I asked this on another forum but with the number different fish caught here I’ll post it here too.
Over five pounds, what fish puts up the hardest, longest fight, comparing equal weights and fresh water species.
The big lake guys mention Kings, never caught one so I don’t know, but after a evening with Brian, I’m thinking sturgeon for my guess.
Anybody??
Al
I always impressed by Channel cats. I’ve never caught a King Slamon, but I can say if you hook a Chum Salmon you will have your hands full.
I’ve caught most of the freshwater gamefish in the USA…
The Shortnosed Gar I tangled with on P-4 was not even 5 lbs and fought like a demon! 
I would put them up there with anything else I kmow.
Over 5lb a smallie that big packs quite a fight and a 5lb bluegill would be impressive.
But I gotta go with the channel cat. They are so incredibly powerful. 
Steelhead come to mind…..
Carp are a bit nasty too……
Decisions ,decisions ……
Tough,but good, question
The best fight I’ve had is a channel catfish. They just don’t wanna come off the bottom! Just started catfishing last year and I’m definately hooked for life!
Hooked on to a 10lb. dogfish that shredded everything in sight. Love those fish, don’t see enough of them!
5lb Crayfish
Agreed on the dogfish, although I hate them. Caught a 7-8 lber this spring, that thing unleashed hell. Alligator death rolls and all….
I got to go with the channel cat too from my own experience. I have also had some brown trout on under 5 lbs that put on quite a performance.
dd
my vote go for big smallies they fight hard as hell and never wanna give up. channel cats do fight pretty hard too 
I’ve caught five lb. channel cats and five lb. browns and I without a doubt am going with the 5 lb. inland stream brown.
Sturgies go air borne with their tail up by your nose. When anyone witnesses that…it’s all over!
Pick up jaw off the floor! 
I guess a lot of this has to do with your gear when you catch said fish. If you are fishing channel cats (my vote) with a walleye rig, you are outclassed. If you fight them with a rod set up for them, no problemo.
How about big sheepies? They fight pretty hard when they get big and old and gnarly.
My vote is for Sturgen.
I’ve done these fish:
cat 15#
dog fish 5#
SM bass 3#
walleye 5#
northern 15#
browns 15#
rainbows 10#
sunfish 1#
gar 3#
salmon, fresh water 45#
grouper 15#
mahi 5#
the smaller kings fight the greatest per lb, but they’ve got no structure to threaten you with other that the very boat you are in. Same with the rainbows.
I go with the sunfish. I really can’t imagine what a 5# sunfish would do to tackle, but it would be impressive.
cats, bass and walleyes without structure are goners. I’ve never gotten a big musky, but i suspect they are similar to northerns.
i go with the sunfish.
IMO a 5lb Flat head battles more then a 5lb Channel. Not that I catch that many flatheads but the ones I have have put up better fights than the channels. I would still go with a smallie.
I second the 5 lb. inland stream brown trout. A fight with one of these bruisers usually ends quickly and violently.
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5lb Crayfish
Go to your room Pug….. 
I wonder what other people think about a 5# White bass?
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I wonder what other people think about a 5# White bass?
Great eagle food.
…and owl food. 
Ill go with a chinook salmon, multiple 75 yd runs will take youre arms out of the socket. Caught multiple 20# in chicago, what a fight.My buddy once snagged a line that had a 18# chinook on it and landed it hand lineing it, hands were pretty well tore up when he got that fish in.
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IMO a 5lb Flat head battles more then a 5lb Channel. Not that I catch that many flatheads but the ones I have have put up better fights than the channels. I would still go with a smallie.
Really? I think a 5lb channel cat fights more like a 10-13lb flatty.
IMO opinion it would be a king salmon in current. That’s the only fish that has ever took me all the way down to my backing. Screaming run after screaming run. Second would be a lake sturge. Two different kind of battles though I guess.
5 lb. hybrid striped bass (white bass crossed with striped bass) put up a heck of a fight, much stronger than a 5 lb. channel cat, a five lb. ocean run steelhead I caught fought even harder, best fighting fish I’ve caught (caught in freshwater river in Pacific Northwest). Have never caught a 5 lb. smallmouth but the 3 pounders I have caught fought better than channel cats so I’d imagine a 5 lber would be pretty impressive.
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Sturgies go air borne with their tail up by your nose. When anyone witnesses that…it’s all over!
Pick up jaw off the floor!
I was pretty impressed at what the sturgeon we caught did for putting up a fight, you think they outfight cats pound for pound Brian/anybody?
Al
I’ve never caught a salmon but have heard from guys who have that they put up a heck of a run. Between everything else it would be a 5lb or bigger whitbass, hybred, or smallie. I’ve caught lots of 5 pound channels and flatheads and even one that have an occasional exceptional fight doesn’t fight like a big 5lb. whitebass or hybrid would. Next in line would be a 5 lb. smallie. Catfish do pull hard and bigger ones go for the bottom and try to stay there but for powerful shouldered runs its a big whitebass or smallie. I guess I have to go salmon fishing to find out forsure lb. for lb.
I will never say that I have catch every fish that has been listed here but I have caught most of them. What I will say is that a 5 pound saltwater fish will but any 5 pound freshwater fish to shame, from my experience.
This little 8 pound tuna spooled me twice using saltwater gear, 300 yards plus at a time. 
Ron
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