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Can you imagine the power of a 50lb green sunfish swimming in a circle on the end of your rod????
You could only imagine, because there would be no way to bring a sunfish that size in short of using TNT.
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Now start talking about fighting ability on the end of the rod…No other fresh water fish can release as much adrenalin in as short time as the ski.
IMHO
How about throwing king salmon into the mix? Debatable weather its technically a freshwater fish or not, but last I checked L. Michigan doesn’t taste very salty… 
Pretty good muscle in some salmon runs, and big lakes rainbows have awesome speed and acrobatics…
As far as cats vs ski’s, I’d give it to the ski’s in the looks and legend/lore/mysique departments and cats in the fight, value (cheap to outfit for) and accessability departments. Speaking of cats and ski’s, (kitty) cats ON ski’s might make a good musky and/or flathead bait. 
Cats fight harder but i have to say that there is nothing more exciting in fishing than a big musky smashing a topwater.
Cats get the power vote 
Muskies get the excitement vote 
Agreed. It’s apples vs oranges. I caught a 40 lb flat last fall. Took 45 minutes before it gave up. Accidental catch on walleye gear. Cumbersome to say the least. I’ve caught over 1/2 dozen Muskie over 20 lbs. Fights weren’t terribly long but when you see a 40″ plus ski come in hot after a bucktail there aren’t too many fish that can conjure that much wow factor
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Pretty good muscle in some salmon runs, and big lakes rainbows have awesome speed and acrobatics…
If fighting ability is important – I 2nd whittsend. A big rainbow is tops in my book. Many times, I have had a downrigger set at 45-60 feet fire and the rod simply buries with the drag going out. In the next intant, the fish is 4 feet out of the water – but the drag is still screaming and the rod is still buried straight down………
There isn’t another fish in freshwater that I can imagine doing that…..
T
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…I’d give it to the ski’s in the looks and legend/lore/mystique departments…
I’d have to disagree there. I think that there are way more cat stories and urban legends. Heck, I can think of 2 pop culture references to catfish off the top of my head; ‘Catfish Hunter’ in Grumpier Old Men and ‘General Sherman’ on the Simpsons.
As far as looks go, I give it a push. I mean, how pretty is a big log nosed duck bill with teeth. And don’t tell me that those things aren’t as slimy, if not more, than a flathead.
IMHO from #7. I am a bit biased.
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I have had a downrigger set at 45-60 feet fire and the rod simply buries with the drag going out. In the next intant, the fish is 4 feet out of the water – but the drag is still screaming and the rod is still buried straight down………
There isn’t another fish in freshwater that I can imagine doing that…..
You need to fish sturgeon. Same fight, just add 50 pounds. 
I had fished for sturgeon for several years before word got out and 4-mile bay turned into a parking lot. A typical Saturday used to see 5-6 boats out there. The crowds are why I haven’t fished them in a few years. The times have sure changed….lol. Having caught 2-300 of them over the years, I agree – they are the most powerful fish I have ever had on a hook. But beyond the shear power, I do not consider them a very exciting fish to fight. They provide some tough battles – but nothing that shear endurance won’t overcome just about every time.
When a steelhead can jump several feet out of the water a couple of times before the line angle even starts to change, you know you are dealing with some speed. Salmon can burn 150 yds of line off a reel in a single run, and they are fast, but the big steelies get my nod for the most intense fight out there. IMHO – comparing a sturgeon to a steelhead is like comparing a tank engine to an Indy car…..one might pull harder, but the other is more exciting to drive.
T
Nobody’s mentioned Lake Trout I think so I might as well, fishing 20#+ lakers on med action spinning rods is quite a handful.
There’s a good reason I have severaly different set ups for fishing, each fish presents a little different presentation and fighting style.
I’d perfer to go after pound crapppies with a ultralight and 2# test for fun and skill required, than 100# test and the larger fish.
On the other hand, a big Musky hitting that top water bait just as it lands on a calm bay first thing in the morning sure gets the adenalin flowing…er…so does setting the hook on a big cat and watch line scream out of the reel knowing its gonna be a bit before you get this one to the boat…if you do.
Come to think of it, I just like to catch any of them.. 
Al
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Come to think of it, I just like to catch any of them..
There you go. That’s the best comment yet. I like them all. I just don’t like my bottom dwellers getting stiffed. We once hooked a muskie that jumped twice. The second time he threw the plug. The plug wrapped around his body and hooked in the side so we got him in anyway. We sent the scale in for aging and the fish was 14+ years old. An exciting day? You bet. 
Big musky, little flathead = muskellunch
Big flathead, little muskie = catfood
It’s all about relative sizes.
That said (and as I understand it) a 30″ cat could down a 15″ muskie in a gulp, but a 30″ muskie would be hard pressed to take a flattie more than 5-10″ long or so… so the relative size ratios differ and a smaller cat has an advantage over a muskie of the same size.
At some point, though, they both become apex predators and it no longer matters (until they run into a hungry snapping turtle heh).
And absolutely, I’d love to catch either one!
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