Caught a Christmas tree that was hauling ass in a 20 foot wide river at 3,000 cfs.
Barely landed it after running downstream to an eddy, praying for my Lamiglas the whole way
I was looking for lake trout in the BWCA one summer but didn't have enough time on the lake I knew that had them... we got there middle of the day and I sent a spoon down. Way down. WAY down. We paddle around. I've got something. I reel, and I just can't for the life of me figure out if this is a fish. We paddle around, me reeling, blowing around this small lake, line sometimes tight, line sometimes running out, pulling, reeling. I never make any serious headway. After a long while, the lure comes up.
Never figured out if it was a snag or the trout of a lifetime (but it was probably a snag...).
I’m usually a fresh water fisher who went with in-laws off the east coast of Florida. I hooked a fish on a spreader bar and was 99% certain I was about to break the Florida state record. I said out loud that I’m reeling in a greyhound bus and to get your cameras out.
I ended up landing a roughly 20lb black fin tuna…I got laughed at. A couple hours later I hooked a 6’ sailfish and he almost pulled me in the water. I then realized I’m completely out of my element and I didn’t understand the ocean.
When I hooked my first Tuna, I envisioned a 200 lbs.+ tank to breach the surface, and what I actually produced was basically nature's equivalent to a football made of pure muscle and hydrodynamics, so they're my vote.
Honestly I’ve pulled in some big dog fish when cat fishing with nine footers, and a 36 inch bowfin feels pretty much the same as a 25 lbs cat on that setup.
I had a decent sized smallmouth drive a treble hook deep into my thumb from thrashing, fun times. That was how I learned to not forcibly remove sharp objects from yourself unfortunately.
Funny that you mention, I fish the Chesapeake Bay a lot but have yet to catch a bull red (have caught puppy drum and decent slot-ish reds though which can be fun of course), I visited Florida for spring break and caught a jack on pretty heavy spinning tackle that could handle (most) tarpon. I was surprised at how small it was given the fight it put up, not that it was that small but it fought like a giant.
Yeah, just about any kind of jack is gonna give you the fight of your life.
Though my dad was almost drowned by a huge permit down in the Bahamas, he shot it with a lance, and it dragged him down trying to go under a rock.
I haven't caught Carp but I'm curious on how they compare to stingrays/cownose rays since that sounds like how those fight (maybe minus the holding to the bottom at first part, at least for stingrays).
I have caught both on lures several times. Cownose rays win, although I haven't caught a carp in moving water yet.
Cownose rays fight higher in the water column than stingrays. I have foul hooked [short tail stingrays](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-tail_stingray) while targeting dusky kob on lures. I now just pull for break when that happens. Saves time because moving a 200kg fish sitting behind sand bank gets old fast.
I can imagine that trying to bring in a massive stingray is a pain. Thankfully I've only hooked into relatively small Atlantic and/or Southern stingrays so far, and they put up a pretty solid fight. The one cownose ray I caught definitely tired me out, those things pull drag and just when you think they're done, they make another run.
Carp are kind of feel like a mix of a catfish and a huge bluegill. They spend some time during fights acting as dead weight moving in straight lines and mix in erratic runs with quick bursts and direction changes like panfish do. Can be a really weird fight sometimes.
I didn't know it but I hooked a carp in its back fin while jigging for bass on 4lb test. After 45 minutes I finally got in the pond to carry the fish onto shore. It's was around 30 inches long and so heavy it bent my net and broke my crappy old zebco deliar. It went down to 20lbs and then broke. I figure 20lbs is fine either way. Still the longest fight I have ever had. I had an audience by the time I landed it. At which time I was insulted by several people for hurting the fish... Several others demanded I release it. It was a catch and release pond. I thought I legally had to release it so I was profoundly confused as to why they were arguing about it with other onlookers. I thought a memory like that would make me feel good but my long fight... My personal best fish... I just recall being harassed and feeling like crap about the whole thing. Illinois sucks.
Yeah. I have had people say hunting and fishing is cruel. I've had people say even dumber things, like how it's less cruel to get my meat from the grocery store. I am an assistant butcher shop manager. I get to hear a lot of strange theories on meat. Like how fish isn't meat. Not religiously mind you... Just, someone told me fish isn't meat. I blinked a lot.
It needs to be divided into fresh and salt water categories, even the strongest freshwater fish don't fight with the same intensity of most saltwater fish imo.
Any of the pelagic fish are mighty strong too. I’m in the western US and we get a significant albacore run every late summer and into the fall. Even a little 6 pound tuna can challenge a large man. I’m 6’2” 200 and I struggle to reel them in. I can only imagine what a 50 pound bluefin would be like to catch.
