50 pounder atlantic salmon! The giant salmon of Gaula.

As it happened 4th of June 2023 at the beat Horgoien. What a fight! The salmon was measured in the water to 128 cm. Probably over 130 cm if measured on dry land:-)
This majestic giant of a fish was never lifted out of the water for a picture pose. Because this giant was in such a top condition when landed, we roughly used only ten minutes before it kicked impatiently and was released.
What made this moment really special was the team effort and the sharing of the experience with my fishing team. Stig Ørneberg got it all on film and cleared the riverbed for branches when I at several times had to back up from the river. Martin Herheim kept the cool and handled the net brilliantly, and Simen Aas was in charge of bringing in the media😊
- Tom A Heiberg

[@hogweed1960]

Wow! What a fight! Congratulations! Hard work and a big success!

[@davidpeters5962]

Two great things, firstly the catch of a lifetime and second fantastic news that we still have great salmon in at least some rivers still.

[@jamesdennis5699]

He has gtreat strength as well.

[@bobjohnson7207]

That's one in millions. Congratulations 🎉

[@cat793cdumpy]

His back must be getting sore after all this time. Well done. I have never seen such a huge fish caught on a fly rod.

[@oldsmugglerflyfishing]

Massive fish! Well done!

[@mickbrophy2478]

Hey dats a great catch 😮

[@BB1872]

Amazing fish well done that man 💪👌👏🤝

[@timmiller3133]

Patients n the right rod won the day,congratulations👏🎣

[@radicalflydesign]

Thank you! And you are absolutely spot on. Patience is the key, and a rig to whitstand this kind of stress and pressure.

[@zimboards5898]

THE GIANT "LEEPER" - what an amazing fish!

[@randyadams7269]

Appreciated the serene sounds of the river and birds not the typical fisherman psychotic screaming. Thanks

[@radicalflydesign]

Great to hear my friend! It's just the way I prefer it myself. See another comment below where I explain it in detail:-)

[@derek6579]

Sort of fish that fly rods really weren’t designed for!😂

[@joe3312s]

You played that fish perfectly, your a patient man i would have lost it

[@jjames2162]

Nice!

[@Justmakesomenoiz]

An awsome fish and great landing. U have great knowledge of both handling and setting the fish back. Don't understand why there are always people bashing and screaming wolf when there isn't any wolf. So again huge congrats a dream fish. Hope to come.close to that one day also. And u also earned a sub from me.

[@stevejeffrey7948]

Congratulations of catching a fine fish with the expertise you showed. Did you have problems picking up the cutlery at dinner?

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend. Yes, the arms were gone for the next 2 days:-)

[@RobertLangford-oc6xt]

Damn good fish. Well done. Thats the culmination of a lot of time on the water, skill and understanding of your tackle and the application of learned techniques. ...and a little but of luck ❤ Well done, hearty congratulations. If anyone finds it boring, I suggest they read the comments 😅 ...or maybe go fishing instead 🤪

[@radicalflydesign]

Thank you so much my friend. It is really appreciated. And you are totally right, 40 years of experience comes together, but you also need some luck😊I lost 2 other salmons roughly the same size last season, the luck ingredient was not present😊This year the ambition is a 60 pounder. I know where they live, …

[@RobertLangford-oc6xt]

My Uncle, who helped with the fishing infection at an early age, always said: if he has the choice, rather a little luck than a shit load of skill 😂 In your case, it seems to come together beautifully. Then I wish much success and luck. Keep up the good work and please continue to fish, play your fish and do your Videos just the way you do​. Its not everyones way but its yours, so don't change a running system! 🎉🎉🎉 cheers Rob L @@radicalflydesign

[@michaelkaniecki1998]

What a fight!!!!!!!!!!

[@alexandertelehin3425]

I assume that salmon was released, judging by the way the man with the landing net was keeping the fish in the water.

[@radicalflydesign]

Yes my friend. It was released. It was in top condition when netted, and we used only a few minutes on the release process, before it kicked impatiently and wanted to swim away.

[@Insanety1955]

Holy Moly 👍👍👍

[@jamesdennis5699]

Oh, did they trade off fishermen? Smart! Play everybody on your team. Also, I’m surprised that fish hasn’t ran down river on him and sent him running. That sucks.

[@mhdmdh8452]

Tu aurais dû te déplacer en descendant la rivière et mettre le poisson vers l amont de la rivière .comme ca le courant d eau agira en ta faveur et contre le poisson qui se fatiguera beaucoup plus vite..

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend, the problem here was that I could not follow it any longer. The river was spring flooded and the river bed is very steep just 30 meters below where we landed the fish. So, it was make or break stopping it from running further down stream. Luckily the equipment held:-)

[@Balticbluetooth]

Danielsson wins. Always. Congrats for this monster!

