Report from Bold S.A.C’s fishing trip to Skjervøy Fishing Camp in Norway.

This was the club’s third trip to Skjervøy Fishing Camp, booked through Anglers World Holidays, and it was one hell of a trip to remember. Not only did we catch some big fish, but we also broke the Camp’s Halibut record, setting a new record of 290lb! The monster was caught by Kevin McKie (Skipper of Brigand Charters, Liverpool) on a 30lb class Shimano rod and an Accurate 400 reel loaded with 50lb Berkley crystal braid. A running ledger rig was used to target the big halibut made from 150lb mono and an 8/o cox and rawle meat hook – the killer bait was a coalie flapper fished on the drift in 62 meters of water. The fight felt like is lasted a lifetime after getting the fish to the top nine times only having it dive to the bottom each time. Kev thought he was never going to land the fish because he could not lift the rod up as it was going to snap under the immense pressure, so he leaned over the side of the boat and pointed the rod to the fish, minimising the pressure on the rod. When the fish was first gaffed, in the bottom jaw so as not to harm it, the halibut went crazy, smashing its head into the side of the 21 foot boat, it then bent the gaff head out and bent the gaff pole resulting in it diving back down to the depths again. Kevin, Ivan and Ian all agreed that the only way to land the fish would be to get a tail rope on the fish and the gaff in its bottom jaw again.

Largest ever Halibut caught by a UK angler?

As Kevin brought the Halibut to the surface again, they managed to get the gaff in its bottom jaw and put a tail rope on the fish and tied it off the cleat on the side of the boat. This then resulted in the Halibut going completely berserk which almost tipped over the boat. Although Bold S.A.C is a firm believer in “Catch & Release”, the Halibut was badly damaged from the fight so we decided to keep the fish and take it back to shore. The fish was not wasted in any way. It was split between everyone at the camp and Kevin personally took home 30 kilo’s worth of fillets! Most of the other fish that were caught on the week long trip were released back to the sea to fight another day.

This halibut is also believed to be the largest ever caught by a UK angler.

Other notable fish that were caught were Cod to 32lb, Haddock to 8lb, Coalfish to 14lb, Torsk to 10lb and most of the lads set new personal best records for Halibut. Weights as follows:

Kevin McKie – 290lb
Mick Smith – 16lb
Ivan Mahr – 60lb
Ian Warr – 38lb