German Fisherman Catches World Record 515-Pound Atlantic Halibut

A German fisherman thought he had hooked a submarine while fishing in Norwegian waters, but when he brought is prey out of the water it was a world record breaking 515-pound halibut.

Marco Liebenow, was doing what he normally does, just trying to catch some fish, when he hooked into something, something really big. The Atlantic halibut was, in fact so big, it didn’t fit into the 19-foot boat the German was on at the time.

This is the catch of a lifetime as you can see in the photo. This halibut is heavier than a gorilla and was caught with rod and line.

It took Liebenow and his three friends 90 minutes to reel the gigantic fish to shore and when they were finally able to get some stats on the monster they were impressive.

The halibut was nine feet long and did not fit in the small boat the group was in, so they tied a rope around it’s tail to bring it to shore.

The German fisherman and his friends then weighed the fish at 515-pounds, which breaks the previous world record of 419 pounds for an Atlantic halibut as listed the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA).

Marco has submitted his entry to the IGFA to be put in as the new world record.

The company that organized the fishing trip to Norway says that Marco is thrilled to have caught the fish of a lifetime, when he caught it he thought he had hooked a submarine, because the fish was so heavy.

It took four men to reel the fish in, but it was worth the effort. Before setting on the trip Liebenow had asked for some tips on catching fish in Norwegian waters.

Atlantic halibut is one of the largest fish in the world, they can weigh up to 700 pounds and measure up to 15 feet in length. They live up to 50 years.

This German fisherman never thought that his trip to Norway would yield him the 515-pound halibut.

[Images courtesy of Angelreisen Hamburg Facebook Page]