shtuka

Absolutely, My standard rod length is 9' or 10' (and have some up to 14' and down to 7'2). You will definitely cast farther, have more options to work your lure or fish on the end of your line etc. ½ to 2oz sounds a little bit heavy for bass what rod are you talking about and what lures are you planning to use?

Different days different retrievesI tend to experiment, and all from above work, but my most productive retrieve is steady retrieve mixed with barely noticeable pauses. And yes SP is one of my favorite lures.

ghost and natural.

I fish them weightless rig them like the worm with hefty hook and just let them sink/swirl on loose line. My best color was spring break.

The original Power bait worked fine, but I do not like newer formula. There are better options out there. Gulp does the trick but smells, it is sticky and the packaging is just terrible.

DITTO Where I live season is closed until last weekend in June. Frustrating and itching, but as a result we (L. Erie) have outstanding SMB fishery. When I was younger, I was targeting bass in spring and I would usually stop counting after 50 fish/day (C/R only). For the last 10-15y, I respect regulations 100%, and honestly I do not see any challenge or thrill in catching bedding bass. It is just not contest.

I'd say there is no perfect lure for every body of water, every time and every fish. MB baits definitely have place in my tackle box. On many occasions Vision 110 and Griffon caught fish for me when nothing else worked. Last season I got several 6+lb SMB on V110, and Griffon sometimes makes even disturbed lockjaw bass bite. On the other hand, there were days when silver $2 Renegade crank from WM can out fish any MB lure.

Have not seen the videos, yet. In my opinion black is the best color if you want to achieve the best visibility, if you want your bait to clearly stand out. But, do you want to do that? Choosing black only for night fishing would be same as choosing white only for day time bottom presentationsyou will catch only the most aggressive fish in the area. If you happen to target night hunters (like walleye) during the night, color can be very important. My favorite night crank/stick colors are ghost/blue and ghost/purple, both with slightly reflective sides. Occasionally, as a shock therapy, I will throw glow in dark spoon, spinner or grub. Black at night works for me only if I fish stained water and targeting fish in top 2 feet of water. Just my 2c