It wasn't the biggest fish he ever caught, but Steven DeMars of Stillwater earned state bragging rights this week with a greenish monster nearly four feet long that made him the first catch-and-release record holder for a Minnesota flathead catfish.
Minnesota anglers start the scoring for new catch-and-release records
June 22, 2016 at 4:14AM
The DNR also announced the first catch-and-release record for a lake sturgeon: Cindy Pawlowski's 63-inch trophy caught on Mother's Day along the Rainy River in Koochiching County.
The two anglers were the first to successfully apply under a new state program that scores catch-and-release records for three species: lake sturgeon, flathead catfish and muskies. Previously, Minnesota only recognized record fish killed and weighed on a certified scale.
The DNR's Mike Kurre said the agency still is waiting for a record-setter in the catch-and-release muskie category.
DeMars, an avid stalker of large catfish, said he normally fishes four to five nights a week on the St. Croix River, sometimes well past midnight. He applied for a catch-and-release record on the lunker he hooked May 8 "to see how the process worked."
The big "cat" measured 47 inches long with a 30-inch girth. DeMars' personal best, caught one year ago before the new recognition program began, was an inch longer and 2½ inches wider.
DeMars is an advocate for the new program and expects to be quickly dethroned by like-minded catfish anglers, a competitive bunch.
"It's a crime to kill these fish," he said.
Pawlowski, who likes to fish for sunfish, bass and walleye, said her sturgeon outing might well turn out to be a once-in-a-lifetime deal.
She and her husband made a 200-mile trip to Baudette from their home in Frazee to fish with DNR employee Zach Pawlowski, their son.
They were anchored on the river and Cindy was reading a book, waiting for a sturgeon to inhale her sunken hook, baited with a wad of night crawlers.
"All of a sudden my son said, 'You better check your line,' " she recalled.
What ensued was a 9-minute fight with a fish that surfaced three times, she said. Based on its 63-inch length and 29-inch girth, the fish weighed an estimated 76 pounds, nearly 20 pounds smaller than Minnesota's "kill-fish" record sturgeon, caught in 1994.
The state "kill-fish" record for a flathead catfish was set in 1970 with no other measurement information besides 70 pounds. DeMars' fish was estimated at 52 pounds.
None of the boat’s occupants, two adults and two juveniles, were wearing life jackets, officials said.
