Best Fight in Fresh?

[ratherbe]

So which fish is it? I've not caught a musky nor many large pike so i'd have to vote for the hybrid. Close second would be a smallmouth....

NJ seems to have most species and you guys take em all down, what do you think? Chime in.

[XXlyakattacker]

Pound for pound I also would have to vote for hybrid followed by smallmouth with river smallest better than lake smallies.

[Delawareriver]

Hard to say, as far as a bull dog fight that's hard to move the fish I would say flatheads, for a fish that makes long runs in open water I would say hybrids and through the ice would be lake trout but that's for nj.

Steelhead I think have it all in terms fishing them on light tackle, strong fish that can be hard to move as well take plenty of line.

[GetANet]

Hands Down HYBRID!!!!!:D

[Skunk City]

Hands Down HYBRID!!!!!:D

Didn't see that one coming :p

But I agree lol.

[MudCat08]

I would say carp. 4 pound line and off you go!

[Eskimo]

Pound for pound I also would have to vote for hybrid followed by smallmouth with river smallest better than lake smallies.

I would put it at a tie between these two.
Hybrids are powerful and very fast.
Smallmouths are strong fighters and they can jump. They seem to use the tension on the fishing line to launch themselves out of the water. If I'm using a barbless hook, I can keep them from jumping in the air by dipping the tip of my rod into the water when I'm bringing a Smallmouth in. This way they can't throw my lure.


http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/8c47d4dde9ee303231a8b31e6ce0879bda21c82b/c=0-26-1798-1378&r=x513&c=680x510/local/-/media/2015/05/27/Rochester/Rochester/635683327597872647-CO-Fishing-052115-A-Feat.jpg

[Chrisper4694]

I can't believe only one person said carp! You can't argue they have great stamina and power but the kicker is their soft mouth...you can't put too much pressure on them to control or you'll rip the hook out very easily. An intense fight that tests your skill even small ones! My only issue fishing for them is the angling methods kind of bore me...cast out, sit and wait.

Every fish has its pros and cons, different fighting tendencies, seasonal tactics. Taking everything into consideration though I'd still pick toy stripes if I could only target one species ever again.

[acabtp]

pound per pound expected to see hybrids... but overall best fight? surprised nobody's mentioned pure strain stripers yet. just ask eddie, they get pretty damn far into the sweetwater and it's hard to find bigger gamefish in our rivers

[Suntzu]

Carp easily to me.
Followed by Hybrid and SMB

[briansnat]

I haven't caught a carp in in over 40 years, so I can't speak to their fighting ability. I've only caught a few wipers and they are relentless. My first was caught on UL tackle and it took me close to 15 minutes to bring it in. I recall my partner saying "Don't lose this thing because I just want to know what it is." It was a 3 lb wiper in a lake that I didn't realize that they were stocked. A few years later in that lake I caught a 6 lber and it put up one helluva a fight on my bass tackle.

But pound for pound I still say smallies. The aerial show is a huge part of that. I caught one this summer in my canoe on an Adirondack lake and it dragged my canoe around like a "Nantucket sleigh ride". When I finally boated the thing I was surprised to see that it barely broke 2 lbs.

[JDTuna]

Hybrids and smallies do fight well, but in my experience I'd have to go with the peacock bass and snakeheads I used to catch in south Florida. Pound for pound peacocks and snakeheads will outfight hybrids and smallmouth and snakeheads add in a nice tail walking show. I also agree that carp are good fighters as well. Never caught a flathead so I can't really comment on them. The king salmon I have caught up in the Great Lakes deserve a mention as well as they have some great runs in them.

[AndyS]

Salmon in a river, or Great Lakes.

[liveitup1.75liter]

I've fought shiners for at least 3 min when my fingers r numb!!!

[bassnblues]

Never caught a hybrid though I hope to one day.

It's hard to say with all the different tackle and environment s but for me, I'd say smallmoth bass or steelhead.

[Walleyed]

Spring run steelhead in the Great Lakes or wipers. If I could only pick one, it's wipers, simply because they're more accessible.

