His big-fish experience unfolded just 500 meters from the popular Kvikne Hotel at Balestrand. He and his wife Ingrid have been spending holidays there for the past 26 years, camping at Veganeset just outside Balestand.
He spends nearly every day out on the fjord in his little plastic boat. One day in late June, he was sitting in the boat just offshore from the landmark hotel, over an area of the fjord that he said is around 200 meters deep.
"I had half a herring on the hook," he told local newspaper Sogn Avis. "I had 300 meters of fishing line and suddenly it all ran out."
He said he was sure his rod would break. It was only designed to reel in fish up to 20 kilos.
What followed was a long and hard fight between the man and the fjord. And the halibut.
"It drew out all the line I had three times before it calmed down," he said. "After three hours, it gave up. Then it was just to reel it in."
Krüger claims he never considered giving up. "Luckily, the hotel wanted to buy the whole fish," he said. "We didn't have room for it in our camping van."