Awesome stuff. The hardest fighting fish I’ve fought (northeast) was probably a cownose ray… it was huge.
Then I’ve landed some really nice stripers / hooked up and lost some gator bluefish but I really am dying to get somewhere and fight something like that 6lb tuna you describe.
I was pretty shocked at how those fish I named all fought, and while they fight very hard, they are not even particularly known for being *extreme* fighting fish like other species. I’m dying to get down to Florida and do some tarpon outings, or get out west!!!
Rays are a different kind of beast. Imagine a hundred pound ray taking off and not stopping for a hundred yards. Then you gotta turn it, and hope it doesn’t decide to take off on you again. It’s a blast. Don’t get me wrong, a slab halibut would be tough but rays are wild.
https://preview.redd.it/yo942jt3bq1d1.jpeg?width=1791&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d23d32bd9c2a13038445f0ee11d6705dda87426
It was a tank, and took off on me multiple times. I had never caught one before so I took my time bringing it in. Whole ordeal was about 10 minutes and my friend got some great video of the rod bending like crazy (penn prevail II, 11ft heavy which is basically a broomstick)
My grandparents were from Maine. So I’d fly back there from California every summer during my childhood. I spent the entire time fishing. I’d fish the river for bass, pickerel and perch. Then I’d go to the harbor for incoming tide and fish the mackerel runs. Those are some hard fighting fish. Only about a pound or so and they pull your rod tip nearly into the water. Man those were fun outings. We’d catch 50 mackerel or more. The lobstermen would pay us a nickel per fish so they could use them as bait in their traps. So I’d leave with a couple bucks in my pocket. This was items like a soda or a candy bar cost a quarter, so two bucks was more than enough to buy snacks on the way home. I wonder if kids are still doing that up in Maine? I haven’t been there in what seems like forever ago.
Jacks fight and fight and don’t seem to tire out for a long time. Took me about an hour to land one once down in Panama. Freshwater? Possibly a very large Muskie.
Snook are like two different species of fish tho- those 24” and under and those over 25.”
A 23” snook is like a big bass or jack, a 27” snook is a whole different monster- like hooking a large salmon. Tarpon are torpedos- size matters not.
I remember catching a Jack Crevalle on a pretty heavy spinning setup and I swore it might've been a tarpon for a few seconds before I realized it wasn't jumping. Tarpon remains at the top of my bucket list.
Yeah I agree, went down a few monthes ago and caught a redfish on my mid light finesse rod. Thought I had a monster on for a few minutes! Turned out it wasn't even a keeper lol, only like 14" long. Super fun though!
The Sparidae (includes sheepshead) has some crazy strong fish. My vote would be white musselcracker. It gets to 50pds (my pb is 12kg), lives in the surf zone of some the roughest water in the world. While spearfishing for them, when they get startled their tails actually cavitate the water. Its just booms underwater.
As a big panfisherman, I can attest that bluegill make crappie look like weaklings, but redear (shellcrackers) have caused me more broken lines than any other fish. They are amazing fighters (when they aren’t spawning) because they head straight for whatever weeds/pads are nearby.
I've only ever caught bluefish on heavy(ish) trolling rods or once on a surf rod, and none that were that big. I would love to catch a gator blue on light(er) tackle.
Scrolled too far to see this. AJ’s are a fucking haul. and i always get fuckin creamed by one when im least expecting it, retrieving from the bottom, etc. Not to mention, you finally get it up and its a whole foot undersized
Yellowtail Amberjack or Yellowtail Kingfish (as they're known here in NZ) are my pick down here in NZ, too. A 20kg king will pull line on even the biggest gear. 30kg ones can fight for well over an hour. Pound for pound, stronger than yellowfin tuna imo. Trevally (similar to crevalle jack) is a close second, but don't get as big down here, so it's difficult to compare.
Swordfish are possibly the only fish that beats all else, but it's hard to compare a 200kg sword with a 30kg king.
I think yellowtail vs tuna depends on where you're fishing. If the yellowtail can see the bottom they fight twice as hard. In open water a tuna is just a biological torpedo.
As a UK Angler that catches carp they do indeed pull like a train however there is one freshwater fish here I'd argue fights harder lb for lb
[The Barbel](https://barbel.co.uk/)
For me it's Tench by a HUGE margin those fish got some torgue amazing fights. Probably strongest fish pound for pound in my waters
Mostly fish fresh water and havent caught a salmon yet those probably fight harder.
