Norwegian Catches Halibut Too Big for Boat

AP ^ | 2-25-05

[Dan from Michigan]

Norwegian Catches Halibut Too Big for Boat

2 hours, 52 minutes ago Strange News - AP

OSLO, Norway - Unlike many fishermen, Harald Skoge didn't have to exaggerate the size of his latest catch. The 321-pound halibut was too big for his nearly 29-foot boat.

Skoge, who fishes as a hobby, was trying his luck off western Norway with a simple hook and line on Wednesday when he thought something had gone wrong.

"At first, I thought the hook had gotten stuck at the bottom," the retiree was quoted as saying in Friday's edition of his local newspaper, Sunnmoersposten.

Slowly, he was able to roll in the line, and realized something very, very big was on the end. When the giant halibut broke the surface, he realized it was too big to haul into his boat.

"I had to tow it to land," he told the newspaper.

After three hours of towing the fish, he was able to deliver it to a local fish processing plant, which weighed and bought the catch.

According to Skoge, the fish's head alone weighed 42 pounds, more than many anglers can claim for their whole catch.

[Dan from Michigan]

Holy #@#@. Sorry, no pics. The AP didn't have any.

[Darkwolf377]

In other news, Kraft announces discovery of largest box of breading.

[Redcloak]

He should have left the møøse on shore. If he had, he would have had more room on the boat for the fish.

[connectthedots]

That's a lot of fish and chips.

[Deetes]

That's a barn door as we call em up here in Alaska .

[the invisib1e hand]

soooo. this guy hooks a 321 lb fish with a simple hook and line, and tows it to land? and the line doesn't break? and the hook holds? and the fish just allows itself to be reeled in and then towed to shore?

pardon me if I am a bit skeptical.

[Roccus]

Guess you'd have to call that a wall-to-wall carpet instead of a door mat!

[kingu]

Damn, I guess you could say that's a hard halibut to break.

[LRS]

Did he name it Eric?

[bigfootbob]

" pardon me if I am a bit skeptical."

You're right. Even a small halibut like what I catch here in the Pacific are hard to land. They're hard to kill. They have hurt many fisherman & small boats by trashing around. I carry a baseball bat with a grappling hook bonded to it. Bang them in the head and gaff it into the boat. You fish for halibut with steel leaders and heavy test line.

[BROKKANIC]

This guy is supposedly holding a 321lb Alaskan Halibut...

[connectthedots]

World record is 459#

[djf]

Couple folks I know who fish halibut got .22 pistols.I heard a story about a gal who hooked into about a forty pounder, when they got it in the boat, it went wild. It actually was able to get away. After it broke her leg.

[blackbart.223]

Damn you. That isn't fair to rope me in without a picture of it.

[bigfootbob]

I don't shoot them anymore. Usually when you get a fish on you get lots of company from other anglers. I did shoot one once and the bullet split the leader and I lost a slab. LOL

I've heard of fish knocking holes in the bottom and breaking the transoms. A huge halibut is a handful. You have to be prepared.

[GeronL]

The 321-pound halibut was too big for his nearly 29-foot boat. ....Skoge, who fishes as a hobby, was trying his luck off western Norway with a simple hook and line

With a hook and a line???

I would have thought depth charge

[the invisib1e hand]

and you do this for...the halibut? somebody had to say it.

[bigfootbob]

Thanks for asking. No I hate eating fish. I love the sport of the fish against me. It takes me 30 minutes to stop shaking when I land a big slab. Better than taking drugs.