It's gotta be the steelhead for several reasons. For one, anybody can get a 50 lb chinook if they have the time and money to fish The Kenai, Rivers Inlet or, The Skeena for a few weeks.

I don't know anywhere on earth you can be sure of getting a 25 pound steelhead just by putting in a few days or weeks on the water.

Also, because steelhead are caught in rivers they have several more ways to kick your butt than does a chinook in the open ocean.

I have caught several 50 plus pound chinook and none tested my tackles like a 25 pound steelie would.