Most Wanted : Atlantic Halibut.

Recently I've been watching a few videos on fishing in northern Norway. It looks awesome and whilst massive cod and huge coalfish feature heavily it is an even larger fish that has captured my imagination, the Atlantic halibut.

The Atlantic halibut is the largest flatfish in the world a can reach over an incredible 700lbs in weight!

Whilst they normally swim gracefully close to the bottom, where they feed on other fish and crustaceans, they are also capable of very fast bursts of speed when hunting and have a large cavernous mouth that is full of small sharp teeth.

They have an impressive set of nashers.

It's easy to see why the species has a god like status amongst some Norwegians and seventeenth century poet Petter Dass romanticised about the much revered fish writing: "You loveliest halibut, you queen of the waters.".

Big cutbait shads and pirks worked slowly close to the bottom on the drift seems to be a good way of catching them. My mate Martin has been to Norway several times, enjoying great success targeting halibut using this approach and has put me in touch with someone who organises fishing trips over there.

A happy Martin with a nice big Atlantic halibut.

Atlantic wolfish, already on my "Most Wanted" list, along with torsk and Norway redfish are also possible targets too which also make arranging a trip appealing from a species hunting perspective.

The Norway redfish is normally only found in very deep water. It would be a nice bonus to catch a few. Martin tells me they taste great as well.

I already have next year's holidays all planned out so a trip to Norway will have to wait. Definitely a trip I'm keen to do though although I'll need to get a few more anglers to go as well. Anybody fancy it?

Tight lines, Scott.