Australias Hardest Fighting Freshwater Fish?

[Fitzy]

What is, pound for pound, Australia's hardest fighting freshwater fish?

You will need to be registered & logged in to vote on a Poll. If not you will only see the results.

If there's a fish not listed here that you think qualifies, please feel free to put it in a response below.

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[team_mongo]

Hi Fitzy!

Australias Hardest fighting fish - EASY!

Tinaroo Barra - 50+lb, 125cm in 6 feet of water, submerged trees, snags and weed. They are pretty hard to land - not only because the sheer power, the how dirty they fight wrapping around trees, throwing and bending your hooks like paperclips. If you survive the first minute you're in with a chance!

Cant wait to get back there this coming season!

Cheers

George

[Fitzy]

Remember George, we're talkin pound for pound not biggest & best. If it comes to that, I recon a 200 pound Murray Cod would beat a 50 pound barra. :-/

I recon if ya had a 50 pound sooty on you wouldn't know what hit ya. If only they grew that big? :'(

Should rename them Black Jacks. ;D

Cheers,

Fitz

[fishy_phil]

that ones easy Mangrove Jack ive never landed one but the two i have hooked have done me like nothing else! :-[ but i was only using 6lb line and they were about 2kg. they did me at my feet. i guess i havent learned the secret to these superb fish ??? ???

[Fitzy]

We're talking Freshwater fish here fishy_phil. #::)
While jacks do live in the fresh they're not widely regarded as a freshwater species.
Barra, bass & EPs are borderline too, but these are not commonly in the habit of living their adult lives on off shore reefs. They can also be found in the fresh at all stages of their lives :o

Fitzy..

[lordy]

What about the humble mullet? Seem to pull hard than bass.

[Fitzy]

Lordy,
Good call. Unfortunately we're limited to 12 options on the polls. # Also had eels in mind as a contender.


fitz

[krazyfisher]

Just thinking is there a spot up there for skiers that get hooked with a lure I was using 30lbs braid and a 10 -12 kg struddy I turned him but he did bust me off??
he he I love the thrill of the fight

[team_mongo]

Remember George, we're talkin pound for pound not biggest & best. If it comes to that, I recon a 200 pound Murray Cod would beat a 50 pound barra. #:-/

I recon if ya had a 50 pound sooty on you wouldn't know what hit ya. If only they grew that big? :'(

Should rename them Black Jacks. #;D

Cheers,

Fitz

OK point taken. Then it would have to be Sooties!

George

[Fitzy]

OK point taken. Then it would have to be Sooties!

George

I know where you coming from tho George, those big lake barra can leave you with shaking hands. How big are they going to get?? God only knows! ;D

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[fatman]

I gotta agree with Lordy, the freshwater mullet pull long and hard. We catch em in the Nepean after the bass have gone down, and only landed 3 from over 30 hook-ups.
cheers
FATMAN

[dazza]

Krazyfisher,
that might be another poll. What pulls harder a waterskier or
on of those dickheads on a jet ski? ;D ;D ;D
Cheers
Dazza

[brendan]

Hi Fitzy,
I would have to say that the hardest fighting pound for pound freshwater fish has to be sootys. They have to be the most underated freshy in aussie waters.
Chasing these fish on 3kg line in the rivers around cairns on poppers along with jungle perch has to be the best.
River lined snags, dirty sootys smashing poppers as they hit the water and dragging line that is being peeled from ya little baitcaster back towards the snag.
It doesn't get better than that. (Caught 25 in afternoon fishing yesterday)

[Fitzy]

Hi Brendan,
No arguments for me there mate. Some of my fondest fishing memories are of sooties on an intercept course for still airborne lures. The stike co-inciding with splash down & the fun n games then begin. Great fun them Black Tanks. ;D
I voted for em!

Cheers Mate,


Fitzy..

[brendan]

Hey Fitzy,
I agree totally with you I am a keen Sooty angler up here in the tropics, casting poppers on 3Kg line and watching the lure get smashed next to razor sharp snags and then feel the line peeling as your tiny baitcaster tries to hold the brute strength of the steriod sooty.

