I am more confident with a baitcaster. Catching them on light line with a spinning reel squealing is more fun though. 

3 hours ago, Woody B said:

The old saying "it's not the arrow, it's the indian"  comes to mind.  

Me and spinning gear are like oil and water.  We just don't get along.  Others are the opposite.  

 

I'm the opposite of you, Woody. I do plan to use my baitcasting outfits more as the weed growth progresses, but you all know I prefer spinning gear. I am accurate casting it and I believe I cast farther with it. 

Once the water reaches about 80d, I don't think it's ethically right to catch big fish on spinning gear.       

 

It takes me several minutes to catch a 7-8lb fish on 8lb FC on spinning gear.   I rarely need to net a giant caught on spinning tackle because I expend all their energy during the fight.

 

That same fish takes me 30secs with 18lb FC on baitcasting gear. 

 

Just something to think about with this topic.   Get those big fish released asap once that water gets hot, do whatever it takes to not prolong the fight with these special fish.   

Spinning reels have a smoother drag system, dollar for dollar, than a casting reel, so this question makes me account for where I've got a big fish on the end of my line. 

 

Near cover, I'd prefer heavy braid or heavy fluorocarbon on a casting reel with the drag basically locked.  I had a big fish pull off a 5/0 hook in that scenario this year.  I also caught a 23" largemouth with that sort of setup two weekends ago, so it's always a gamble.

 

In open water, I'm more than comfortable on 6# line and a tiny dropshot hook with spinning tackle.  The smooth startup and consistent pressure of a spinning reels drag system gives me faith when there isn't something nearby for my line to saw against.

 

I landed my personal best private property bass on 12# fluorocarbon on a MH rod with a half ounce jig with an Abu Garcia Pro Max.  I'm certain plenty of luck went into landing that one.  That fish was over ten pounds.  My personal best public water fish was a 25" beast that came in at 9 pounds and change.  That fish was landed with a Strike King 3XD and 10# fluorocarbon.  I was scared to death.

 

At the end of the day I'd be happy with either setup as long as it's appropriate to the scenario.  I just plead with the powers that be when I hook a good one on small trebles.

 

I've caught some pretty decent fish with spinning rods, all from shore. I still catch & tag all of my sharks with spinning rods from shore using artificial lures. If handled correctly (and if using the right combo) the sky is the limit with a spinning rod! 

 

Just a few examples 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

I've caught some pretty decent fish with spinning rods, all from shore. I still catch & tag all of my sharks with spinning rods from shore using artificial lures. If handled correctly (and if using the right combo) the sky is the limit with a spinning rod! 

 

Just a few examples 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have changed my mind!  Those are some incredible fish!

 

Every time I've been fishing in the ocean, all I ever catch are bass, catfish, and drums.  And not even big ones, either! 

Lake largemouths I’m fishing 25% Casting and 75% Spinning as a guesstimate. Based mostly by lure type. Whether I fish casting or spinning I’m fishing for the biggest bass in the lake with confidence in both. 
Being a northerner my approach and how I go about things may be different if I was from the south where expectation would be different. 

4 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Once the water reaches about 80d, I don't think it's ethically right to catch big fish on spinning gear.       

 

It takes me several minutes to catch a 7-8lb fish on 8lb FC on spinning gear.   I rarely need to net a giant caught on spinning tackle because I expend all their energy during the fight.

 

That same fish takes me 30secs with 18lb FC on baitcasting gear. 

 

Just something to think about with this topic.   Get those big fish released asap once that water gets hot, do whatever it takes to not prolong the fight with these special fish.   

 

I use 30 lb braid and pretty stout hooks on my spinning rods - it ain't your grandpas spinning rod set up 😎😂 

 

I'm horsing em in with spinning or baitcasters - just no backlashing weightless plastics etc.

5 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Once the water reaches about 80d, I don't think it's ethically right to catch big fish on spinning gear.   

 

I didn't think about this, Alex, but I wonder if our water ever reaches 80 degrees. Plus, like @Pat Brown, I horse them on spinning gear. I have never played a bass for two to three minutes. 

Nearly all the fish I’ve caught over 6 pounds have been on spinning. I got started on spinning when I was young and learned to fish a BC later. I can’t think of any big fish I lost fishing with spinning that I would have caught with a BC. I realize I’m probably in the minority but I find spinning more versatile. 
Another thing most of you will probably disagree with is that  with a BC your hand grips the side of the reel and the rod where the reel attaches . To me , it has always felt clumsy. The bigger the fish , the clumsier it feels when your trying to fight the fish…

I use nothing but baitcast.

Either one. 

Either.  My biggest Largemouth bass were caught on baitcast gear.  Fought them the same way I would have with spinning gear.  Meaning I let the fish fight rather than locking down my drag and skating them across the surface.

 

My largest Smallmouth was caught on spinning gear.

 

The two largest fish I've caught weren't bass.  One was 20 pounds and the other 35 pounds.  Caught on spinning gear with 8# XL.  Obviously the fights were longer than a minute.

 

You can't expect to have the same results fishing 8# mono on a spinning reel in heavy cover as you would with 50# braid on a baitcast reel.  My B-I-L fishes nothing but spinning gear with 40# braid.  His rods aren't even MH, yet he pulls bass out of lily pads all the time.

My first double digit (10 lbs, 10 ounces, I think it's the one in my avatar) largemouth was caught on a 5'10" medium/fast spinning rod with a Shimano TX Aero ULS-A  (slightly bigger than a 500 size) loaded with 6 lbs monofilament line. My PB (12 lbs, 14 ounces) was caught on 10 lbs mono and a 6'6" casting rod and I've boated a 22 lbs channel cat on a spinning rod with 8 lbs mono. 

 

All that said, I would generally prefer to set a hook with and play a fish to the boat with casting gear. 

I thought Bill Murphy used spinning quite a bit. He caught a couple good ones. 

Either.

For me the rod comes before the reel. Ive found that a good rod will fight a fish better. Reels are obviously important for drag,  but as long as they work properly I rely on the rod.