Angler Uses Magic To Catch 17-Pound Bass In Japan

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The description "big bass" is a global language understood by anglers everywhere, so when those words were heard coming from Japan recently, there was no doubt that a newsworthy catch had been made. The photos that followed made it even more impressive.

   On April 13, around noon, Japanese angler Hidetada Nakajima caught a largemouth at Nanairo Dam that weighed approximately 17 pounds (reported as 7,560 grams) while casting a Sebile Magic Swimmer.

   The angler said he stopped his boat short of a point and made a long cast with the jointed hardbait, retrieving it as slowly as possible. "I felt a small attack on it and just after that the rod bent by the heavy weight," Nakajima recounted through an interpreter, Japan's Hiroshi Sugiyama of Finnesse.

  

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"I moved my boat to the deep water because there was no timber or structure to interrupt the landing. When I got the bass close to my boat, I tried to use the landing net but the bass was too big for my net. Somehow, I landed the bass but it was too big for my livewell.

   "I took pictures but I dropped my camera into the water because I was so excited. I lost my camera but I got a huge bass," he said.

   A "boat house owner" reportedly provided the photos of Nakajima with his massive fish.

   The angler said he was using the Sebile Magic Swimmer, model 165 SK, in Rainbow Trout color. He further explained that the bait is a favorite because it casts farther than other jointed lures, and that "it swims naturally."

   Although the bass is said to be a record for the Nanairo reservoir, it falls short of the country's record bass of 19.6 pounds. The Nanairo Dam is located near Nara Prefecture, Japan.

   The Sebile Magic Swimmer is a two-jointed, three segment hard swimbait designed by French lure designer Patrick Sebile. The 165 SK that Nakajima used weighs approximately 1.5 ounces and measures over 6 inches in length, and is a slow-sinker version. It is the same model that BASS Elite Series anglers' Todd Faircloth and Jason Williamson used recently in top finishes at Texas' Lake Amistad.

   Bass fishing has long been a popular sport in Japan. Several anglers from the country have moved to the United States in recent years to compete in professional tournaments here, and have had great success in both the FLW and BASS tournament trails.

   For more information about Sebile and the Magic Swimmer, visit www.SebileUSA.com.