BrendanCairns

[SHANE]

HI ALL
I,VE BEEN READING ALL THE REPLIES AND THERES ONE FISH THAT BEEN OVER LOOKED
YOU CAN CATCH IT ALL OVER THE WORLD AND IN EVERY SITUATION YOU WOULD CARE TO FISH
SNAGS OPEN WATER WEED THE LOT AND POUND FOR POUND 1KG FISH TO 1KG LINE OR IF THEY GOT THAT BIG 100POUND FISH ON 100POUND LINE
IS THE FRESHWATER EEL????
LOVE THEM OR HATE THEM

ARE THEYHARD FIGHTERS OR JUST A PAIN IN THE BUTT
SHANE

[warlock]

;D ;D ;D
I think jet skies pull the best I hav'nt been able to stop one on 50lb braid yet. The buggers first run is a beauty and I usually get spooled!!!

[landy1]

G'day all
as much as they are not widely sought after. i would have to say the hardest freshwayer fight i have ever seen was from an eel. the poor bugger next to me at Marron some years ago hooked a six foot example that would have dragged him into the water. someone actually had to hold him around the waist to stop him sliding in. he didnt want it but it was a memorable feed on the BBQ that night.
cheers

[Bazil]

Gidday: I am aware that Macquarie Perch are protected in NSW, however there is a bag limit of two in Dartmouth Dam.(Vic) :) Having tackled Barra.Murray Cod, Atlantic Salmon as well as All species of trout including Brookies, Iwould have to rate a maca as the best fighting fish I have hooked, mainly for their use of cover. :)

[fishy_phil]

gday
id have to agree ive only caught 7 maccas but they would pull a bass of the same size backwards
# # # # # # # phil
ps all were released but none were bigger than about 400grams

[Brenden]

Pound for pound? Well if you want a long dirty fight, or a visual fight etc will all have a bearing. I've not caught a bass, but I think I'd still throw my vote at Saratoga. For the shear visual side of things and explosive enerfgy.

[Crikey]

Barra hafta B D best! Pity they wont let them down south.

[swano]

crikey have you got a bad stutter or what ??? ??? i don't know if many people out there have hooked trout cod ??? but they certainly have twice the pull of murrays and they would have to be on par with sooties :-* :-*

[chrisjon65]

:)i know all hate the carp but you get a 1m long fat arsed carp on 2kg line well thats a challenge it swam 100 metres up the river then 100 metres down the river
ive caught lots of bass on light gear but that old man carp was great fun

[Muzzy]

reckon pound for pound a tarpon might just pull a sooty backwards...

just my opinion but man poons some times supprise ya (well lots of times) ya think ya on to the king and ya gets a bit of live bait with attitude.

but its a toss in my book between sooties and poons, sooties are mean down but in shallow tend to freak a tad (from my experience) and poons on the other hand throw the towel in or fight till they do their pooper valve all water levels.

but mate my fav is the lord of the billabongs Mr TOGA, aint one prettier swimming in the fresh and aint one so keen to please the fly rod angler either not many fish follow a fly all the way out from a snag a strike three or four times...

[Big_Bass_Fisherman]

i do a lot of bass & trout fishing but i have caught some sootys and barras. but i'd have to say a browny would put it over them any day i caught an 8lb :o browny at the start of the season on fly and that took me a good 15 minutes to get in ;D ;D, now with sootys i've got them in prety quick on fly and the bass are quite easy.
So i think the browny would put it over most pound for pound.

Regards BBF

[Neil_c]

How do Rainbow trout compare to Brownies? I caught some nice ones around 8lb in the Tongariro's flowing water on 3kg tippet which I thought was pretty spectacular :D, that is until last weekend when my wife was dragged about 30m down an inflow channel that flows into a dam near Mackay, by a 51cm Sooty :o and that was on 30lb BB with a 30lb leader.

Sooties rule ;D
Neil

[theone]

Would have to be sooties!

[rod_k]

Anyone who votes for anything other than a sooty hasnt caught one i say!

In Eungella you really do need barra style gear to get ones this size out from near the trees :)

[captain]

Every fish I've ever released is my vote.

[scott_b]

G'day. I have caught a one pound murray cod, yellow belly, silver perch, catfish, barra, redfin, carp and rainbow trout, I reckon the trout wins pound for pound.
wamjam

PS I have not caught a sooty unfortunatley.

[Mattman]

Hi fellas.

Have yas ever considered a 1 pound Spangled perch? Sounds silly but seriously, pound for pound they fight well. I have caught bass the same size as sp and the sp win fins down. If they grew to 5 pound plus they'd be serious trouble on light gear. Well thats my two-bobs worth.

Matt