[@radicalflydesign]

Thank you! And yes the Danielsson reels are very robust and reliable. Have used them since the early 90s. I use the H5D 11fourteen for the heavy fishing.

[@johngraham5996]

I have 2 danielssons and i think they are the best reels out there, no ugly cage design on fancy paintwork, just a very robust and reliable reel that never fails

[@andreasstolle6545]

Glückwunsch

[@MrEst1953]

Did they kill this one or let live to breed again??.

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend. It was released. It was in top condition when netted, and we used only a few minutes on the release process before it kicked impatiently and wanted to swim away.

[@jamesdennis5699]

He’s doing a great job fighting it.

[@SuperOlds88]

Odd that only the fish was out of focus.

[@user-jl5ix1rx3h]

The video is two long why wait so long to land the fish and then you hardly see it

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend. It is really the salmon that decides when to land it. A salmon over 20 kg takes easily around one hour to land. Follow the link for a picture. Still in the water as it was never lifted out of the water. This to avoid harming it's spine before releasing it. elveguiden.no/no/laksebors/catches/559686?riverId=25

[@djwood6878]

Side pressure! Drop that rod to the side!

[@radicalflydesign]

Thank you for constructive input. I can only talk for myself. My experience with lowering the rod is that it increases the risk significantly of a shooting- or backing line breakage. This due to contact with rocks and boulders in the river. I always try to lift the rod high up to steer away from any obstacles in the river. A positive effect of the above, is that the rod is constantly working the fish. With lowering the rod I have experienced that I tend to drill the fish directly on the reel if I don’t pay enough attention to it. Another important thing: When lowering the rod, my experience is that I lose control of the line drag and line pressure on the fish. The river current will pull the line down stream with a force depending on the conditions in the river. I have experienced that large salmons have given in for the river pressure on the line and drop down streams, and before you know it 200 meters of backing line is gone. Game over. For side pressure I apply the things mentioned above, and constantly equal out any runs down- or up streams by following the fish until I am level with it. Then I have side pressure with good control🙂

[@euro-hawk-221]

@@radicalflydesign everthing you lay out is correct and you don´t have to excuse yourself for anything as this video shows how expertized you are

[@cliffhobbs7498]

Grrate😊

[@TokyoNightGirl-fk4cn]

💕Wow 💛💛💛💛💛💛🤍

[@jeraldmcwilson2189]

What is on the. Line

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend, do you mean what kind of fly? If yes, it was a 15 cm posh yellow Sunray.

[@johngraham5996]

great fight but i would've followed that guy down the bank, i lost a huge double 2 years ago because it was low water and i came out in my wellies 🤬 if i'd had my waders on i could have crossed the river and followed it downstream, it took my line and 100 yards of backing

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend, the problem here was that I could not follow it any longer. The river was spring flooded and the river bed is very steep just 30 meters below where we landed the fish. So, it was make or break stopping it from running further down stream. Luckily the equipment held:-)

[@user-kv1jl7vo8z]

Agreed. Cut video down.

[@glenncollins4778]

Honestly, I don’t get it.

[@kiwonsong1052]

25POUND

[@runemathisen5748]

Kongen av Gaula 🏆🏆🏆

[@radicalflydesign]

Takker Rune. Fjorårets🙂

[@terrylomax6799]

Can't have been in the river for more than ten minutes. Fantastic condition

[@joebrenner4428]

Beauty but it seems pointless to try dragging it upstream.

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend. With fish of this size, it is all about trying to orient the fish upstream. If you give it slack and let it turn you very quickly find yourself in a situation out of control. And especially in conditions where you have a spring flooded river it will easily rip off several hundred meters of backing line as it head down streams. If that situation occurs it is more or less 100% probability of a lost fish. Been there several times.

[@TheShrimpdoctor]

Didn’t even get a good look at it !!😢

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend, you can find a picture here. Still in the water, as it was never lifted out of the water. elveguiden.no/no/laksebors/catches/559686?riverId=25

[@TheShrimpdoctor]

@@radicalflydesign beautiful fish

[@abi1816]

wat is the name of yr fishing rod pls bro

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend. In this video I use a 15 ft Sage X, class 10. Extremely durable and robust rods. The setup is in addition a H5D 11fourteen reel from Danielsson. Also very robust and reliable, and with a very smooth brake system. The line setup is a 600 grains shooting head from NextCast, the Zone series, with a 50 lbs running line from GuideLine called Compline II. This setup is very, very easy to cast and mend under all conditions. Just feel free to ask for more info on gear and setup. Especially the line setup has everything to say if you are going to enjoy fly fishing or not.

[@benjavier8262]

I was hoping it wasnt hooked in the tail🎣

[@perskjelbred7099]

Cut the video down to 2 minutes!!