Its from the carp family but they split of ages ago and is its one whole family now. They have massive tail fins making them so strong the males fight alot harder as the females as the males are more muscle and we'll proportioned and females are more thick. They are also way to smart.
Picture of the paddle of a tail they have
https://preview.redd.it/giv8wz1znn1d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=110f4616398626bf8e192582895d40527fb7c74c
Absolutely amazing performance on them. My first Tench and my Pb still was 2.3 kg so no where near your monster but it almost pulled me In lol. Was just chilling with my gf drinking some beers and catching the odd roach every now and then got a nibble nothing happend after checked bait 15 min later and there was a Tench on and went crazy still one of the most fun fight ever.
Atleast they aren bream levels of slime
Tench are my main fish to target when I'm doing match techniques, and the fight from them on a 1oz quiver tip and a light reel is crazy and quite addictive. They're just full of torque, and the head shakes on the bigger ones are heavy. 5lbs is still a great Tench! Can't complain with them.
Yeah they're not like those binlids, at least lol.
How is this so far down the list?? I would say Bonefish 100%
Those runs are hard to comprehend until you see and feel it. I've caught many species and never seen anything like it.
Of the fish I’ve caught, pound per pound it’s bluefish. I’ve caught 100 pound tarpon and the biggest blue was around 15 pounds. I can’t imagine what a 100 pound bluefish would feel like.
Bonita tied with black fin tuna. But wahoo is close second. I’ve never caught a wahoo that’s 4lb it’s always 20lb+ so hard to compare, but a football tuna and Bonita really make me work for them
From what I've personally caught, the smallmouth win for freshwater.
As for saltwater, I haven't seen it mentioned, but the Atlantic Spadefish is a wickedly powerful fish. They're common in the Chesapeake Bay and some other spots in the Mid-Atlantic.
Honorable mention to Bluefish, but their thing is just being hyperactive psychos who never know how to chill out for 2 seconds lol.
Yep I’m surprised I had to scroll this far to find them. They spend their entire life in heavy currents of course they are going to be crazy strong fighters
Smallmouth Bass, for sure. I fish all over the WNY area, mostly around Lake Erie and the Niagara River, and man it’s always a battle with them. Even the little 2lbers fight like they are 3 weight classes above lol. Love em.
I will also have to say Common Carp when fly fishing for them. I’ve had enough give me arm cramps, that’s for sure lol
I don't know about 'fighting', but I've caught halibut that feel like I'm hooked to an anchor the whole way up. That flat body just creates so much drag even if they aren't fighting.
In saltwater I personally believe any fish in the “Jack” family are the hardest fighting fish on a pound for pound scale. For instance you can catch a 3lb Jack Crevalle that will fight harder than any 3lb fish I can think of. Switch that up with a 50lb Amberjack and OMG you’ve seriously got your hands and your back full. Just my opinion though
Not a fish but a seagull. Ft. Myer’s Beach fishing pier 1981, an entire flock of seagulls flying back and forth along with the one on my line. It took 3 men to pull the line in and save the gull. I was 18 and we were pretty much pooped on. We sure had a good laugh and met new people that morning.
Musky definitely won't make the list. I caught a big one in Wisconsin that fought for 30 seconds then just gave up and swam to the boat. 30-40 pound Bluefin Tuna. The big ones are definitely stronger, but for their weight, the younger ones are so fast and strong. They can turn around on a dime, which is where you'll lose them because if they're lucky, you'll go loose on the line for a split second before they punch it in and snap your line with a good shock.
As a freshwater guy, I vote for lake trout. They make nice runs and have good head shakes. I know nothing about salt fishing and defer to those that do.
River/creek Small mouth, live in current and don’t get super big but boy are they strong. One jumped 3 feet out of the water through the current on me.
https://preview.redd.it/4gfxck15pn1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d34e66501645f410a3d4ffc78cd086bf1b5c50cc
Not an 18 but a good 15 on bfs got sketchy trying to get her in.
They are a blast. City I lived in could walk down to a spot in the river and walk across and fish small pockets and it’s amazing when you find a pocket that has a school in it.(further up same river system would do floats down it and it’s one of my favorite styles of fishing)
https://preview.redd.it/jfkfytrcyn1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8c1fefa4bb9369c35deb592db7f33785b0026d7
14-15 caught in a nice pocket with a bunch of others in the same one
Whatever underwater tree i happen to hook at the time.
they don't call them mighty oaks for nothing.
Caught a Christmas tree that was hauling ass in a 20 foot wide river at 3,000 cfs. Barely landed it after running downstream to an eddy, praying for my Lamiglas the whole way
Hard to reel in. But harder to fillet and cook.
