Fish caught in 2025 break records

Vermont Fish and Wildlife (VTFW) announced a freshwater drum caught in 2025 has been officially certified as a new Vermont state record.

In June, 10-year-old Grayson Carey, of Colchester, landed the record-setting fish while competing in the Lake Champlain International Father’s Day Derby with his father and grandfather. The freshwater drum, also known as “sheepshead,” weighed 28.5 pounds and measured 37 ½ inches long with a 29-inch girth. It beat the previous state record, set in 2016, by 3 pounds.

Carey’s father, Jason Carey, said the catch was no accident. The family has been targeting drum during the derby, noting the fish is big and fights hard, making it fun to catch.

Jason Carey would certainly know. In 2018, Carey set an LCI Father’s Day Derby record with a 24.97 pound freshwater drum – a derby record that stood until son Grayson broke it in 2025, while also establishing a new all-time Vermont state record.

Grayson Carey’s catch earned first place in the LCI’s extraordinary category, the first-place team prize, the junior warm water grand prize, and multiple bonus awards. Combined with setting new derby and lake records, the fish netted the youth more than $26,000 in prize winnings.

According to Shawn Good, fisheries biologist with the VTFW and administrator of the state record fish program, anglers are increasingly targeting native species such as bowfin, gar, burbot, fallfish, and suckers.

Although not a new state record, another standout catch was entered in the state record fish program in 2025. Carl Petri, of Middlebury, landed an 11.65 pound steelhead (rainbow trout) from Lake Champlain. The fish measured 29 inches in length and had an 18-inch girth and is now the largest steelhead recorded from Champlain.

Good explained that the name “steelhead” refers to rainbow trout that inhabit large freshwater lakes like Lake Champlain, Lake Memphremagog or the Great Lakes, but migrate into tributary rivers to spawn.

Anglers interested in learning more about Vermont’s fishing opportunities can go to https://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/fish.