steelhead. i haven't caught many lakers, but the few i did catch were in Montana and didn't fight as hard as a Michigan Steel.

 

If you gotta ask you aint caught many!

 

A skam in 50 degree lake water.

 

Steelhead Rule!

 

steeeeeeeeelies!

 

A laker is like pulling in a log, a steelie is pure excitement.

 

I could be wrong, but I believe that Steelhead are the fastest swimming freshwater fish in North America, and possibly the World. I voted for Steel.

Lakers are native, and should always be here. I know a couple ways to cook them, so they taste good; and they smoke really well because they have so much fat in their flesh. And don't forget that they fight approximately twice as hard as a Walleye of comparable size; which is still only 1/4 as hard as a Steelhead of comparable size. They are great for your ego, because you can land a very high percentage of them.

 

Steelhead all the way. I personally haven't caught many lakers because I don't own a boat, but if I wanted to pull in dead weight I would hire myself out as an anchor pulling boy at 6th street.

 

If you gotta ask you aint caught many!

Hey now...This wasn't my idea!! Go read that other thread (Respect the Resource) and you'll know why this was posted. :lol:

 

Hey now...This wasn't my idea!! Go read that other thread (Respect the Resource) and you'll know why this was posted. :lol:

Phew! And here I thought you had been watching too much of that Gene Simmons reality show...

 

In all fairness.... the lakers Nympho is refering to in the other thread are Canadien sheild lake Lakers. They are a different fish up there . . . bigger and stronger than any laker I've ever seen here in Michigan.

But, I gotta go the other way on this one:

Steelies rock... Lakers take co... (never mind).

 

Do Lake Trout even run up the rivers on the West side?

 

Like there is any comparison here, :lol: I guess I will pick lake trout so I can fight a boot and then get it in the boat and it can **** on me:lol::lol:..Cya Slick

 

Do Lake Trout even run up the rivers on the West side?

A few here and there but nothing you should count on.

 

Well this isnt much of a question,steelies duh :lol::lol:.Neither one holds a candle to a mad spring king.:evil:

 

Do Lake Trout even run up the rivers on the West side?

Yes. The Grand used to have a lot, not so much now. If you fish down their much you can pretty much still count on a few a year.

We caught this one near Tippy the other summer while fishing skams

 

steelies for sure, but like Scot said, nothin fights as hard as a spring king!

 

For real? I'm pretty sure I know the results of this poll.

 

Here is a grease ball I pulled off from the bottom about a week and a half ago. As soon as I set the hook I told my buddy this can't be a steelhead it must be a sucker or walleye.:lol: Sure it did its typical bottom hugging for a minute or two but never took any line out on me. They are a pretty fish but I will take a steelhead fight over a laker's tug any day of the week.

 

Fight a steelhead, smoke a laker.
I had lakers up to nearly 8 pounds that didn't even pop a release on a downrigger. Never had even a skipper steelhead that didn't pop a release.
BTW, flatheads don't even fight like a steelhead, they have stamina and weight but as for drag screamin gonna take your rod away from you runs, not gonna happen.

 

The Lake Superior strain lake trout are excellent fighters as well as some of the lake trout but I still give the edge to steelhead.

Flatheads are strong fighters and outlast any steelhead any day. Still I like the explosive fight of steelhead better. In any event a big flathead will test your tackle. Even channel cats will out fight a walleye, but that was not the question.

Spring salmon are great fighters, and are bigger on average than steelhead. Pound for pound however steelhead are faster and in my opinion provide a better fight.

Now if bluegills got as big as either one of the above, I wouldn't bet against them.

 

I've only caught one spring run river king. 4wt tied up as a drift rod, 4lb and I landed it as quickly or quicker than a spring steelhead. So, in my experience with one fish, I'll take steelhead over spring river kings any day, or at least spring Mi river kings.

 

Steelhead.... Only fish better is an Atlantic.

 

Pretty much a no brainer.

 

I have caught 100's of "Canadian Shield" and Superior Lakers and they don't even hold a candle to steelhead...remember we have to be talking pound for pound.