An image showing a Pacific halibut too large to be believed, by some, in fact portrays a fish worthy of “barn door” designation.
The 327-pound halibut was caught earlier this month off Seaward, Alaska, during a J-Dock Fishing Company charter.
The image atop this post – and in William Gentry’s Instagram post below – generated so much social-media controversy that the fact-checking website Snopes took on the case.
Not surprisingly, Snopes declared that while “a little forced perspective [photography] might be in play… in general, this is a real picture of a really big fish.”
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Forced perspective is making an object appear larger by having it presented at a certain angle in close proximity to a wide-angle camera lens.
However, a 327-pound halibut is going to look massive no matter how it’s photographed.
Gentry’s post included the description: “The month of Hogust is upon us!! Great day on the Predator with some really cool [people].”
After the Aug. 11 catch, J-Dock posted other images to Facebook showing the white side of the halibut, without forced perspective, and a smiling crewman and angler.
(Neither Gentry nor J-Dock responded to For The Win Outdoors inquiries about the halibut’s length and crewman/angler IDs.)
J-Dock’s Facebook page contains images of several giant halibut, including a recent catch that weighed 200 pounds.
While catches of truly giant “barn doors,” such as the 327-pounder, are somewhat rare these days, they can occur.
In fact, Pacific halibut, which range from the Bering Sea into Central California, can weigh up to 500 pounds and measure about 9 feet.
According to the International Game Fish Assn., the all-tackle world record is a 459-pound Pacific halibut caught by Jack Tragis off Dutch Harbor, Alaska, in June 1996.
Tragis also holds the 130-pound line-class record for the same catch.
–Images showing the 327-pound halibut are courtesy of J-Dock Fishing Company
