Huge halibut hooked in Norway (thought to be largest ever line-caught fish; PICS OF COURSE:-))

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | May 28, 2008

[Stoat]

Huge halibut hooked in Norway

Last Updated: 8:50PM BST 28/05/2008

 

A halibut thought to be the largest ever line-caught fish has been hooked by an angler in Norway.

BNPS

 

The 31st fish has smashed the line caught record by 24 lb

The 31st creature - which measures 8ft1in long - was landed by proud fisherman Soren Bec following a titanic struggle.

The monster catch is believed to have beaten the previous record for a line-caught fish by 24lbs.

Although halibut of up to 2.5metres (8ft2in) have been spotted in Norweigian waters, it is unusual for the fish to grow to their maximum size without being caught.

 

Halibut are the largest flat fish in the ocean, with an average weight of 25lb to 30lb, and can be found in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans.

They are a slow-maturing fish, reaching up to 55 years old.

But recent king-size catches have dwarfed even the giant halibut.

In 2005, a 2.7metre (8ft10in) catfish was caught in Thailand's Mekong River - the largest caught in the country since records began.

The largest fish ever caught is thought to be a Whale Shark, hooked in 1919.

The monster specimen measured 59ft and was landed in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Whale Shark is considered to be the largest species of fish, often growing to 45ft long and weighing in at up to 15 tons.

[Stoat]

Fisherman nets one heck of a halibut - record-breaker weighs in at 30 stone Mail Online

Fisherman nets one heck of a halibut - record-breaker weighs in at 30 stone

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:26 PM on 28th May 2008

 

As a fully paid-up monster of the deep, it should have swatted aside any angler with the temerity to try to catch it with a mere rod and line.

But this record-breaking Atlantic halibut bit off more than it could chew when it took on heroic Soren Beck.

As it fought to escape, Mr Beck's small boat had to chase it across the Arctic waters off Norway to prevent either rod or line snapping.

Once the energy-sapping fight was over it took three men to haul the 30-stoner aboard. Back on land, they found it measured 8ft 1in in length, 6ft 4in around the middle and weighed in at 443lb, 24lb more than the previous record for a line-caught halibut.

And if Mr Beck had managed to get it to a British market it would have made around £2,200.

The Dane, who was on holiday, was angling in waters which have given up some giant halibut in recent years.

The biggest, caught by a commercial fisherman, was 63st. Halibut typically reach maturity at ten years and average 3ft 4in in length.
 

A halibut big enough for Jehovah? Proud angler Soren Beck stands next to the enormous 8ft 1in Halibut he caught after a titanic struggle off the Norwegian coast

When the fight was over, it took three men to haul the whopping flatfish on board their boat  with the use of a hook on the end of a pole.

The giant fish then fought for his life for an amazing half an hour after he was pulled out of the Arctic circle waters.

 

The 31st monster smashed the line as it was pulled in by three fishermen and weighed a record 24 lbs

Cato Bekkevold, an expert from the region, said: 'The area where he caught it is famed for cod and coalfish, but last year the Wildwater Camps brought up 80 halibut.

'These halibut can be caught by a variety of methods, but drifting with coalfish or big shad-jigs [a type of hook] baited with a worm have caught the majority.

'There have been some monsters caught by commercial fishermen, with one recently off Norway weighing 314.5kg.

 

 

Soren would have made £2,200 if he had sold the fish at a market in the UK

'The biggest in recent times was 329kg caught in the late 90s, and the biggest ever recorded is around 400 kg.

'It is painted in full size at the Halibut museum on the island of Senja.'
 

Halibut don't recover from over-fishing as fell as other flatfish, and Atlantic halibut are often tagged then released when caught.

 

[Stoat]

Translation Assistance:

stone - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6.	one of various units of weight, esp. the British unit equivalent to 14 pounds (6.4 kg).

[Tennessee_Bob]

'It is painted in full size at the Halibut museum on the island of Senja.'

Now there's something that just screams that the island of Senja has a rocking night life.

[Army Air Corps]

Gads, 30st is a whopper of a fish. Sheesh, I weigh about 14st...

[Stoat]

[Daffynition]

Someone was bound to say it ...Holy Mackerel!

[Dixie Yooper]

Fillet or steak? I LOVE HALIBUT!

[weegee]

Get a skillet ready...

[weegee]

Sounds like they can get even TWICE as big.

“The biggest, caught by a commercial fisherman, was 63st.”

[Stoat]

More fishing news......

Australian fishermen net 500-pound squid (20 feet long; OF COURSE there are pictures -))

Sturgeon goes on and on (British anglers catch 10 foot long, 500 lb fish in Canada)

Texas 3 Children Reel In Giant Catfish (65 lbs, a local record)OF COURSE THERE ARE PICTURES! -)

[Army Air Corps]

Yes, I saw that mentioned in the article and nearly fell out of my chair. At 63st, that is a lot of fish sticks.

