Arctic spearfishing: Halibut hunting in Norway

  • As requested by a few of the members that know me from DB, I'm reposting my halibut story. Some of you may have seen this before, but I hope you will bear with me anyway ;)


    I love it when a plan comes together, and even more so when there’s a bit of an effort behind the rewards. That is why this is a rather long story, so instead of making it short, I’ll try to make it exciting :)
    Two and a half years ago I was up in the Arctic collaborating with some people up there for an experiment for my PhD. I was there for about 6 weeks, just as the light was returning after the mid-winter darkness. Surprisingly to me at the time, this is a magical time of year in the Arctic, with seemingly endless sunrises and sunsets and of course the northern lights. Even before I went I’d dreamed of hunting large Atlantic halibut, it has been ever since I started spearfishing. Up there I heard stories of hook and line fishermen catching halibut on a fairly regular basis, and I also found a few YouTube videos of SCUBA divers swimming up to large Atlantic halibut in what seemed to be fairly shallow waters.
    Naturally, the idea of hunting halibut was milling away in my head and I started making plans. However, the Arctic winter is cold and dark and I never got a chance to give it a shot while I was working there and when I left I had no idea whether I’d have the chance to come back to give it a go. Therefore, the plans lingered in the back of my head, without ever really materializing into actual plans for a trip. I practically forgot all about the halibut hunting throughout the spring and summer, until this picture suddenly arrived in my email inbox just over two years ago:



    My buddy is a big guy, 190cm+, and as you can see the halibut is even longer: 205 cm and weighing in at a rather astounding 152 kg (~335 lbs). That is bordering on obese for a halibut this length  The fish was caught on sport fishing equipment from a small boat, and it had taken him almost 45 minutes to reel in the fish. A fish that big is a fish of a lifetime even by Atlantic halibut standards, and he told me he’d caught it at a depth of only 12-14 meters (~40 feet)! He also added that he’d been fishing in the same area many times throughout the summer and he’d caught halibut half the times he’d been out! Even better, more than half the fish he’d caught had been above the 30 kg mark, and they’d all been caught at depths from 5-25 meters. In other words, perfect for spearfishing… Needless to say these news got me excited and in the early fall I was headed up above the Arctic Circle again, finally ready for the much coveted halibut hunt.

  • My buddy had booked a cabin close to the fishing spots and we loaded up the boat and headed for the cabin. After we’d relieved the boat of some weight at the cabin we headed towards the halibut’s turf. Conditions were very good, ~15m visibility and sandy/gravel bottom and a manageable current. My buddy was fishing and steering the boat while I was in the water looking for giant halibut. The diving was very different from what I’m used to; due to the great visibility and sandy bottom it felt like I was floating above a desert. I also noticed that I couldn’t see a single fish worth taking a shot at. After swimming around for an hour and a half I’d not seen any trace of as much as a small cod or coalfish, which are rather plentiful in this part of Norway. I did see the occasional school of sand eels swimming around, but that was all. Another issue that started milling in my head was the halibut camouflage. How good was it really? Would I be able to see a 10 or 30 kg fish from the surface at 10 meter depth? I guess the answer to that would only come when I found one...
    Not long after I spotted something on the bottom at about 8 m depth during a surface interval. A flatfish like shape maybe? No matter what it was it was small, no doubt, and hardly distinguishable from the sandy bottom. I decided to have a look at it in case it actually was a halibut and started my descent. A few meters down there was no doubting it any more, it was indeed a halibut, and as I’d feared it was very well camouflaged. I could easily have missed it from the surface in spite of the fish resting on top of the sand without any signs of burying to cover itself. About three meters away from the fish I let the spear fly, hitting the halibut right behind the gill plate, unfortunately below, not above, the lateral line. The fish bolted and was gone in an instant; so different from all other flatfish I’ve shot which usually just sit pinned to the sand, unable to move the spear. The halibut actually took my float for a ride a few meters before it was done, but it didn’t take me many seconds to pull it back in on the break-away float line. I’d finally caught my first halibut, albeit a very small one. When I got to the boat my buddy told me it was the smallest halibut he’d seen caught in the area and if it’d been a few months later, it’d been illegal. A minimum size limit for halibut was implemented in 2010 in Norway (80 cm). The fish turned out to be bigger than expected though, roughly 4 kg and was fantastic eating that night. I did a bit more searching, but no more fish were spotted that day.