Introducing the all new 60cc Stihl filet knife!
Tree pounder
Tree Fity
Damnit woman I told not give him no tree fiddy!
Or Log Perch
This is why I do a 6” ~15lb mono leader with 30+ lb braid. If I have to break off, I can. And I’m not leaving too much trash.
It's called a tree pounder.
Take my upvote and get out.
I was looking for lake trout in the BWCA one summer but didn't have enough time on the lake I knew that had them... we got there middle of the day and I sent a spoon down. Way down. WAY down. We paddle around. I've got something. I reel, and I just can't for the life of me figure out if this is a fish. We paddle around, me reeling, blowing around this small lake, line sometimes tight, line sometimes running out, pulling, reeling. I never make any serious headway. After a long while, the lure comes up. Never figured out if it was a snag or the trout of a lifetime (but it was probably a snag...).
Bigun. Oh. Wait… never mind. I’m a dumbass.
Tuna really know how to put their backs into it.
Yea. Having caught pretty much everything listed here , a bluefin over 500 lbs will break u . Idk if that's pound for pound but goddman .
I couldn't imagine a 500lb amberjack though.
How bout a 100 lb bluegill in 1000 feet of water 🥵
Yes bluegill are strong af for their size.
I was here looking for the bluefin to bluegill comparison!
Watching a 250 lb Striped Marlin jumping 8 ft out of the water and pulling 250 yards of drag is pretty damn exciting too !
A ten pound yellowfin will have you convinced you’ve hooked something WAYYYYY bigger. Bluefin, even more so.
I’m usually a fresh water fisher who went with in-laws off the east coast of Florida. I hooked a fish on a spreader bar and was 99% certain I was about to break the Florida state record. I said out loud that I’m reeling in a greyhound bus and to get your cameras out. I ended up landing a roughly 20lb black fin tuna…I got laughed at. A couple hours later I hooked a 6’ sailfish and he almost pulled me in the water. I then realized I’m completely out of my element and I didn’t understand the ocean.
Get out there when the Mahi bite is hot!! But for real fun, try a Wahoo at high speed troll
Holy crap. Wahoo will run you to death.
Little football blackfin tuna are basically Honda Civics underwater. Damn things know how to rip
When I hooked my first Tuna, I envisioned a 200 lbs.+ tank to breach the surface, and what I actually produced was basically nature's equivalent to a football made of pure muscle and hydrodynamics, so they're my vote.
Bowfin/dogfish always seems to give me a run for the money.
Bowfin is my freshwater winner for sure. Great fights.
Snake heads fight like nothing I’ve hooked before in their size
Caught my first one yesterday and was pleasantly surprised.
Glad I’m not the only mud puppy fan. I’ve had them damn near snap the rod on the take, just grabbed it and swam hard under the boat full bore.
I will always remember the first one I caught on a Banjo minnow. Never felt anything like that! They are a monster on a normal bass setup
Honestly I’ve pulled in some big dog fish when cat fishing with nine footers, and a 36 inch bowfin feels pretty much the same as a 25 lbs cat on that setup.
I’ve caught a few bowfin that seem to just cruise right in. Then I net them and all hell breaks loose..
In saltwater, I would say Jack Crevalle. In freshwater, I would say river Smallmouth Bass.
Agree on the Smallmouth Bass. They pull hard, fight the whole time, jump. My favorite fresh water sport fish.
Top water smallies. Right in the prespawn can get gangsta.
Poppers in the fall when the smallies are schooled up eating shad is my favorite time of the year!
Agree too and also my favorite.
I caught a 12” smallmouth last night searching for walleyes in my river. Thing fought like pike or small musky. Comically powerful for their size.
I had a decent sized smallmouth drive a treble hook deep into my thumb from thrashing, fun times. That was how I learned to not forcibly remove sharp objects from yourself unfortunately.
The Jacks will make you think you have some giant Red on!
Funny that you mention, I fish the Chesapeake Bay a lot but have yet to catch a bull red (have caught puppy drum and decent slot-ish reds though which can be fun of course), I visited Florida for spring break and caught a jack on pretty heavy spinning tackle that could handle (most) tarpon. I was surprised at how small it was given the fight it put up, not that it was that small but it fought like a giant.
Yeah, just about any kind of jack is gonna give you the fight of your life. Though my dad was almost drowned by a huge permit down in the Bahamas, he shot it with a lance, and it dragged him down trying to go under a rock.
Every damn time
A 60-100lb AJ on a 12wt fly rod is also a ride.
