26 kilograms and 133 centimeters (!). No, we’re not talking about the average Norwegian eight-year-old, but the giant salmon.

– There’s lactic acid in the arm, fisherman Kristoffer Suhr told VG about the struggle to get the fish ashore.

On Wednesday night, a salmon swallowed its fly in the Alta River.

25 minutes later it was a fact: the keen fisherman had caught his biggest salmon yet. In fact, a full 10 kilograms larger than the previous record catch.

– It’s a dinosaur, said Altaværing.

Therefore, it is not without reason that Altaelva is called the “Kingdom of the great salmon”.

This river is one of the most famous salmon rivers in Norway (if not in the world, if you ask the locals).

Every year participate a few thousand in the local fishing permit lotterybut only 700 lucky people escape with the golden ticket.

Big catch in the long run

Kristoffer Suhr is far from the only one with a big catch this year.

King Harald himself caught 10 kilos of salmon in the Alta River this summer during his annual fishing trip.

VG also wrote about finmarking Mats Henrik Anti, who lifted a rake of 21 kg earlier this summer.

But bigger salmon than Kristoffer Suhr got, you’ll be fishing for a long time afterward.

In fact, during that time it was probably the second largest fish ever caught in Altaelva, the fisherman himself claims.

The previous record on the river was 26.7 kilograms. It was taken by 17-year-old Ulf-Arne Jungård Nilsen in 2008.

– Fishermen have a reputation for bragging about the size of their catch.

– I have photographic evidence, said Suhr.

– How do you really celebrate such a big catch?

– Then you go ashore and drink whiskey.

Let it out

Kristoffer Suhr says the whole family are fishing enthusiasts who fish a lot for food.

– We meant to take it first, but then we decided to take it out again. It’s bad food when they get that big.

There is only a brief shooting of the fish, before being allowed to swim further down the river.

– That’s big. It was a great experience, and probably won’t happen again, said Suhr.

Correction: VG was injured writing that the salmon weighed 26.7 kg. It weighs 26 kg empty. 26.7 kilograms is the weight of the largest fish ever caught in the river. It’s not always easy being a southerner reporting on the “great salmon empire.”