Toughest Gamefish?

[DTro]

Just like the March Madness brackets, only with fish.

Big Fish Madness

Some pretty tough picks right off the bat.

Smallmouth VS Carp

Bonefish VS Jack Crevelle

Musky VS Peacock Bass

Tarpon VS Redfish

My final four are:

Tarpon, Giant Grouper, King Salmon, and White Sturgeon.

[smg04]

giant grouper / shortfin mako / swordfish / yellowfin tuna

i got the giant grouper vs. swordfish in the finals with the grouper taking it all

[Bobby Bass]

I'll take a great white shark in the seawater division and a big fat river smallmouth in the freshwater..

[PerchJerker]

Sorry, but if Jack Crevalles are in there, they take it all.

[The Grebe]

Since I don't get to do any ocean fishing...I can only identify with the freshwater fish I have caught and I would have to say that, although not a game fish, the common Carp in the 20 to 30 pound range would be the hardest to catch and if you have any flaws in your tackle, or proceedure, a huge Carp would expose it!

[walleye vision]

peacock bass without a doubt - responsible for many broken rods

[traveler]

Freshwater, I think muskies can be the toughest fish out there, but like most big fish, you can get the occasional lazy one. Day in day out, probably smallmouth. Even the little ones have 'tude. I hear swordfish and big tuna consistently touted as the toughest fights in saltwater fishing. From personal experience, the closest I've come to being throughly thrashed by a fish was a 200 lb class striped marlin that wouldn't quit. After nearly 2 hours and nearly having the leader in hand several times, he still had plenty of gas...at which point the reel said "enough" and some internal part broke, putting the reel into instant freespool which resulted in a quick release:) I was shot for the day, mentally beaten and physically abused. Now no one will say stripers are the toughest saltwater fish, but any given fish on any given day...

[hanson]

What do they mean by "toughest"?

Guess there are lots of ways to look at it, but if it is hard fighting, never give up, and fight to the death, I've got to vote for some kind of Sturgeon. Pound for pound, they are simply amazing.

Musky won't get a vote from me in any category. Sorry.

[Muskycrazy]

I have caught some barn door Halibut ( Rod & Reel )off of Kodiak that have probably put up the toughest fight . I have also caught some big Sturgeon on the Rainy River and I wouldn't give them a vote . Fun to catch and they are big but if you can land a 5 footer on lite Walleye gear and in a strong current ..... not much of a fight .

[DTro]

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Fun to catch and they are big but if you can land a 5 footer on lite Walleye gear and in a strong current ..... not much of a fight .

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Sounds like a biased musky fisherman's opinion there.

You can land any fish on walleye gear with the proper drag setting. The only diffence with some fish is that they have teeth that will shear the line. Give me a heavy enough leader and I can land any fish in the state on walleye gear

BTW, the White Sturgeon took the title on my bracket.

Any fish that can live that long and have so few predators is one tough cookie in my book.

[traveler]

I'm a little surprised to see sturgeon ranking high too. After catching a big one on the rainy on walleye gear (not really a "fight", just constant pressure for 1 1/2 hours...yawn) we went back up and targeted them with heavier salmon tackle. That was much more fun, no doubt, and I think they fight harder when "challenged", but I don't think they have the speed or stamina of some other large species. Cool fish though:)

[Muskycrazy]

Umm .... isn't this about opinion ? My passion for Muskies has nothing to do with my opinion of Sturgeon , why ya got to make it a Musky issue ? . Its just that I would put many fish above them . Smallmouth , Silver Salmon , Steelhead - I list above Sturgeon . I have only caught 4-5 foot sharks so can't really attest to them . Are Sturgeon tough or is their longevity due to their undesireability ?

[Muskycrazy]

PS .. Whats a Jack Crevalles ?

[DTro]

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I'm a little surprised to see sturgeon ranking high too. After catching a big one on the rainy on walleye gear (not really a "fight", just constant pressure for 1 1/2 hours...yawn) we went back up and targeted them with heavier salmon tackle. That was much more fun, no doubt, and I think they fight harder when "challenged", but I don't think they have the speed or stamina of some other large species. Cool fish though:)

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Have you seen any video of the rivers out west, where the Sturgeon basically tows the boat around for an hour?

Also a Jack Crevelle:

[Nate McVey]

My money is on the Bonefish with an 8 wt. fly rod. Pound for pound the hardest fighting fish I have ever caught. Next I put the Tarpon then Sturgeon. Just my opinion.

[DTro]

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Umm .... isn't this about opinion ? My passion for Muskies has nothing to do with my opinion of Sturgeon , why ya got to make it a Musky issue ?

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You are right, no offense intended

Sorry if it came off that way

Pound for pound my top 5 in MN are:

1. Sturgeon

2. Flathead

3. Smallmouth

4. Carp

5. Musky

[DARK30]

Any fish can be "tough" if you downsize the tackle but there are some that are good fights no matter. Would anybody like fighting a 10# bull gill on your walleye rod? Just a 10" sunfish on ultra light is a class all its own.

I would say the toughest fish would be the one that can breath out of water....or pour out your beer and slap you before jumping back in the water.

