NH Teen Reels In Likely Record Halibut

A view on the deck floor of Jack and his massive halibut. Photo courtesy Deep Sea Fishing, Al Gauron.

Jackson Denio shows off both sides of his catch. Photo courtesy Deep Sea Fishing, Al Gauron.

Jack’s mom, Jill Denio, took this photo of Jack and his catch at the dock in Hampton.

A young New Hampshire angler reeled in the catch of a lifetime this week off New Hampshire, and may have etched his name in the record books.

Jackson Denio, 13, of Hampton, New Hampshire, caught a massive halibut on Monday, September 1, and all signs point to it being a world record.

Denio was fishing aboard the vessel American Classic with Al Gauron Deep Sea Fishing Charters. The boat was about 100 miles off the coast on Cashes Ledge in the Gulf of Maine at the time.

At around 10:30 a.m., Denio hooked something that everyone noticed was obviously large. After roughly a half hour, he’d worked the beast close to the boat. The crew stuck it with a large flying gaff and got it into an on-deck cooler.

They arrived back in Hampton at around 6 p.m. and weighed it on certified scales. The halibut reportedly weighed 178.9 pounds and was 72 inches long.

Denio’s family is filing paperwork with the International Game Fish Association under the junior record for Atlantic halibut. The association’s website currently lists the record for Atlantic halibut under the junior male class as vacant, so it’s likely Denio’s catch will be a new world record.