Lake, California, USA | May 28th, 1990 |
| 16 | 19.5 | Randy Crabtree | Lake Casitas, California, USA | April 9th, 2002 |
| 17 | 19 lb 8 oz | Keith Gunsauls | Miramar Reservoir, California, USA | March 7, 1988 |
| 18 | 19.438 | Mac Weakley | Lake Dixon, California, USA | May 20th, 2003 |
| 19 | 19.25 | Chris Brandt | Miramar Reservoir, California, USA | March 22nd, 1998 |
| 20 | 19.188 | Steve Beasley | Lake Wohlford, California, USA | February 3rd, 1986 |
| 21 | 19.188 | Arden Hanline Sr. | Lake Morena, California, USA | February 17th, 1987 |
| 22 | 19.15 | Kazuya Shimada | Lake Ikehara, Nara, Japan | April 22nd, 2003 |
| 23 | 19.1 | Bruce Knutsen | Lake Baccarac, Sinaloa, Mexico | January 17th, 1993 |
| 24 | 19.063* | Sandy DeFresco | Miramar Reservoir, California, USA | March 14th, 1988 |
| 25 | 19 lb 0 oz | Danny Kadota | Castaic Lake, California, USA | January 8th, 1989 |
*Manabu Kurita officially tied Perry’s record from 1932 but his fish did not weigh 2 ounces more than Perry’s so it did not officially beat it.
*Dave Zimmerlee – several anglers claimed to have seen Zimmerlee pull the dying bass from the water instead of actually catching it. Zimmerlee denies this claim.
*Johnny Garduno – anglers claimed that Garduno used his net to scoop his bass as it investigated his stringer of trout.
*Sandy DeFresco – weights were found in the belly of this fish but nobody could explain why. Defresco was awarded the weight of the fish minus the 2.5 pound weight.
*Mike Long – after an expose and in-depth report by Kellen Ellis titled The Dark Secret of “America’s Big Bass Guru” – all of Mike Long’s catches are now suspect.
Mac Weakley in California.
An angler from California named Mac Weakley actually caught the largest largemouth bass ever but it did not count towards any records because he foul-hooked it!
On March 20, 2006 Mac caught a 25.1 pound bass with a distinctive dot on the bottom of her gill-plate on Lake Dixon the US state of California.
Mac could have gone the way of controversy as a few of the angler above but did not. He released Dottie after a quick picture. She died of old age 3 years later.
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