    At the start of day two we were three people in the boat: we’d picked up a buddy of ours the night before. The two of them fished while I hovered above the sandy wasteland for an hour or two, again spotting only the occasional sand eel school. I was starting to feel the cold (7-8 degrees C water) but decided to have a look in the shallows towards the shore, in 4-7 meter depth. After fifteen minutes of surface swimming against a mild current, a dark, odd shape lying on the bottom caught my eye at the edge of visibility. I made my way towards it slowly and it didn’t take long before the diamond shape became obvious and I realized I was looking at a much larger halibut than the one I shot the day before. This thing was massive! A rough guess would be around 50 kg and a meter and a half in length. It was sitting quietly on top of the sand, in about 6 meter depth, blatantly obvious from the surface, even 10+ meters away. It was hardly camouflaged in comparison to the sand, and very dark in coloration. I remember going back and forth in my mind about what to do next: Dive down and get closer or opt for a surface shot? I chose the surface shot. Off the spear went. It hit the halibut in what seemed like the perfect spot; in the middle of the gill plate where there’s plenty of holding power. The fish froze for a split second before bolting off out of sight taking my float line with it. I grabbed the line and waited for the halibut tow job. One, two and three seconds went by and I finally noticed the line had stopped moving. Had the fish settled on the bottom again so fast? No way. I started pulling in the line and felt only an eerie absence of resistance. It didn’t take long before I saw the spear and the absence of a giant halibut on the end. Either the spear must not have penetrated far enough (not past the flopper pin) or the flopper didn’t engage. Either way; it felt awful and I prayed I didn’t hurt the fish mortally.
    But on the positive side, I knew I was in the right place and that at least some of the big halibut could be easily spotted from the surface. By now, the excitement and counter current swimming have made me nice and warm, so I carried on surface swimming to look for another giant. In this spot there were a few more rocks and some bedrock interspersed with the sand making the habitat seem less barren. After only 5-10 minutes, another large, dark brown diamond appeared on the bottom below me. I couldn’t believe it and had to have a second look before it finally registered. This one wasn’t as large as the first, but still a good fish, maybe 20-30 kg, it all depends on how thick they are... Again I opted for a surface shot, in fear of scaring the fish before I could fire, and was careful not to aim at the gill plate this time. The spear hit its mark a few cm behind the gill plate and at the same time a strange cracking noise resonated through the water. The fish bolted, leaving the spear in a cloud of sand on the bottom, and me devastated due to another lost fish. By now my buddies had pulled the boat up to check on me and when I told them about the lost fish the looks on their faces were priceless. They immediately started fishing shallower and drifted away again. I reloaded my gun and kept on swimming, pretty much bummed out because of the two lost fish. I was absolutely sure I’d wasted my only two chances at catching a decent halibut, but still continued to swim; there was no way i was getting back in the boat yet, I was just too worked up. I was now moving into a shallower area, where the sand was heavily interspersed with bedrock, in only 3-4 meters depth. Yet again I saw something that looked not quite right. Directly in front of a large chunk of bedrock ahead was a light grey structure and I moved closer to check it out. Again, as I got closer, the diamond shaped body of a large halibut appeared and my heart started racing. This fish was the biggest by far and in only 3-4 meters depth! Again I lined up for a surface shot, not daring to potentially disturb the fish by diving while I was so close. As I pulled the trigger, the fish decided to bolt despite my efforts to be stealthy; it was gone surprisingly quick for such a large animal. The spear did meet up with the fish, but it hit its flank only a few cm into the flesh and that tore out before I even felt the resistance. Again I was utterly gutted because of another fish lost, but luckily this one was barely scratched compared to the others. I decided to check out its actual size and went down to the bottom to lie down in its spot. I was amazed. The fish was at least as long as me (excluding the long fins), 180 cm+ (6 feet), which corresponds to a weight of ~80 kg and definitely far bigger than the Norwegian record at the time. Now I was stoked, almost high on the experiences of the day, and kept on swimming around to try and find another fish. But that was it for the day, another hour or so went by without sight of fish, and I decided to get back in the boat to warm up. My buddies were of course thrilled to hear about yet another large halibut and they had also hooked a small one on rod and line, but it had let the lure go a while into the fight.
    The next day the images of the giant fish were still swimming about in my head and I couldn’t wait to get into the water for another chance. After an hour or so I descended to about 7-8 meters and notice a drop off a few meters away. These ridges in the topography are usually nice spots and fish can often be found either on top or at the bottom of a ridge. I made my way to the edge and dropped down about 5 meters to where the ridge levelled out with the next plateau. I swam about a bit and found nothing but sand, but when I angled up to start my ascent I scanned the perimeter of my visibility and spotted that tell-tale diamond shape quite a distance away. I decided the fish would probably stick around long enough for me to come back down again with some fresh air in my lungs, so I continued upward while I kept my eye on the diamond shape on the bottom. I could barely make it out from the surface, but it was enough let me to kick against the current at the right pace and stay in position above the fish. A surface interval had never felt so long before! I did finally finish my scheduled time at the surface, took one deep breath and headed down, all the while keeping my eyes pinned on the halibut below. I had seen the fish from an odd angle rather far away so I had a pretty vague idea of the size. I knew it was above tiny and below behemoth, but other than that I was in the dark. As I passed 7-8 meters it became obvious the fish was quite small by halibut standards; I estimated it to be around 10 kg. When I had closed the gap a little more I let the spear fly and it hit the flattie right behind the gill plate, pinning it to the sand underneath. This halibut didn’t put up much of a fight and was soon in the boat. I spent another hour or so in the water, but spotted no more fish and called it a day, thus ending my first trip to the halibut hunting grounds.



