The IGFA announced its decision today. The 22 pound, 4.97 ounce largemouth caught in Japan by Manabu Kurita will be shown as a tie. George Perry’s bass that held the record for over 75 years will be considered a tie although it weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces. The IGFA requires a new record be beat by two ounces to be considered as breaking the old record.

This rule may not make sense, but the reason is scales are much more accurate now than in the past, and most scales in the past were spring loaded and showed pounds and ounces, not tenths and hundredths of ounces and pounds. So it is possible George Perry’s bass weighed as much as Manabu Kurita since the weight was probably rounded off to the nearest ounce.