[harvey lee]

Pound for pound this would be my list

1-Marlin

2-lake trout

3-Yellowfin Tuna

4-Mahi-Mahi

5-Sturgeon.

[river rat316]

Quote:

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Umm .... isn't this about opinion ? My passion for Muskies has nothing to do with my opinion of Sturgeon , why ya got to make it a Musky issue ?

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You are right, no offense intended

Sorry if it came off that way

Pound for pound my top 5 in MN are:

1. Sturgeon

2. Flathead

3. Smallmouth

4. Carp

5. Musky

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Wow, a 5 pound smallie against a 5 pounder of anything on that list hands down wins. Especially that ugly old mudeye I wish smallies grew to be 20+ pounds then thered be a real fresh water fight on any tackle. I think if you put everything together (size, weight, speed, etc) a river carp hands down wins, especially if ya have light tackle.

[lookincalifornia]

my top 5 mn fish

smallmouth

muskie

carp

largemouth

flathead

i had to take in a few other factors such as explosiveness on the srike, and acrobatic fight. i would rather catch a 3 pound jumper than a 5 pound bulldoger. but that's just me.

if all my fish were 5 pounds, the smallie would be the winnwer in all my categories with the carp and flathead in a great tug-o-war battle. but you don't get the explosive srike from a bottom feeder. never had the chance to catch a peacock, but they seem like they would meet all my requirements

[big musk411]

Of the fish that I have caught.

1. Sturgeon

2. King Salmon

3. Carp

4. Smallmouth Bass

5. Striped Bass

B list

6. Muskie

7. Channel Cat

8. Bowfin

9. Stream Trouts

10. Northern Pike

Looking to put these up against a Flathead Catfish this summer!

[mskyfshntchr]

Where's the bluegill? I didn't look at the top 32, but is it on the list?

Could you imagine a 20 pound bluegill??

[icehousebob]

I was wondering when someone would mention Bluegills. Pound for pound, they have more fight than a pitbull on speed. My four of Minn. fish, #1Bluegill, #2 Smallmouth, #3 any catfish in river current, #4 sturgeon. There should be an honorable mention for Tulibee. They can really scrap on ultralight ice tackle.

[Questor]

Assuming fish of the same size:

Smallmouth VS Carp

Carp. But carp run much bigger, and the bigger ones fight better than smallies.

Bonefish VS Jack Crevelle

Bonefish, provided they are caught on shallow flats. In deep water, they don't fight much. Again, the jacks get bigger and big ones fight better.

Musky VS Peacock Bass

Don't know, never caught a peacock. Muskies are pretty lackluster though. They get much bigger than peacock's though, and a big one is going to fight better, probably.

Tarpon VS Redfish

Tarpon. All sizes. Period.

Honorable mention for best fighting freshwater fish include rainbow trout and big bowfin.

Most overrated fish I know of is the walleye. Strictly a food fish, in my opinion. Except some really big ones, or ones that are caught in rivers with moderate current.

[VMS]

I'd have to say Sturgeon is the toughest gamefish. I just cannot seem to bite through that exo-skeleton!!

I think the smallmouth bass would have to rate quite high in my book...They just don't give up. They are built for power.

As for Saltwater, I could only venture a guess... But I would have to say it could be Tarpon.

Steve

[walleye vision]

Questor,

Pound for pound a peacock would destroy a muskie. I've been to Venezula to fish for them and they are amazing. They frequently will break hooks, straighten split rings, pop 25lb test line, and even break lures in half.....and these are only the 5-10lb fish. Their initial strike is the hardest i've ever seen, and they fight the whole way back to the boat.

[Muskycrazy]

I saw a fishing show years ago and they were fishing for Peacock Bass . I thought they were amazing back then , about 15 years ago , and still do . I doubt that I will ever get the opportunity to catch one but they are the one fish that I would travel ( fly ) to go after .

[Quickstrike]

This debate definetly needs to be seperated by salt water and freshwater. I have never fished for them but have seen video and talked to people who have had fly rods snapped by a 3 or 4 pound bonefish. And these are 8 wt fly-rods the same size most people target steelhead and salmon with that are much larger. Bonefish, Tuna, and Tarpon would dominate any north american freshwater fish pound for pound.

Toughest fish that I actually have caught pound for pound would be:

King Salmon

Steelhead

Smallmouth Bass

Lake Trout

Pike

Don't attack me just my opinion!

[!wall-i-king]

Hey Quick I would agree with that scale but I have to fit muskies in there I am thinking right behind steelhead. This may sound strange but if you are thinking about pound for pound fighting I think you have to give some mention to bluegills. I mean just imagine what a 5 pound gill would fight like!! I don't know I just think they don't get the recognition they deserve sometimes.

[traveler]

I think we have to forget this "pound for pound" thing. There ARE no 10 lb gills, or 40 lb. smallies..I think the only standard that makes sense is how any given fish fights on appropriate gear for the size and type of fish. That might be ultralite for gills, 6 lb spinning for smallies, or 80 lb trolling gear for marlin. How a fish fights on the tackle we normally use is really the only true comparison. Now comparing a finesse fight of a gill or smallie to a brute power battle with a tarpon or sturgeon, thats a tough one. I love to fight the big, mean critters, so those rate highest for me.