  • My second trip up north came through in the summer of 2010. I spent three days up there during July last year. Despite my efforts I did not see a single halibut during diving. However, the weather was fantastic and midnight sun diving is highly recommended!




    Also, the hook and line fishing was spectacular! After about half an hour of fishing, my buddy hooks this fish:




    Exactly 2 meters long and estimated to be 130 kg! A fantastic fish by any standards and an unreal experience to be in the water with a fish that size while my buddy was reeling it in.


    The second and third day went rather well to. While I was out diving, my buddy managed a fish estimated to 45 kg on the rod but I came up empty handed in the water. However, during the late evening my buddy hooked what seemed to be an OK fish and handed me the rod, saying “Wanna have a go?”. No need to ask me twice, I was right on it. On the first run towards the bottom, the fish literally almost pulled me out of the boat, all the while my buddy was saying that the fish seemed to be a bit tame… It was hard work, but within half an hour the fish was secured to the side of the boat. 175 cm and estimated 75 kgs. I decided to have another go at diving in the same area, but no luck there. However, as I was getting ready to get in the boat again, I did a few test shots on the halibut with my gun and a few close up pics and my buddy shot a few pics of me and the giant flattie.





    At the very end I also lost a ~20kg fish on the rod and reel just as we were about to board it, it was a shame, but not much to be done about it.

  • I just recently got back from my third trip, and let’s just say it was no let down ;)
    On the third go I finally managed to shoot and land a good size halibut, and not only one, but two!


    I had only been in the water for about an hour and was heading up from inspecting something near the bottom at about 11 meters. As I looked around I noticed the tail of a halibut to my right, a decent size fish that I thought was in the 20-30 kg range. I had no air left to go after it, so I ascended and watched it from above. My heart was racing in my chest, it felt like I was doing a sprint while I was breathing up. I had some serious trouble calming myself enough to prepare for the decent, but I finally managed it and headed down. The water was a bit cloudy and I was having trouble judging the distance to the fish, but I think I was about 3-4 meters away when I let the spear fly. My almost brand new Ulusub 145 mid-handle did the job perfectly, and punched right through the gill plates. The fish took off in what seemed slow motion, swimming up the spear, and then shooting off with my floatline. I grabbed the line clambered further up towards the floats, and hung on for a ride. It must have pulled me 60-70 meters before it settled back on the bottom and I was able to go down with a second spear and get the kill shot in. Needless to say I was over the moon, finally, after many years of dreaming and three years of attempts I had finally bagged a nice halibut! It turned out to be 141 cm long and estimated to be 38 kg according to the length/weight table.






    I decided I’d had my fill for the day and settled for some rod and line fishing and some much needed coffee and cookies. I must have had my fill of luck for the day as well; nothing turned up on my rod. My buddy on the other hand landed a good eating-size fish at roughly 20 kg after a few hours. He even went on to catch one more fish, a barely legal one that he put back since we really had no need for any more.
    The next day we were at it again and this was going to be a non-stop diving day. We’d picked up another friend and planned to rotate all throughout the day: two guys in the water and one in the boat.


