Monstrous 6-Foot-Long Halibut Caught After Nearly 35-Minute Long Battle

A British angler celebrated Wednesday after catching a massive 6-foot-long halibut while on a trip to Bodo in Norway. David Wood-Brignall, a carpenter by profession, said he struggled for nearly 35 minutes to reel in the flat fish.

The 46-year-old hoped that he had landed the largest shore caught halibut of all time, as the one he caught weight over 150 pounds. The previous record is held by a catch that weighed over 110 pounds. Wood-Brignall's catch currently awaits verification to become the world's largest halibut fish on shore by an angler.

"I have never felt anything like that in my life. The battle lasted 35 minutes, I had cramp in my arm and my back was spasming," the father-of-one from St Mary's Bay, in Kent, reportedly said. "Thankfully there was no long-term damage, but I was really sore."

"It was just such a slow battle, after it took I picked up the rod and it ran as soon as I felt the pressure," he added. "It just went to the horizon and took 100 to 150 metres of line on the first run."

Describing his experience, Wood-Brignall said: "The first I saw of it was this bloody great big head and thought it was about 80lbs, it was only really when I tried pulling it up the bank I found out how big it was... It was like pulling 11 stone of muscle up a hill."

"It's still sinking in that I caught it, I just feel very humble and overwhelmed," he added.

However, the halibut died after the fight in the bitter Norwegian winter with a temperature minus 25 Celsius.

Guided Fishing Norway, owned by Wood-Brignall's friends, said in a statement: "Dave hooked into his fish and instantly knew it was 'The One'. After an epic battle which saw incredibly strong runs and hair raising moments of the fish running into snags, Dave kept his composure and listened to Phil's (Phil Hambrook) advice, finally putting this massive fish on the bank."

Halibut are the largest fish in the sea and the largest of all the flatfish, growing to more than 8 ft long and 700 pounds. The largest Alaskan halibut ever caught while sport fishing was 459 pounds in Unalaska Bay. Halibut feed on almost any fish or animal they can fit into their mouths. They are also considered a delicacy for their sweet flavor, snow-white color and firm flaky meat.