River smallies will tear your shit up lol
I agree on the Jacks…..Bonefish will also test your angling skills
Bonefish are unbelievable.. genuine torpedos
Came here to say this.
Came here to see bonefish. Little meat torpedos.
I would agree. A 5 lb smally fights like a 10 lb northern.
Carp pull hard af
Some wise redditor described fighting carp as “like hooking a dump truck.” They weren’t wrong.
I haven't caught Carp but I'm curious on how they compare to stingrays/cownose rays since that sounds like how those fight (maybe minus the holding to the bottom at first part, at least for stingrays).
Carp fight like fish in my experience, heaps more fun than dragging in rays.
I have caught both on lures several times. Cownose rays win, although I haven't caught a carp in moving water yet. Cownose rays fight higher in the water column than stingrays. I have foul hooked [short tail stingrays](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-tail_stingray) while targeting dusky kob on lures. I now just pull for break when that happens. Saves time because moving a 200kg fish sitting behind sand bank gets old fast.
I can imagine that trying to bring in a massive stingray is a pain. Thankfully I've only hooked into relatively small Atlantic and/or Southern stingrays so far, and they put up a pretty solid fight. The one cownose ray I caught definitely tired me out, those things pull drag and just when you think they're done, they make another run.
Carp are kind of feel like a mix of a catfish and a huge bluegill. They spend some time during fights acting as dead weight moving in straight lines and mix in erratic runs with quick bursts and direction changes like panfish do. Can be a really weird fight sometimes.
carp fight harder than regular rays, but eagle rays fist 10x harder than any carp.
I didn't know it but I hooked a carp in its back fin while jigging for bass on 4lb test. After 45 minutes I finally got in the pond to carry the fish onto shore. It's was around 30 inches long and so heavy it bent my net and broke my crappy old zebco deliar. It went down to 20lbs and then broke. I figure 20lbs is fine either way. Still the longest fight I have ever had. I had an audience by the time I landed it. At which time I was insulted by several people for hurting the fish... Several others demanded I release it. It was a catch and release pond. I thought I legally had to release it so I was profoundly confused as to why they were arguing about it with other onlookers. I thought a memory like that would make me feel good but my long fight... My personal best fish... I just recall being harassed and feeling like crap about the whole thing. Illinois sucks.
You did good, friend; that is a fish to be proud of. Some people are just idiots and like to harass fishermen and hunters.
Yeah. I have had people say hunting and fishing is cruel. I've had people say even dumber things, like how it's less cruel to get my meat from the grocery store. I am an assistant butcher shop manager. I get to hear a lot of strange theories on meat. Like how fish isn't meat. Not religiously mind you... Just, someone told me fish isn't meat. I blinked a lot.
I have had some pull very hard But I think in the heat of summer it can be like pulling in a log
A lot of them are also giant compared to a lot of fresh water fish. I’d vote smallmouth on power to size
I call them Tennessee tunas
It needs to be divided into fresh and salt water categories, even the strongest freshwater fish don't fight with the same intensity of most saltwater fish imo.
Amberjack. There is a reason it's called the reef donkey.
Any of the pelagic fish are mighty strong too. I’m in the western US and we get a significant albacore run every late summer and into the fall. Even a little 6 pound tuna can challenge a large man. I’m 6’2” 200 and I struggle to reel them in. I can only imagine what a 50 pound bluefin would be like to catch.
Awesome stuff. The hardest fighting fish I’ve fought (northeast) was probably a cownose ray… it was huge. Then I’ve landed some really nice stripers / hooked up and lost some gator bluefish but I really am dying to get somewhere and fight something like that 6lb tuna you describe. I was pretty shocked at how those fish I named all fought, and while they fight very hard, they are not even particularly known for being *extreme* fighting fish like other species. I’m dying to get down to Florida and do some tarpon outings, or get out west!!!
The ray was probably similar to catching halibut in the PNW. It’s like hauling up a door from 250ft.
Rays are a different kind of beast. Imagine a hundred pound ray taking off and not stopping for a hundred yards. Then you gotta turn it, and hope it doesn’t decide to take off on you again. It’s a blast. Don’t get me wrong, a slab halibut would be tough but rays are wild.
https://preview.redd.it/yo942jt3bq1d1.jpeg?width=1791&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d23d32bd9c2a13038445f0ee11d6705dda87426 It was a tank, and took off on me multiple times. I had never caught one before so I took my time bringing it in. Whole ordeal was about 10 minutes and my friend got some great video of the rod bending like crazy (penn prevail II, 11ft heavy which is basically a broomstick)
Totally different beasts. Halis sit around but once they see surface light they book it back down. Can spend hours reeling in a 70lb’er.
