Two sisters, two Minnesota records, one shared passion for steelhead

Duluth, Minn. — A Minnesota fishing record is staying in the family after 12-year-old Sadie Spatafore caught and released a larger steelhead than her sister caught the previous year.

Dave, Lucy, and Sadie Spatafore fish together as often as they can, continuing a family tradition passed down through generations. While the Maple Grove trio regularly gets out on the water, Dave said his wife, Susie, sometimes joins but isn’t as obsessed about angling as he and their daughters.

Each spring, the family heads to the North Shore for the steelhead run in area rivers, a tradition Dave began while attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He fished with his father growing up but was introduced to fly fishing on the North Shore.

“It’s one of my favorite kinds of fishing just because it’s so challenging and also just being in the nature of the North Shore,” Dave Spatafore said. “Then I got my daughters into it, kind of shared that passion with them once they were old enough to venture out wading those rivers.”

The first trip with Sadie and Lucy came when they were 3 and 6. Dave remembers carrying Sadie across rivers they were wading. The family has been making the trips ever since.

Last August, Lucy made the record books. Now 15, she described the day as hard-fought, with fishing slower than she would have liked. The family spent the entire weekend on North Shore rivers without a catch heading into Sunday.

“It was a Sunday, and it was getting kind of late. We wanted to head home, and I hooked a fish, and it was really big,” Lucy said. “And we reeled it in, and we measured it and realized, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s a record.’ We got our pictures and then we released it.”

Lucy said she was very excited when the fish was pulled from the water. At first, the family didn’t know exactly what she had caught. The moment was special not only for Lucy but also for Sadie and Dave. Lucy said it was fun to experience it together. The steelhead she caught measured 28.5 inches.

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This spring, Sadie had her opportunity, and while she loves her sister, there was a bit of sibling rivalry.

“For me, I was kind of like, ‘Oh, I need to beat her’ when she caught it,” Sadie said. “It’s just a little mini sibling rivalry almost. I was looking forward to the moment when I can say, ‘Ha, ha, I beat you.’”

As fate would have it, that’s exactly what happened.

The trip this spring was similar to Lucy’s record-setting outing. The family again spent the weekend on the rivers, though the bite was somewhat better with a few smaller fish caught. The original plan was to go to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, but they were still partially frozen, so the family opted for the rivers instead.

On Sunday, May 10, the final day of the trip, they were preparing to head home and nearly skipped a last stop at the river where Sadie ultimately would set the new record. In the end, they decided to wet some lines.

That day, Sadie caught a new state catch-and-release steelhead rainbow trout record on the Stewart River in Lake County, surpassing her sister by 1.5 inches with a 30-inch fish. She celebrated with Lucy and Dave.

Both girls say angling offers a chance to spend time in nature, enjoy their family’s company and create lasting memories.

And when they do catch fish, it adds to the excitement.

With two record fish caught by his daughters, Dave may have to concede bragging rights for best angler in the family.

“The students may have surpassed the teacher by now,” Dave said. “This is becoming true in many different areas of our lives, I think. Sports and everything else. You reach that point, you teach them well, and then they pass you up.”

After catching her record fish, Lucy said she expected it would eventually be broken, though likely by a stranger. Despite the sibling rivalry, she was glad Sadie was the one to do it.

“There is nothing that makes me prouder than having my 12-year-old sister be the person to break my state record,” Lucy said. “It was very special that we were all fishing together again when she broke it.”