I have always been an ultra light tackle fan. Casting to breaking schools of Spanish mackerel with 4-6 pound test catching 3-6 pound fish is incredible. False albacore or little tunny are the champions of this method... 40 mph+ runs! If you're fishing with cheap reels, they're blow them up! As far as fish that just pull hard but not fast, I gotta go with black drum. Trying to do battle with even a moderate sized black drum trying to get back to the rocks is incredible!
My favorite freshwater fighter are American shad. Technically they aren't truly freshwater though. They are anadromous ascending freshwater streams to spawn in the spring. They will make multiple runs for the deep water and when you think you've won, they'll take to the air to throw the hook. Horse them too much and their soft mouths tear and you're left with a broken heart! Freshwater drum are probably my favorite freshwater fighters. But again, they are closely related to their saltwater cousins...