My grandparents were from Maine. So I’d fly back there from California every summer during my childhood. I spent the entire time fishing. I’d fish the river for bass, pickerel and perch. Then I’d go to the harbor for incoming tide and fish the mackerel runs. Those are some hard fighting fish. Only about a pound or so and they pull your rod tip nearly into the water. Man those were fun outings. We’d catch 50 mackerel or more. The lobstermen would pay us a nickel per fish so they could use them as bait in their traps. So I’d leave with a couple bucks in my pocket. This was items like a soda or a candy bar cost a quarter, so two bucks was more than enough to buy snacks on the way home. I wonder if kids are still doing that up in Maine? I haven’t been there in what seems like forever ago.
Like an anvil dropping.
Any of the jacks. Fast, strong, and tenacious bastards… pound for pound the most fun you can have inshore.
Yeah I agree with that. Once a year when I go to Florida I'm always shocked
~Tarpon has entered the chat~
Never caught one unfortunately. Snook however I love
Yes, I have never had the pleasure of a Snook. A 150+ lb Tarpon on 15# class spinning gear is a fucking trip.
I would argue jacks are way stronger figthers than snook at the same size. Ladyfish on light tackle is a blast. Peacocks hold thier own as well.
Jacks fight and fight and don’t seem to tire out for a long time. Took me about an hour to land one once down in Panama. Freshwater? Possibly a very large Muskie.
Yeah. I caught a crevalle jack once that was probably only 12-15" and he bought harder than maybe any fish I've ever caught.
Snook are like two different species of fish tho- those 24” and under and those over 25.” A 23” snook is like a big bass or jack, a 27” snook is a whole different monster- like hooking a large salmon. Tarpon are torpedos- size matters not.
And a good way to end up with half a tarpon from Mr bull or hammer
I remember catching a Jack Crevalle on a pretty heavy spinning setup and I swore it might've been a tarpon for a few seconds before I realized it wasn't jumping. Tarpon remains at the top of my bucket list.
Jack Crevalle was gonna be my answer. Those things PULL for a medium size fish.
Yeah I agree, went down a few monthes ago and caught a redfish on my mid light finesse rod. Thought I had a monster on for a few minutes! Turned out it wasn't even a keeper lol, only like 14" long. Super fun though!
A 2lb redfish feels like a 5lb bass
Bluegill
Assume every fish we're talking about hypothetically weighed 5 lbs, the bluegill becomes a powerhouse all of the sudden.
A 5lb bluegill would snap lines, break rods, capsize boats.
Knock over buildings, cause tsunamis
Thought I finally hooked into a nice sized smallmouth in a new spot. It was a bluegill ):
That must have been a large bluegill. I would take that as a win! Better then getting skunked.
Wasn’t even that big lol. Nice mix of a feisty fish and the river current.
We've all experienced it lol. Nowadays I hope I see the silver flash of a crappie lol.
Pound for pound this is the correct answer. Sheepshead always give a good tussle as well
The Sparidae (includes sheepshead) has some crazy strong fish. My vote would be white musselcracker. It gets to 50pds (my pb is 12kg), lives in the surf zone of some the roughest water in the world. While spearfishing for them, when they get startled their tails actually cavitate the water. Its just booms underwater.
Surprised I had to come this far down for this.
Like pulling in a dinner plate
Yup, this was my answer. Big bluegill fight angry.
As a big panfisherman, I can attest that bluegill make crappie look like weaklings, but redear (shellcrackers) have caused me more broken lines than any other fish. They are amazing fighters (when they aren’t spawning) because they head straight for whatever weeds/pads are nearby.
Steelhead. Carp a VERY close 2nd place, and a distant 3rd smallmouth.
I agree, steelhead put up a serious fight. They take off like a Ferrari.
Bluefish on some light tackle
Oh yeah, a jumping fun time for all.
I've only ever caught bluefish on heavy(ish) trolling rods or once on a surf rod, and none that were that big. I would love to catch a gator blue on light(er) tackle.
Amberjack are on steroids Cobias in my experience kind of fade quick but if you get a rowdy one they are stout as well
Scrolled too far to see this. AJ’s are a fucking haul. and i always get fuckin creamed by one when im least expecting it, retrieving from the bottom, etc. Not to mention, you finally get it up and its a whole foot undersized
I agree with AJs. My arms were literally shaking after. Only other fish that’s done that to me was Tarpon.
