Minnesota's record book took a beating this spring. The state Department of Natural Resources has certified nine new state-record fish since the ice came off, a spree that ran from a 2-pound bluegill to an 80-inch lake sturgeon and turned an ordinary spring into one of the busiest stretches the program has seen.
Two of the nine were weight records; the other seven came through the catch-and-release category. The distinction matters. Weight records require an angler to harvest the fish and verify it on a certified scale, while catch-and-release entries demand photos, clear measurements and proof the fish swam off in good condition.
"It's fantastic to see these great fish and really shows what amazing fishing opportunities we have in Minnesota," said Mandy Erickson, a DNR fisheries program consultant. "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."
The headline catch belonged to a 12-year-old. Sadie Spatafore of Maple Grove caught and released a 30-inch steelhead rainbow trout from the Stewart River in Lake County on May 10, beating the standing catch-and-release mark by an inch and a half. The angler she beat was her own older sister, Lucy, who had set the record the previous August on the same river.
"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."
Both sisters' fish still sit well behind the certified weight record for the species, a 33-inch, 16-pound rainbow caught back in 1980. And while the DNR lists these fish as rainbow trout, North Shore regulars know them as lake-run steelhead, a self-sustaining wild strain that runs the streams flowing into Lake Superior. As the group Minnesota Steelheader explains it, the fish "are born in upstream freshwater, then migrate downstream to Lake Superior as juveniles to grow into adults before migrating back upstream to spawn."
The rest of the spring class spread across the state and across species. Ryan Bauman of Golden Valley pulled a 36.25-inch bigmouth buffalo from Sweeney Lake on April 14, topping the old mark by more than two inches. David Selle of Lino Lakes weighed a 4-pound, 1-ounce black crappie from Cedar Lake on May 3. Chris Mulcahey of Waterville landed a 2-pound bluegill from Big Stone Lake on May 29.
Lake Superior produced the same record twice in five weeks. Matthew Hammer of White Bear Township caught a 44-inch lake trout on April 13, edging the previous best by three-quarters of an inch. Joe Bouta of Benson then released a 45.5-inch laker on May 9, beating Hammer's brand-new record by another inch and a half.
Two species made the book for the first time. Joe Busch of Cottage Grove released a 31.25-inch blue sucker from the Mississippi River on May 16, and Isaac Richert of Northfield released a 30.5-inch shortnose gar from the Minnesota River on June 6 — both the first of their kind to meet the minimum length since the DNR added them in 2024. The biggest fish of the bunch went to Travis Keating of Fargo, North Dakota, whose 80-inch lake sturgeon from the Rainy River on April 18 added two inches to that record.
Erickson sees a pattern worth encouraging. "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."
The state has run a record fish program in some form for roughly a century. In 2024 the DNR expanded the catch-and-release side from four eligible species to 18, a change aimed at the growing popularity of releasing fish and at raising the profile of native rough fish like the buffalo, sucker and gar now showing up in the book.