[dighton]

A halibut big enough for Jehovah?

[Stoat]

Once the energy-sapping fight was over it took three men to haul the 30-stoner aboard. Back on land, they found it measured 8ft 1in in length, 6ft 4in around the middle and weighed in at 443lb, 24lb more than the previous record for a line-caught halibut.

[P8riot]

Somebody caught my baitfish.

[bmwcyle]

ping

[dighton]

Fish Licence

[xJones]

When the fight was over, it took three men to haul the whopping flatfish on board their boat with the use of a hook on the end of a pole.

The giant fish then fought for his life for an amazing half an hour after he was pulled out of the Arctic circle waters.

Personally I wouldn't care to be on a small fishing boat with a fighting mad 443lb. 8ft 1in. fish. Good for the fish, he lasted 30 minutes on board!

[fungoking]

I was thinking of something along the lines of “Just for the halibut...”

[Stoat]

LMAO

“I chose him out of thousands....the others were all too flat”

[Wil H]

Oh No! they’ve caught Eric!

[Stoat]

Get a skillet ready...

I found one that 'might' be big enough  :-)

Brandon, IA - Iowa's Largest Frying Pan

 

Iowa's Largest Fryin' Pan has an 8 foot base and is 9 ft. 3 inches at the rim. It has a five foot handle for a total length of 14 foot 3 inches. The Fryin Pan weighs 1,020 pounds.

[al_c]

That's one helluba Halibut!

[Daffynition]

LOL ... nice one! Wonder if the used a fish finder to snag the trophy?

[Roccus]

PING!

[Grammy]

I know you are busy today, but perhaps when you get home this will lighten your day.

[rickomatic]

When the fight was over, it took three men to haul the whopping flatfish on board their boat with the use of a hook on the end of a pole. The giant fish then fought for his life for an amazing half an hour after he was pulled out of the Arctic circle waters. Personally I wouldn't care to be on a small fishing boat with a fighting mad 443lb. 8ft 1in. fish. Good for the fish, he lasted 30 minutes on board!

It is common practice in Alaska to put a 12 guage round through a large halibut's head prior to bringing it aboard. They have been known to tear apart boats, and break the bones of anyone standing too close if not dispatched while still in the water.

[China Clipper]

I think you MAY be wrong about that part about the biggest fish caught.......

[xJones]

It is common practice in Alaska to put a 12 guage round through a large halibut's head prior to bringing it aboard. They have been known to tear apart boats, and break the bones of anyone standing too close if not dispatched while still in the water.

When you look at the size of the boat and then look at the halibut's photos, as posted in the article, the fishermen must have taken one hell of a beating.:)

[xJones]

Once the energy-sapping fight was over it took three men to haul the 30-stoner aboard.

Darn, one of these days I'm going to learn to read the whole article. They apparently had the sense not to haul the thing on board until the fight was over.

[thackney]

Back on land, they found it measured 8ft 1in in length, 6ft 4in around the middle and weighed in at 443lb, 24lb more than the previous record for a line-caught halibut.

The Alaska State record for catching a halibut on sport fishing tackle is 459 lbs. Jack Tragis caught it in Unalaska Bay in 1996.

http://www.alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/Departments/Halloffame/famehalibut.html

http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/region2/groundfish/gfhalibut.cfm

http://www.alaska-halibut-fishing-charters.com/halibut_biology.html

http://www.alaskansportsman.com/fish-and-game/trophy.shtml

[rednesss]

The midget on the right of the picture just makes the fish look bigger than it is. :)

[OB1kNOb]

Man, how I’d love to catch one of those babies! It would make all my flounder fishing experiences seem like fishing for minnows.

[Eagle Eye]

Wasn’t he in the recent Kobe Bryant slam-over-pool-of-snake video on you-tube?

[trimom]

Halibut are awful good eating! My husband caught some when we were in Alaska......sounds like we were fishing for babies!

[Elle Bee]

I remember those up near Sitka (sp?) they called them barn doors

.

[thackney]

like trying to pull up a sheet of plywood up through the water

[tubebender]

Lots of fish for the weekend grillin over here boys...

[SouthTexas]

That is some serious fish~!

[B4Ranch]

His arms and back are going to hurt for a week. Nice catch!

[tubebender]

Check out some of the links in other replies. Biggest fish I ever caught was a 28# Salmon on the ocean just outside the entrance to Humboldt Bay. I was deathly seasick the whole time. I was also hung over from a night of drinking...

[airforceF4]

Fish head, fish heads...eat ‘em up, yum.

[43north]

No kidding. That Norski halibut isn’t THAT big!

At the boat launch in Homer there is a pictogram of a ‘but that was caught several years ago in a drift net in Southeast that was guesstimated to weigh over 1000lbs and was over 10 ft. long.

My biggest was 69” and 180lbs but you know what? The smaller ones taste better.