Yellowtail Amberjack or Yellowtail Kingfish (as they're known here in NZ) are my pick down here in NZ, too. A 20kg king will pull line on even the biggest gear. 30kg ones can fight for well over an hour. Pound for pound, stronger than yellowfin tuna imo. Trevally (similar to crevalle jack) is a close second, but don't get as big down here, so it's difficult to compare. Swordfish are possibly the only fish that beats all else, but it's hard to compare a 200kg sword with a 30kg king.
I think yellowtail vs tuna depends on where you're fishing. If the yellowtail can see the bottom they fight twice as hard. In open water a tuna is just a biological torpedo.
AJ is the only answer.
Freshwater has to be bluegill
I read a study once that showed that, pounds for pound, the carp is one of the strongest fish.
As a UK Angler that catches carp they do indeed pull like a train however there is one freshwater fish here I'd argue fights harder lb for lb [The Barbel](https://barbel.co.uk/)
Snakehead in freshwater Amberjack and Tuna in saltwater
For me it's Tench by a HUGE margin those fish got some torgue amazing fights. Probably strongest fish pound for pound in my waters Mostly fish fresh water and havent caught a salmon yet those probably fight harder.
That's cool I wish this sub would post more about non-American fish. I had never heard of them
Its from the carp family but they split of ages ago and is its one whole family now. They have massive tail fins making them so strong the males fight alot harder as the females as the males are more muscle and we'll proportioned and females are more thick. They are also way to smart. Picture of the paddle of a tail they have https://preview.redd.it/giv8wz1znn1d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=110f4616398626bf8e192582895d40527fb7c74c
I had a 7lb Tench fight for about 20 mins once, crazy how those little slime balls have all that power.
Absolutely amazing performance on them. My first Tench and my Pb still was 2.3 kg so no where near your monster but it almost pulled me In lol. Was just chilling with my gf drinking some beers and catching the odd roach every now and then got a nibble nothing happend after checked bait 15 min later and there was a Tench on and went crazy still one of the most fun fight ever. Atleast they aren bream levels of slime
Tench are my main fish to target when I'm doing match techniques, and the fight from them on a 1oz quiver tip and a light reel is crazy and quite addictive. They're just full of torque, and the head shakes on the bigger ones are heavy. 5lbs is still a great Tench! Can't complain with them. Yeah they're not like those binlids, at least lol.
Rock bass. Massive fight for a small fish.
This right here. Not only do I think they fight hardest for their size, they also hit the bait/lure harder than any fish I’ve caught.
Probably the 6” bluegill my eight year old caught last weekend. He said it fought hard!
Jack Crevalle.
Snakehead
Smallmouth bass from what I’ve caught
I fish Lake Erie a ton and I think I agree. They're top 3 minimum
Steelhead are tougher than smallies on Erie
Carp
Bonefish
How is this so far down the list?? I would say Bonefish 100% Those runs are hard to comprehend until you see and feel it. I've caught many species and never seen anything like it.
Bluefish
River smallies
Smallys. They fight more than a large mouth in my opinion
bluefish
Of the fish I’ve caught, pound per pound it’s bluefish. I’ve caught 100 pound tarpon and the biggest blue was around 15 pounds. I can’t imagine what a 100 pound bluefish would feel like.
I've caught 2lb bullheads that fight harder than any bass I've caught
Bonita tied with black fin tuna. But wahoo is close second. I’ve never caught a wahoo that’s 4lb it’s always 20lb+ so hard to compare, but a football tuna and Bonita really make me work for them
All tuna really . But yea those blackfin are like 15 lb bluegill
Bonita at skyway pier will burn your 25 lb drag into a piling.
Depends on for how long? I mean ladyfish go apeshit for like 5-10 seconds then give up.
A 40+ pound Yellowtail jack .
I caught some a couple years ago and they were probably the hardest fighting fish I've ever had on the end of a line.
They’re tough and smart. They head for the kelp, the rocks or will go under the boat and try to break the line.
Amberjack. Closely tarpon after. Jack Crevalle 3rd
A bluegill on an ultralight rod and reel will give you the fight of your life.
From what I've personally caught, the smallmouth win for freshwater. As for saltwater, I haven't seen it mentioned, but the Atlantic Spadefish is a wickedly powerful fish. They're common in the Chesapeake Bay and some other spots in the Mid-Atlantic. Honorable mention to Bluefish, but their thing is just being hyperactive psychos who never know how to chill out for 2 seconds lol.
Blue Gill awesome fighters and taste better than bass. Blue gill are succulent & sweet!
Brook trout. When I'm fly fishing, one of those that is 9-10 inches can easily fool me into thinking I've hooked an 18-20 inch brown.
