Lucy Spatafore held a Minnesota state record for less than a year. Last August the angler set the catch-and-release mark for steelhead rainbow trout on the Stewart River. This May, on the same Lake County water, her 12-year-old sister Sadie took it from her — a 30-inch fish that beat Lucy's by an inch and a half, caught with the family fishing together.
"There is nothing that makes me more proud than having my 12-year-old sister be the person to break my state record," Lucy told Minnesota Fish & Wildlife. "It was very special that we were all fishing together again when she broke it."
The sisters' friendly handoff was one of nine state records the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources certified this spring, an unusually busy run that stretched from panfish to a fish longer than most anglers are tall. Two records came in the weight category, which requires harvesting the fish and weighing it on a certified scale. The other seven were catch-and-release entries, judged on photographs, clear measurements and evidence the fish was released healthy.
"It's fantastic to see these great fish and really shows what amazing fishing opportunities we have in Minnesota," said DNR fisheries program consultant Mandy Erickson. "We're thrilled that so many people have participated in the state record fish program. This is a fun way to recognize anglers and highlight some of the impressive fish being caught throughout the state."
Sadie's steelhead, like both sisters' fish, still trails the certified weight record of a 33-inch, 16-pound rainbow caught in 1980. North Shore anglers tend to call these Stewart River fish lake-run steelhead rather than plain rainbows — a wild, self-sustaining strain that runs Lake Superior's tributaries. Minnesota Steelheader describes them as fish that "are born in upstream freshwater, then migrate downstream to Lake Superior as juveniles to grow into adults before migrating back upstream to spawn."
The biggest fish of the spring came from the far north. Travis Keating of Fargo, North Dakota, landed an 80-inch lake sturgeon from the Rainy River on April 18, adding two inches to that record. Lake Superior, meanwhile, gave up the lake trout record twice: Matthew Hammer of White Bear Township released a 44-inch fish on April 13, only for Joe Bouta of Benson to better it by an inch and a half with a 45.5-incher on May 9.
The rest of the class showed the program's range. Ryan Bauman of Golden Valley landed a 36.25-inch bigmouth buffalo from Sweeney Lake on April 14. David Selle of Lino Lakes weighed a 4-pound, 1-ounce black crappie on May 3, and Chris Mulcahey of Waterville a 2-pound bluegill on May 29. Two rough-fish species made the record book for the first time: a 31.25-inch blue sucker from the Mississippi, caught and released by Joe Busch of Cottage Grove on May 16, and a 30.5-inch shortnose gar from the Minnesota River, released by Isaac Richert of Northfield on June 6.
Erickson said the steady churn of new marks is part of the appeal. "It's exciting that some records continue to be broken, like the lake trout, black crappie and bigmouth buffalo, which have been broken several times over the past year," she said. "Anglers are getting outside, making memories on the water or ice, and sharing their stories with others."
Minnesota has tracked record fish for about a hundred years. The catch-and-release surge owes a lot to a 2024 overhaul that lifted the number of eligible species from four to 18, an acknowledgment that more anglers are letting big fish go — and that native rough fish like buffalo, suckers and gar deserve a place in the book alongside the trout and crappies.
