What’s the biggest fish you’ve ever caught?
I can almost guarantee you it’s not as large as this 109-pound halibut that was caught during an ice fishing endeavor in Quebec, Canada. The massive fish took four hours to reel in, and because it had to be pulled through the top of the frozen Saguenay Fjord, the ice fisherman had to resize the opening just to get the ice through.
The Canada anglers had special permission to fish the area thanks to the Atlantic Halibut Winter Fishing Project for Scientific Purposes, which requires fishermen to turn over whatever they catch to scientists in the area so biological date can be recorded.
Doesn’t sound like a bad deal to me, especially if you get to haul in behemoths like Remi and Mathieu Aubin did when they landed this halibut. The fish was so large, the two men had to basically ask for backup, requiring two additional sets of hands to assist in reshaping the hole in the ice to reel the halibut out of the water.
The Atlantic Halibut Winter Fishing Project (for Scientific Purposes, can’t leave that part out) is such a rare experience because otherwise, fishing for Atlantic halibut is not allowed. The species is on the endangered list, and can only be fished for through the Canadian fishing project.
That’s why Mathieu Aubin was so excited about the rare experience, and posted about it on his Facebook page just 24 hours removed from the catch:
“What to say after 24 hours… Honestly I’m still speechless, I went back to spend the day on the ice today to thank the fjord and live my emotion of the moment in peace! No matter how I look at this event, I can only be positive about what life brings me.”
So what happened to the 100-plus-pound halibut after it was caught?
Well, scientists will take a look at the fish and conduct research to create data about the Atlantic halibut. And as for the meat of the fish, Aubin stated in the post that he would be donating it to those that are in need.
The Atlantic Halibut fishing project started back in 2022, and has repeated every year since during the winter.
