favorite rough fish

[Jon P.]

<p> what is your favorite rough fish? Rough fish are any fish that would fall into the non game or &quot;trash fish&quot; categories. </p> <p> my personal favorite would have to be the pike minnow, a giant predatory carp-like fish, native to most north western states but rather pesky when in a reservoir or lake. There&#39;s a reward for them in a few reservoirs where their numbers have multiplied in changing conditions. </p>

[Penguino]

Green Sunfish are fun as hell to catch even though they can be a nuisance in the majority of ponds I fish in.

Haven't caught a Snakehead or Bowfin yet and would suspect those fish will jump to the top of my list.

[Bluebasser86]

Some folks consider catfish a trash fish and they would certainly be my favorite if that's the case.

Other than them, I enjoy catching drum and gar both. Drum are good fighters and pretty easy to site fish. Gar pull hard and can be acrobatic at times. Carp are a blast to catch but there's too much waiting involved for me to be willing to really target them often. 

[seyone]

For me it is chain pickerel. They are often disliked by bass anglers, but i find them to be fun to catch. Especially the larger ones. Last week I caught my personal best it was 30" and thick. The down side is they can break you off, or ruin a lure.

[everythingthatswims]

That's a tough question! Probably just anything I can catch sight fishing or something that is aggressive.

[gim]

This is an interesting thread.  I honestly don't know what my answer is because I don't care to catch "rough fish"

[soflabasser]

Any fish that gives a good fight for its size.

[Jon P.]

once I get my laptop from work I will post some photos of my PB pikeminnow, my phone wont up load them for some reason

 

 

[hawgenvy]

Come to my June tadpole fry. You'll never forget it.

[edfitzvb]

My first thought was BIG carp. Then I started reading the posts and remembered how much fun a big gar was, and how it would pull the rod out of your hands. The I remembered the bowfin who twisted my spinnerbait into knots, rendering it unusable. Pound for pound I would have to say bowfin, but any fish caught with artificials ia a good fish in my book. Interesting question

[Jon P.]

here's three pikeminnow (on a swimbait and a streamer) and one chunky sucker. the pike minnow, like their name implies, are  basically giant carp with the feeding habits of pike.

reportedly some pikeminnow can get as large as six feet!

[seyone]

I've never seen a pike minnow before.

[dwh4784]

They are good fighters in their own way. They slam inline spinners all day long, makes for fun when I have the wife and kid with me.

[Jon P.]

1 hour ago, seyone said:

I've never seen a pike minnow before.

they're mostly in the northwestern part of the country. Montana, Washington, Oregon, etc. If you ever get a chance to fish for them they are a bucket load of fun on light tackle (light to medium weight rods)

1 hour ago, dwh4784 said:

They are good fighters in their own way. They slam inline spinners all day long, makes for fun when I have the wife and kid with me.

do you catch them in a lake or a river system?

[dwh4784]

Most of the time I catch them in the upper portion of dammed up rivers/reservoirs. Just when the current starts to slow.

[HeavyDluxe]

I'm totally into tight lines... If it tugs, I'm happy to catch it.  

[J Francho]

Drum are fun, when you're not in a tournament and think you've hooked the next record smallmouth, lmao.

 

[Ratherbfishing]

The bowfin I caught bit hard and fought hard.  I was glad it shook off at the boatside, though.

[everythingthatswims]

On September 5, 2016 at 8:35 PM, gimruis said:

This is an interesting thread.  I honestly don't know what my answer is because I don't care to catch "rough fish"

#DrumLivesMatter

[gim]

hahaha

[PondHunter]

Carp!

[Jon P.]

On 9/6/2016 at 10:01 PM, dwh4784 said:

Most of the time I catch them in the upper portion of dammed up rivers/reservoirs. Just when the current starts to slow.

I find that in a reservoir or lake system the pikeminnow tend to be smaller, yet more voracious, traveling the lake like little pescavorous  shad. bass love'm and the gan craft jointed claw in ja ayu does a spectacular job of imitating them

[timsford]

Drum are always a fun surprise but I'd have to say carp. There's been a few days when I couldn't buy a bite from a bass and a dough ball made from oatmeal I keep in a ziplock saved the day. People may not like them but carp sure know how to put up a fight

[Turkey sandwich]

Catfish and carp, to me, are by far the most fun when you just want a good fight.  Coincidentally, they're also relatively easy to fish for, exciting for kids/friends who don't fish often, and you can relax with a beverage while waiting for your next strike.  They make for great campsite fishing.  

[Tim Kelly]

I've got a thing for drum. They're a bit slimy, but great fun to catch. Never disappointed when one comes calling.