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Sounds like you might want to try a C-rig, or an anchor.

Yeah, cause fishing a squarebill is very different than cranking and is best done with different rods, lines and reels. I can't imagine fishing a squarebill with a cranking rod and light line.

Dedicated and 3 rods is going to be hard to do without asking the other 2 rods to do a lot. There are several MH rods that will do well with plastics as well as most moving baits. The 4th and 5th rod can be a plastic and frog/large bait rod to round out things.

I'm gonna take my uv epoxy curing light down to Costa Rica, and see if they like that....

I dunno, why do cats chase laser pointers and sloths don't?

I'm so disappointed Paul, with all the rod, reel, line selection OCD rambling, I would have bet $ that not only did you have several excel spreadsheets, but that your fields would have been color coded. Oh, the SK cranks do a very good job covering the different depths. I personally like the fat free shads better, but the SKs are reliable workhorses.

Thought: Nonsense.

Either will work as long as you match the rod action to the resistance of the lure being jigged. I prefer casting gear, but will use either at times. There are spinning rods every bit as stout as BC ones, all be it not always in the LMB isle.

7'-7'2" MH, Fast BC 6'6"-6'8" Med, Fast BC 6'6"-6'9" Med Fast Spinning

Don't let those guys on NatGeo running around the woods at night with all the instruments see this.... How is that even possible?

Yes, In addition to the pre spawn, which is one of the best times to catch a large fish, I like late summer afternoons, The fall on the first really cold front, and after they come off the spawn funk in that order. It depends on where one fishes, The shallow natural lakes and the Potomac river here fish differently than large reservoirs which in themselves come in a few flavors. Most sexually mature fish are going to be around the same areas during the pre spawn and spawn, so yes, there will be more smaller fish than larger ones, but it increases the odds quite a bit. I have a couple of places where I go looking shallow to deep from the spawning areas, and start out picking one here, one there, then when I get a couple of large males in a row, I know a real one isn't far behind. I like to get out as often as possible then, cause once you find the main body of fish, they will move up and back up with the changing conditions, but they won't go far, so it's a couple of weeks of bent rods. I go looking for cleared spots as early as Late Feb, and that keys me in on when the first fish move up. But I will say that every lake is different, and every year is different, so I do what the fish want on a given day.

Yes, they eat more, and they eat larger prey, so that math is almost a wash. There is just a lot less larger fish than smaller fish. There is a lot of scientific papers on fish reproduction, survival, distribution and other related subjects. Follow a YOY brood, and one can see that the catch per unit effort by sizes makes perfect sense without imagining that fish somehow get "smart" as they grow. Unlike some mammals whose survival strategy is have few (or one) off spring at a time and spend enormous time and energy ensuring it's survival, most fish do the exact opposite (except in the TVAs) where they start out with a bizillion (poetic license) off spring, and set them off to the cruel world, where mortality rates start out crazy high (technical term) and taper off somewhat as they grow.

Until a chart/blk back squarebill makes you feel so sexy you can't stand it!...

Teach me to juggle...

Because PF's premier bass brand is Abu.

Put me squarely on the rarer column. "On the other hand, if large fish are just rare, not harder to catch, why are they more vulnerable in the pre-spawn and fall when they feeding drive is heightened, and less likely to be caught other times of the year like smaller bass?" I know this is a crazy idea, but maybe because they are concentrated in predictable areas which are easily targeted and accessible to more anglers from both boat and shore, not to mention the increased metabolism from rising h2o temps, and in the case of males the GNC effect...... Nah, they just get dumber....

I have gear that is over 30 years, and some that is less than a month old, and some that falls somewhere in between. I like tried and true, but I'm open to new things if they help or offer something new.

We use that for salt water fishing quite a bit. It works best for slow trolling or drifting. I wouldn't want to cast and retrieve that much. The diameter (stiffness actually) of your legs is key to success. Flounder, weakfish, striped bass, and a host of other things fall for bait or lures fished this way in many places.

Footwear preference is a very personal thing. What one person finds comfortable another may find torturous. There are several factors involved, some obvious, some not.

Not sure why BR doesn't send out a Fury with a Tatula mounted on it, spooled with YZH and a 1/2 oz Cavitron tied on to new members when they first register...

Turning a reel handle, not unlike writing is a more fine motor skill than holding on to a rod, particularly when imparting action with the reel, and best done with one's dominant hand. Of course ultimately it is a matter of preference. The reason I reel right for BCs and left with spinning is because I don't fish BCs with the same grip I cast it with, where as I do with spinning, and this gives me the option to switch sides if fatigue or injury become an issue.

The smaller one.

I read somewhere the Cleo is a salmon spoon.....

I usually fish square bills on heavier line than when I'm cranking. Square bills I'm 15-20 lb, cranking it's 10-12 lb, mostly 10. I also normally use different rods.

Vertical jigging is one of my favorite ways to catch fish. I don't get a chance to do it much here for LMB, but where ever the opportunity arises, I'm doing it. Ironically, one of my favorite sticks for this (inshore salt and fresh) is an old Quantum flipping stick. My favorite spoons are the Hopkins shorty and the Mr Champ (like a KastMaster) in addition to the ones actually shaped like a spoon. Depth and current dictate the choice.