Pound for Pound the Greatest Fighting Fish

[hewesfisher]

Gotta add my vote for the smallmouth too. I've caught other fish that fought well, and agree the bluegill and crappie fight very well on UL gear, but the smallmouth gets my vote!:cheers:

[martekk42]

My Vote goes to the smallmouth as well .. But we all know that pretty much any fish you catch espeicaly on light line is a blast and its all part of the reason we all come back for more.. I personaly love the fight . Its the main attraction for me.....

[AaronE]

I'm gonna have to go with carp. I've hooked into some mammoth carp in the midwest and Appalachia and it's like reeling in a Volkswagen dune buggy. A 10 pound fish will wear you out if you're using anything other than heavy gear. A 15 pounder on medium action gear usually requires a nap right afterward hehe...

[panfisher]

smallmouth and bluegill are at the top for me but if any of you haven't hooked into a northern pike you are missing a good fight. they slam your lure like a runaway train, tend to strip alot of line, and will do summersults shaking they're heads that tend to thruogh the hook. and if you are not careful their teeth will do a number on you. i've landed many on shore only for them to throw the lure and turn around and slither back into the water taking off quickly to fight another day. <')///////<

[Shane]

I would have to say coho. They are the fastist fish I belive. They could go across and up stream in a matter of seconds. They like to take off when hooked.

[bass-master]

definatly smallmouth, i caught a 2lber and man that was a fight, i had a bigger one on and omg i could not get it up to the surface, even little ones fight hard, my 2nd is sunfish and bluegill

im a warmwater guy

[Derrick-k]

I would have to say the steelhead and that is not becuse they hvae a river to help them outI shal comper my personal experience with a two pound smallmout compared to a two pound steely Me and my dad where at clarke lake and he hooked into a two pound smallie on 4lb test, naturaly it took 3 or 4 minutes to get it in. While fishing my favorite steely river I hooked about a 2lb steely on 8 lb test and soon it was stripeing out line and jumping about 3 feet in the air. I took me about 3 minutes to get it in in a lrge deep and slow moveing hole. But that is not to say that sometimes a smallmout can put up a better fish than a simila sized steely. Each fish is diffrent from the next. But if you want a forocious take and an excieing acrobatic fisht try spooning for steely's.

[Kenster]

SMB

[mallard83]

steelhead are fast, powerful, and a lot of fun to catch but on a pound per pound basis I would still give the nod to the smallmouth because of it's incredible acceleration (check out tail area per pound of fish and muscle mass to drive that tail.. this is what makes a great fighter)..... when you look at it this way the smallmouth is the piscatorial equivalent of the 1960's "muscle car" and everything else is a volkswagon..........

I have to whole heartedly disagree with you on this because you also do not take into account the fact that Steelhead are much more aerodinamic than the smallmouth and have less drag in the water, because of their sleeker bodies. And it amazes me how much people on this sight are so bias towards bass, which raises another question, that doesn't need to be answered right now as I will post a new topic on it because I am curious.

[reelinanrockin]

for me it is the summerun steelhead. especially a big buck native...yikes those fish know how to fly.

[mallard83]

for me it is the summerun steelhead. especially a big buck native...yikes those fish know how to fly.

Now you've got it right, unlike the rest!

[littleriver]

Mallard..

I'm not biased toward bass. In fact I fish a lot more for salmon and steelhead and trout than for bass.

My favorite fish to catch is actually a coho caught on light line in shallow water. When fresh from the ocean they are a blast.
And, unlike the smallmouth, they are great eating. I don't fish too much for steelhead anymore but not because i don't appreciate it's fighting ability it's just that it's become too popular and there's too much "combat fishing" involved. I've been trying to talk the Forest Service and WDFW to get together and upgrade the north fork of the toutle above the sediment dam. With fairly minimal effort this muddy, useless hunk of river could be made into a catch and release only, fly fishing only summer run steelhead destination fishery and I would be using it a lot.

But that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the fact that "pound for pound" the smallmouth is a better fighter.

[raffensg64]

Another vote here for smallmouth. Whether in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Colorado or here in Washington, they've always impressed me by being the strongest, craziest fish I've ever tangled with!

[mallard83]

Mallard..

I'm not biased toward bass. In fact I fish a lot more for salmon and steelhead and trout than for bass.

My favorite fish to catch is actually a coho caught on light line in shallow water. When fresh from the ocean they are a blast.
And, unlike the smallmouth, they are great eating. I don't fish too much for steelhead anymore but not because i don't appreciate it's fighting ability it's just that it's become too popular and there's too much "combat fishing" involved. I've been trying to talk the Forest Service and WDFW to get together and upgrade the north fork of the toutle above the sediment dam. With fairly minimal effort this muddy, useless hunk of river could be made into a catch and release only, fly fishing only summer run steelhead destination fishery and I would be using it a lot.

But that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the fact that "pound for pound" the smallmouth is a better fighter.

I really know what you mean about the coho in shallow water they fight amazingly well. Before all of the crowds found out about the Salmon River that flows into the Queets River, my brother and I used go in the fall and have a blast catching Silvers on this stream. I do not fish for Steelhead as much as I used to either mostly because of the crowds and the drastic decline in the amount of fish. And if you are looking for a summer run fly fishing only river the Methow might be a good bet. I am not sure but I think it is at least single barbless on the rules and mabey even fly fishing only, but I don't know for sure. I have heard from several fly fisherman that I know that this is a great river for summer runs.

[Eddie L]

for me it is the summerun steelhead. especially a big buck native...yikes those fish know how to fly.

Nothing like hooking a summer run in a quiet pool and watch the water explode and it shooting out 5 feet out of the water with continuous jumps.... Even funner catching em on a flyrod. :thumright

[SDAngler]

I am sorry but I am also going to have to vote for a saltwater fish, either a member of the tuna family like yellowfin/albacore or a yellowtail. I lived in San Diego for awhile and got addicted to saltwater fishing mostly because of the fight these guys put up. I have caught some bigger smallmouth and they were a lot of fun but I have caught some little yellowtail (around 5 or 6 lbs) on saltater gear with 20lb test and they still pull drag and can take you all over the boat. Try a 5 or 6 lb smallmouth with that same gear and you could wind it straight in. There is just something about the salt I guess.

[cavdad45]

It's a toss up between bluegill and smallmouth bass.

What a cool hybrid that would make.

[Derrick-k]

for me it is the summerun steelhead. especially a big buck native...yikes those fish know how to fly.

yup

[Mr. Magler]

Smallmouth Bass.........duh! :thumleft:

[fishnislife]

Seems like an overwhelming vote for the Smallmouth Bass.
I don't know. Pound for Pound? I knew some people would consider the SMB to be a great fighter, but pound for pound the greatest fighting fish in Washington? I guess.


fishnislife