[Lard Almighty]

This is like asking which of my internal organs is my favorite! :D

[Delawareriver]

Carp only fight good because of the weight they have. Hook a 20 lb carp and of course it fights good but I can't imagine a 20lb hybrid fight,

[NJSquatch]

American Shad give one hell of a fight. Something about the attitude of a salt water fish in fresh water.

My vote is for SMB though. There attitude and relentlessness is just unparalleled. The smaller 1.5# ("sporty") class are a blast to catch. No stop in them.

[ratherbe]

Spent about 1.5 hr on the SB yest and managed 2 nice SMB ~14" or so on UL tackle. Man they are feisty, full catapults out of the water - multiple times.

The ZZZZZZZZZZ, power and head shake of the Hybrids is addictive however.

[Chrisper4694]

Carp only fight good because of the weight they have. Hook a 20 lb carp and of course it fights good but I can't imagine a 20lb hybrid fight,

lbs for lbs even a small carp will out fight any other fish i've hooked in fresh water other than smallies and hybrid stripers (which are all close in my book). added skill in catching a hooked carp is how soft their mouths are and the care you have to take putting pressure on them when they go towards a snag.

[yumasdad]

Do not forget the LL SALMON. High octane, aerial displays that are tough to compare. I have seen many fish go 6-8' in the air multiple times this past spring. For a two-three week period I would not even try to fish for anything else because it was just so good.They give it all before you can get them to the net & are usually spent by that time you net them. They won my respect this year & have closed the gap on the river SM on my list, vaulting over the musky.
Musky's fight like crazy with brute strength that probably unmatched but give up kinda of easy after the second or third run. Getting them in quick is paramount to save the fish.

I cannot say a HYBRID STRIPER is king since I have not caught one but hope that I can experience that 10/31 or sooner.

On light tackle nothing like the sunnies on a top water when they are spawing. If they were 8-10 lbs a lot of folks would just focus on them.

Shad deserve mention but the window of opportunity is so small that they are overlooked in this discussion.

I plan on focusing back on the LL now that the water temps are down & they will be more active...will have the video camera on standby next trip & hope to share some fun footage.

[yumasdad]

Worst fighter...WALLEYE. They fight like hooking an old boot!
But they taste so much better!!!

[Jigman13]

Hey I love my walleye! Hook a good one in the river and you'll think otherwise. The fight is night and day with river eyes vs lake eyes, esp when they're over 2ft long! Overall, I think they fight like a cod. Not blistering like a hybrid or aerial like a smb, but fun in their own right. They've been my primary target all summer...

[Chrisper4694]

i hear all the time walleye and lake trout don't fight...i've caught plenty that fight well. it just depends on a bunch of variables i guess. they're not going to run you like a carp, hybrid or smallie, but i've caught plenty of walleye and lake trout that fight decent. sometimes you hook a hybrid or smallie that doesn't give you much, it just depends how they're hooked, water temp, fish's mood? maybe idk. if you're not fishing for every species we have, you're cutting yourself short and missing out, they all have something to offer.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Delaware river Sturgeon! River run Stripers in the freshwater! Flatheads! Carp!
I fish for everything!!! Rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, creeks, streams! Gotta love em all!!!

[briansnat]

Worst fighter...WALLEYE. They fight like hooking an old boot!
But they taste so much better!!!

I'd have to say crappie. I've caught some monster crappie and thought I was reeling in weeds.

[Chrisper4694]

I'd have to say crappie. I've caught some monster crappie and thought I was reeling in weeds.

WHAT!?!? a 16" crappie will fight you like a 20" largemouth!

crappie > largemouth !

[yumasdad]

I agree about not -so-crappies. They are great fighters too& get no respect.

I caught a BIG ONE two years ago-ABOUT 17" NO SHIT.
as the fish was coming up my buddy grabbed the net & I asked him what the hell it is-he said it looks like a fluke! I will have to dig up that picture & attached to this later.

[Chrisper4694]

Delaware river Sturgeon![/B]

pics or it never happened!

[Esox Luciano]

pics or it never happened!

Get them pics up guys!!

Carp & cat, I second Eddie as well with the sturgeon.

[HerringKing]

Bowfin!!!!