This goes to show just how powerful it can be once you get on top of those fish! Here we have a great little report from André, Johan and Anne as they embarked on a journey to target the Halibut in Lofoten. Ill pass you over to the guys for their words!
Right place at the right time
The Lofoten Islands is one of Norway’s best places to get in touch with a huge Halibut is something we have learned over the years. We thought we would highlight the fantastic fishing in the pre-season for Halibut when guide Johan and his girlfriend Anne went out to sea together with our former colleague André Starkenberg. When the Skrei Cod is on its journey back after spawning, there are still vast concentrations of baitfish near the coast. Both herring and capelin. The baitfish also comes with the sea’s top predator – Halibut. As a result, we have experienced crazy fishing for Halibut this year. Usually, the absolute best fishing for Halibut is in April-May.
Today’s plan was Halibut, and they planned both the fishing location and time based on prevailing conditions. Considering the result, you can take off your hat and say that our guides have local knowledge after all their years on the seas here in northern Norway and ensure a fantastic experience when you book a trip with us. Namely, they managed to land 17 Halibut in an intense period of only 2.5 hours distributed over the 3 people in the boat. They had triple hookups on Halibut on TWO occasions and had another couple of double hookups during this time!
It was total chaos in the boat and good teamwork; they managed to solve most things except a few tangles during the triple hookup. Today’s largest was measured at 115cm, but the average was around 90cm. They got the Halibut both on a baitfish rigged with a circle hook and on the jig named “The Crazy Daizy 400gr” from Westin Fishing. The advantage of a circle hook is that it always fits perfectly in the mouth of the Halibut, and therefore, it also gives minimal damage to the fish so that they could release 16 of the 17 that they managed to land. They decided to keep one of the Halibut, which they then cooked on the grill. A perfect end to the day!
As always, we advocate Catch & Release to maintain this fantastic fishery so we have minimal impact on local stocks.
Tight lines,
Johan Mikkelsen
Contact us
We do still have the odd week available for the 2022 season at Nappstraumen in our luxury Cabins. If you would like to join us at the famous Lofoten Islands destination call us on 01603 407596 or email us info@sportquestholidays.com.
Tight lines,
Paul