    Suiting up in a decent location



    That day we hit lots of different spots and I must have been in the water at least 4 hours covering all kinds of bottom: sand, rocks, kelp and all of the above combined. For some reason, pretty much the only spot we didn’t visit that day was where I’d shot the fish the day before… And, despite our efforts, we didn’t see a single fish all day. However, a little reward for our efforts did appear at the end of the day as our third member hooked and landed a fish at just over 90 cm, probably weighing just below10 kg. He was very happy and went home that day with some nice fillets for supper, and then some.
    Day three it was only me and my buddy again, and we decided to go back to the area where I’d shot the fish the first day. The conditions were pretty much the same as before: calm seas and 10-12 meter visibility. This day a pack of harbor seals had moved in on some of the adjacent islets and they were carefully monitoring my presence in the water, peaking up behind me and following me where ever I went. None of them ever got close enough for me to spot them under the surface, but I felt as I was being watched… I started making my way to the approximate area where I’d found the fish two days earlier, passing kelp beds, schools of small coalfish/saithe and occasionally diving down to look for the giants. After a few minutes of swimming I passed through a narrow passage between two rocks and the kelp and bedrock parted to reveal flat sandy bottom ahead at 10-15 meter depth. Perfect! I was barely able to make out details/outlines on the bottom from the surface, so I kept on alternating between surface swimming and diving down to hover above the bottom for a better look. I’d been at that routine for some time and was swimming a few meters off the bottom when I spotted something a few meters to my right. The halibut was, as usual, sitting dead quiet on the bottom attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible for an animal of its’ size and had nearly managed to elude my attention. It was facing me and seemed to be following my every move as I turned and swam towards it. I kicked further off the bottom a little and took aim for the middle of the head from a few meters away. I fired and the spear hit its mark perfectly. As I was drifting up I was watching the halibut closely, waiting for it to bolt, but all it did was flap about like a giant version of a tiny flounder pinned to the sand by the spear. It seemed almost stunned, maybe somewhat disabled from the impact with the spear. I yelled out for my buddy in the boat and started pulling the small “brake” float up the float line to get it closer to the fish in case it decided it had had enough of flapping about ;) As I lifted the fish off the bottom it was just as quiet as before and I managed to pull it all the way up to the start of the shooting line without it putting up any resistance. It was simply hanging mid water, suspended from the “tomb stoned” brake float. When my buddy arrived with the boat he handed me my flopperless shaft and I made my way down to make the kill shot. I attempted to video it with a camera in my left hand, which was a bad idea: Turns out equalizing with your left hand is difficult with a camera in it :p I botched the filming attempt but seemed to get a well placed kill shot. However, the fish didn’t to the characteristic “shake of death” so I went back for a second try. The second shot was definitely a winner and the fish was ready to be brought up. When I got it to the surface, my buddy helped me tie it to the side of the boat for a photo shoot.




    We measured it to 135 cm, corresponding to ca 35 kg. Judging by the condition of the fish it was probably closer to 40 than 35 kg.


    It was fat and I was happy!



    Three attempts and many years of dreaming. Finally it all came together on this one trip! Now I guess what’s left is to get one bigger than the Norwegian record. I’ll be sure to let you guys know if it ever happens!

  • Well Anders is a man of word:) he gave us these incredible and fab post of flat fishes.


    I read it all and enjoy it a lot, thanks Anders.:thumbsup2:


    Greetings from Mex.:cool2:

    Sadot Hernàndez.

  • Thanks so much Anders:thumbsup2:. That is my all time favorite post, love the fish and the images.


    Have a great NEW YEAR .


    Cheers, Don Paul

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

  • Good thread, nice context of fishing for halibut in Norway, is similar to fishing " line" (blanket stripe),you come very close to shoot but not kill the first shot .......... submerged buoys.
    beautiful scenery
    Congratulations on achieving your dream.


    :toast:


    Buen hilo, agradable contexto de la pesca del halibut en Noruega, es similar a la pesca de la raya (manta Raya), le llegas muy cerca para disparar pero si no lo matas al primer disparo.......... sumerge las boyas.
    Hermosos paisajes
    Felicitaciones por lograr tu sueño.


    José

    Un Hombre tiene que creer en algo.......
    Creo que me iré de pesca!!!

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