[@paulhirst4306]

30LB at the most, 50lb my a**e

[@radicalflydesign]

Thank you for your sound skepticism:-) Maybe this can contribute to convince you? elveguiden.no/no/laksebors/catches/559686?riverId=25

[@RobertSkene-qw3ob]

Dirty lo blow kick! Hope you kicked and made up?🇨🇦😂

[@JesusTorres-qr1gz]

Didn't get to see anything useful.

[@tonycamplin8607]

A really fantastic fish but a very boring video. Most of it just showed a man holding a bent over fishing rod, it should have been edited. Very disappointed that we didn't see the fish and it being weighed. It wouldn't have done it any harm to have taken a proper picture of it. A very amateurish video that could and should have been so much better.

[@radicalflydesign]

Thank you for your valuable input. It is really appreciated. My videos will be presented just as I prefer them to be when I'm watching content from others: 1. One take, pure and in raw format. Spontaneous. Zero production. 2. Just natural sounds and images from the running river, leaves blowing in the breeze, birds singing, dogs barking, fire crackling, reels screaming, rods braking, splintering carbon fibers, tippets snapping, the fisherman's struggle, the fisherman's adrenaline kick, fish leaping, comments and advice's from others from the river bed, the joint celebration with good friends when successful, the empathy from the same good friends when you lost that fish of a lifetime, … Meaning all the good stuff in life:-) This rules out: 1. Fast edits, voice overs, slow mo, music from h..., overdubs and overlays, animated text floating in and out, … Other important things: Weighing a fish is something we did in the past, we now have better knowledge of what could harm the fish. If a fish is to be released back into the river, we measure the length of the fish in the water and convert it to weight. And a picture of the fish will always be on the fish's terms. Meaning in the net or in the release process. Always in the water. To lift a big fish out of the water seriously increases the chances of hurting it, and not be able to pass on its super genes to the next generation. I have some very good pictures of this giant fish, in the water, and I will post them in the near future. Again, thank you for your direct feedback😊

[@tonycamplin8607]

@radicalflydesign Thanks very much for your detailed reply, it was much appreciated even if I don't entirely agree with them. Don't think that if it's properly handled weighing and photographing a fish does any harm. At least your way definitely doesn't do any harm so you certainly can't be criticised for taking that approach. Looking forward to seeing the video of you catching a bigger one!

[@euro-hawk-221]

that was not boring but the opposite of it. How that gear and line hold to that fish and angler was boring? Your comment is boring as it represents that kind of character saying "nothing is good enough for me"

[@joe3312s]

There is fast forward, you never had the patience to play a fish that long

[@McXyu]

it is not 50 pounder for sure.

[@radicalflydesign]

You maybe right my friend. It was probably more than 50 pounds:-)

[@McXyu]

it is more like 70lb, in your dreams. Too bad you killed it with lengthy fight, as recovery rate 10-15% Next time, buy luggage scale, and weigh it. You are for a big surprise how much less it is. @@radicalflydesign

[@klaustimeskristiansen4265]

@@McXyuagreed

[@radicalflydesign]

This fish was measured 3 times in the water to 128 cm. With 3 witnesses. My experience with the conversion tables for length to weight, are that they are quite accurate. And regarding your claim of a recovery rate of 10-15%. What research are you referring to? Could you please send the link? It would be very interesting to study it. Research using radio tagging of atlantic salmon in Norway shows a recovery rate of 93%. To reach this high recovery rate, and to get close to 100%, there are some important factors to be aware of and fulfill: 1. The fish should never be lifted out of the water, it can damage its spine. Especially when lifted by the tale. 2. Never release a fish that bleeds from the gills. 3. No dry hands or wool gloves should be used. It can damage its protective layer against fungal infections and diseases. 4. The net should be knotless and fine masked as it reduces the risk of shell loss and damage to the fins. 5. Water temperature. If the river is warm, above 18 degrees Celsius, the recovery rate probably go down. This fish was released into the river holding 4 degrees Celsius. 6. Regarding lengthy fights, you have a point. If a salmon is to be released you have to decide on this beforehand. The rule is to play it as hard as you can to make the time playing it as short as you can. And try to prevent the fish from doing any long runs to limit the buildup of lactic acid. My experience is that it is quite doable to control an atlantic salmon up to 20 - 25 pounds. However, when dealing with larger fish the probability that you can control it is greatly reduced, resulting in a longer playing time. Then doing the right things during the release process is even more vital. For an example of research in this area, see www.nina.no/gjenutsetting#:~:text=Lav%20d%C3%B8delighet%20etter%20gjenutsetting,10%20%25%20av%20fanget%20fisk).

[@loonhaunt]

My thoughts too. We caught 30 pounders and one over 50 in the Kenai River.

[@mitakon21]

Why didn't you keep it and eat it?

[@radicalflydesign]

Hi my friend, I would rather let a fish of this size live to breed. Let it pass on it's super genes.