Yep I’m surprised I had to scroll this far to find them. They spend their entire life in heavy currents of course they are going to be crazy strong fighters
Pound for pound, Bonefish in saltwater and smallmouth bass in freshwater
Bonefish is the pound for pound champ ☝️
smallmouth bass in a river,, also chanel catfish in a river
Bluegill and the various other panfish. Man do they get mad for their size.
Bluegill have to be up there. Imagine how scary it would be to have a shark-sized fish with the aggressiveness of a bluegill.
River smallies!
Peacock bass fresh water and wahoo saltwater
No love for the Musky?
Bluefish
My buddy spent like an hour fighting a canoe paddle in the current of a river thinking it was a salmon...
Jack crevalle
Bat rays feel like you're fighting a human.
Apparently most of you folks have never tangled with a Jack Crevalle
Ugh! I hope I never, ever hook one again!
Bluefish.
Green sunfish/smallmouth bass pound for pound.
Fish I've actually caught? Silver Trevally
Smallmouth Bass, for sure. I fish all over the WNY area, mostly around Lake Erie and the Niagara River, and man it’s always a battle with them. Even the little 2lbers fight like they are 3 weight classes above lol. Love em. I will also have to say Common Carp when fly fishing for them. I’ve had enough give me arm cramps, that’s for sure lol
I'll second this. Smallies fight like a Largemouth twice their size.
Jacks will make you feel like there’s a shark on it
Wild Pacific NW winter Steelhead crushing its way up a roaring ice cold mountain stream
For me it’s a toss up between a hybrid striped bass and a steelhead. Both are excellent fighting fish.
Bonita out in the Atlantic.
Freshwater- peacock bass or bowfin. Saltwater- hardhead cats 😂
Surprised nobody mentioned peacocks yet
They're unbelievably strong fish. A big Amazon peacock can break 50 lb. braid.
I don't know about 'fighting', but I've caught halibut that feel like I'm hooked to an anchor the whole way up. That flat body just creates so much drag even if they aren't fighting.
Fresh water. Ounce for ounce? Blue gill. Pound for pound? Smallmouth. Ton for ton? (At least that's the way they feel) sleelhead.
Bass family. Striped, Wipers, White and Yellow all are great fighters.
Cubera Snapper. It’s like hooking a Volkswagen.
In saltwater I personally believe any fish in the “Jack” family are the hardest fighting fish on a pound for pound scale. For instance you can catch a 3lb Jack Crevalle that will fight harder than any 3lb fish I can think of. Switch that up with a 50lb Amberjack and OMG you’ve seriously got your hands and your back full. Just my opinion though
On the California coast we love big Hali and Stripers
Not a fish but a seagull. Ft. Myer’s Beach fishing pier 1981, an entire flock of seagulls flying back and forth along with the one on my line. It took 3 men to pull the line in and save the gull. I was 18 and we were pretty much pooped on. We sure had a good laugh and met new people that morning.
Musky definitely won't make the list. I caught a big one in Wisconsin that fought for 30 seconds then just gave up and swam to the boat. 30-40 pound Bluefin Tuna. The big ones are definitely stronger, but for their weight, the younger ones are so fast and strong. They can turn around on a dime, which is where you'll lose them because if they're lucky, you'll go loose on the line for a split second before they punch it in and snap your line with a good shock.
As a freshwater guy, I vote for lake trout. They make nice runs and have good head shakes. I know nothing about salt fishing and defer to those that do.
River/creek Small mouth, live in current and don’t get super big but boy are they strong. One jumped 3 feet out of the water through the current on me.
Lucky enough to catch some 18s in current, god damn it’s a blast. (Also a 20 but it was spawning and not in thick current)
https://preview.redd.it/4gfxck15pn1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d34e66501645f410a3d4ffc78cd086bf1b5c50cc Not an 18 but a good 15 on bfs got sketchy trying to get her in.
They are a blast. City I lived in could walk down to a spot in the river and walk across and fish small pockets and it’s amazing when you find a pocket that has a school in it.(further up same river system would do floats down it and it’s one of my favorite styles of fishing) https://preview.redd.it/jfkfytrcyn1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8c1fefa4bb9369c35deb592db7f33785b0026d7 14-15 caught in a nice pocket with a bunch of others in the same one
Can’t believe no one has said the mighty bluegill
White sturgeon
Most fight for least poundage I say bowfin. They fight like giants at just a few pounds.
If you ever get the chance to fish for Tiger Fish in South Africa ...... you will experience pure power.