Hardest fighting freshwater fish? 2025

garry77 reply :

I'd have to pick the mudfish with smallmouth being a close second.Pound for pound however would go to the smallie.

Micro reply :

Bowfin.

RoLo reply :

Ounce-for-ounce: Redear Sunfish

Among those listed: Bowfin

Roger

Tin reply :

Smallie. Also probably the hardest fish on that list to get in the boat. They love to throw your bait at you when they rocket 4' out.

bocabasser reply :

peacock bass. those are some fighters.

CJ reply :

Funny, I just wrestled with a bowfin a couple weeks ago at the river.He was probally about 4 lbs. but, with some current on light gear,it was alot of fun.

Sam reply :

I agree, for their size a smallie fights a good fight.

But you hook into a nice size striper and you have a good fight on your hands.

Catt reply :

Of the ones you have listed "choupique", grinnel", "mudfish", or bowfin

#1: Esox masquinongy: muskellunge

roadwarrior reply :

I'm a striper and smallmouth fisherman, but you left out the strongest freshwater fish: German Brown trout

The German brown trout NEVER gives up!

8-)

Red reply :

i have to say smallie....but i did catch about a 12lb muskie once on light tackle and 6lb test.....and man that thing fought hard! took me forever to land it...but i think a 12lb smallie would have been a harder fight! ;D

garry77 reply :

Dang! I did forget a few fish didn't I?Sorry :-/

dodgeguy reply :

musky,pike,pickeral

Shadcranker reply :

Pound for pound- Shellcracker (Red Ear Sunfish). If they grew to 10 lbs, we'd be using Penn International Saltwater reels to catch em.

Other than that I say a tie b/w smallies and the big spots of the Coosa chain in AL. Smallie's jump more, but those darn big ole spots never quit.

dave reply :

Quote

Ounce-for-ounce: Redear Sunfish

Among those listed: Bowfin

Roger

I agree with this and the other post. Redears are fighters.

I've heard of stripers being referred to as a swimming freight train with stripes.

Bassin_Fin@tic reply :

x3 on the redear.Those little fellows are crazy.

Of those on the list I would have to go with the bowfin.Catch one five pounds or better and your in for a wrestling match.They have long powerful runs,unlike the short bursts from a bass.

I for one have not ever had the pleasure of catching a smallmouth before. :-[

HOIST-N-HAWGS reply :

Northern PIKE!

MALTESE FALCON reply :

As much as I like to catch those ill-tempered smallmouth, the hardest fighting freshwater fish I've caught is the muskie.

Falcon

FishTank reply :

I had to go with a Smallmouth. I hooked a 4lb last year and thought I had at least an 7-8lb Largemouth. It was one the hardest fighting freshwater fish I have ever caught.

Catt reply :

Now if y'all want to examine small fish try a Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus): Redeye, Goggle-eye, Red-eyed Bream, Stump Knocker

If these little guys grew to 10 lbs they would eat the prop off your outboard thinking it was a buzz bait

Jeff C. reply :

I think that is what we call "Rock Bass"

they and sunfish & Bluegils seem to be very strong for there size.

ba7ss3in reply :

Have to say bowfin and the alligator gar, never had the chance at smallies. yet

guest reply :

Ihaveonly hooked one, but have a couple of trips hooked uo for

MUSKIES

Mrs. Matstone reply :

I have not caught all of the types of fish in the poll but so far the smallmouth has been the biggest fighter for me. ( and the most addicting too) ;D

TeamBerettaGold reply :

King Salmon from lake michigan (shore fishing), hands down no contest.

GitRDoneIke23 reply :

Pound for pound SMALLIES HANDS DOWN!!!

Chad. reply :

Muskie by far.

Trail reply :

In my only two years of fishing, I must say, smallmouth been it for me...

Bass XL reply :

I would def. put rainbow trout in there too.

bugman reply :

I fish Lake Eire and her tribs and I would have to agree that Smallies are a great fighting fish. I have caught many Rock Bass along Eire's breakwalls that really put up a fight. If they grew as big as Eire's Small Mouths I have to think about getting a bigger boat lol. If i'm fishing the rivers I'd have to say Steelhead and Salmon can put on a real air show. As for my vote I picked "Carp" just because of their intial run. I don't care what equipment I'm using or how hard I have the drag set, when a carp hits the bait there is no stopping them from running 30' down stream.

SenkoBasser reply :

I'd have to say the best fight for me was the 8 lb. 3 oz. Salmon on my favorite beaded nymph I call the "Bumble Bee". That fish fed 6 of us with leftovers.

Jake. reply :

Never caught a smallie, so I will say Shellcracker. A 1 lb+ shellcracker on a UL rod with 4 pound line is quite a fight.

Fish Chris reply :

Well, ounce for ounce, I'd have to say it's the Sunfish.... but to be more specific, I'd say it was the Bluegill.

Bowfins are radical strong, and a blast to catch :-)

Smallies just don't give up !

But as far as just absolute "horse power" the strongest freshwater fish I've ever tangled with were Sturgeon ! {even when talking pound for pound}. I've caught little ones... like say 20 lb'ers, which made you think you had a good sized keeper !

But then with my 300 lb'er, I was using 80 lb braid, on light salt-water tackle, with my drag cranked down really tight, and it still took 55 minutes ! Thank God I was in a boat that the fish could just drag around. Honestly, I think a bigger boat would have made it a lot tougher, "unless" the Captain was good at chasing down fish.

Anyway, to make a long story short, the next morning after I caught my PB Sturgeon, it honestly felt like I had been in a car accident ! Every muscle in my body was just aching. I even had aches in places I didn't know had any muscles ! And to make matters worse, none of my fishing buddies even felt sorry for me :-) LOL

Peace,

Fish

RoLo reply :

Quote
But as far as just absolute "horse power" the strongest freshwater fish I've ever tangled with were Sturgeon ! {even when talking pound for pound}.

Hmmm, coming from a multi-species aficionado who knows his onions, you've just whet my appetite for a big sturgeon!

Chris if you haven't already, you ought to give "yellowfin tuna" a shot using standup tackle (stroker rod, gimbal belt & shoulder harness)

I've seen quite a few votes for musky, pike and striped bass, which I find a little surprising. Needless to say,

a true heavyweight fish, regardless of species is going to overcome the drag-setting and peel line off the spool.

It's really very hard to factor-in the weight of the fish when evaluating its relative fighting ability (to factor OUT emotion).

Nobody loves pike and musky fishing more than myself, but based on their body weight

I've caught too many pike and musky that disappointed me, ditto largemouth bass.

I've also boated many striped bass (not all of them) that were a big disappointment,

in fact a bluefish of the same weight could tow the striper around the ocean.

Roger

Rattlinrogue reply :

I voted Largemouth bass,but on second thought a striper is a hard fighting fish.

ejtaylor822 reply :

Smallies by far for a wrestling match for anything that I have caught. But, oz-for-oz, bluegills have just as much fight as a smallie just on a much smaller scale.

Fish Chris reply :

Yes, you really have to hook a good Sturgy or two someday ! It's almost scary ! I mean, those things will make you feel so "powerless" or should I say, "Out of control of the situation" ! Especially a big one !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BTW, the OP said "freshwater" but yes, I hear "any fish in the Tuna family" is like pure horse power ! I guess the closest I've ever caught were some Mackeral on the micro-light once, and those 2 or 3 lb fish fought like any 10 llb freshwater sportfish I've ever caught !

Oh and Bat Rays !!! Holy $%#% ! Those things make you feel like you snagged the bumper of a passing school bus ! Just rediculously strong !

Peace,

Fish

RoLo reply :

Quote
I've ever caught some Mackeral on the micro-light once, and those 2 or 3 lb fish fought like any 10 llb freshwater sportfish I've ever caught !

Okay, now imagine going toe-to-toe with one of those weighing about 100 lbs! (yellowfin tuna that is).

Quote
Oh and Bat Rays !!! Holy $%#% ! Those things make you feel like you snagged the bumper of a passing school bus ! Just rediculously strong !

Funny but I can picture that.

With all that body area they must feel like a foul-hooked halibut ;D

Roger

LCpointerKILLA reply :

If it was brackish I would have to say snook. They hit hard and fight hard. They head strait for piling so fast you can hear the line cutting through the water.

fishizzle reply :

smallies win for most time out of the water before they get to the boat

mjhutch1116 reply :

I would have to pick the smallmouth, pound for pound for my money they are the best.

Matt

mt reply :

The psycho Spotted Bass of the Coosa River chain.

M.T.

Del from philly reply :

i gotta say, iv caught smallies up to 4 and half pounds...nothing too crazy

but the hardest fight i ever had was with a 2.5 lb smallmouth from the schuykill river.

i was expecting a 6 lb fish, the thing took me back out twice!

that one fish fought harder than all of my 3 & 4+ fish

esr1 reply :

I would have to say smallmouth. Its the only fish to actually to injure my wrist on a strike on bullscholes a few years back.

hamer08 reply :

Its hard to judge lb for lb, but I'm the most tired after messing with carp. It may be they are just so much bigger (typically 25 lbs), but when you hook them, they shoot down stream and you fight you every inch of the way back to the boat. Once they see the boat, you get to repeat the process.

Smallies are problaby the hardest to land, since they shake the hook out frequently.

jdw174 reply :

According to Homer Circle in the Apr issue of BassMaster Magazine, a rainbow trout and a smallmouth are about equal when it comes to how hard they fight.....

jrhennecke reply :

Smallmouth for sure. Although the largemouth at Clearlake are pretty fiesty.

Popeye reply :

I kinda wondered if anyone was going to mention sturgeons. I saw one once wallowing at the base of a dam and I thought it was the Loch Ness Monster! Huge, huge fish!! I have caught some large carp that put up a pretty darn good fight as well as some catfish. However, even though I've yet to hook up with one, a MUSKY does appear to be quite a fighter. I've seen them caught on "Lindner's Angling Edge" and, oh boy, the ones they were catching put up one heck of a tussle!! Big fish with nasty attitudes:o) I have caught numerous Northerns that could outfight a LMB anyday. Smallies HAVE to rank real close to the top of the list too! When I had my first sailboat here in 'Diego, I used to motor out into the Bay and me and my daughters would fish for sand sharks, skates, and bat rays! When you hook into a large bat ray, it's like snagging a log and they DO put up one heck of a fight!

fishizzle reply :

Sturgeon are illegal to fish for in CT

They do get huge though 8-10' maybe?

osbornj2 reply :

While I agree that Smallies do put up one heck of a battle, and I do love fightin' 'em, I would have to say that, of the list, that stripers are certainly the hardest fighters. But, I have never caught a bowfin, and from what I'm reading from some of you, I need to try soon!

Tokyo Tony reply :

I checked smallie because it's the hardest-fighting freshwater fish I've caught that was also on the list. I'd love to catch a sturgeon someday, but I have to say, of all the freshwater species I've caught, Peacock bass fight the hardest, even harder than smallmouth.

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