Meg,
Zack and I went to Erie last Sunday. The best advise I can give you about 'spoonin' is to hang on with BOTH hands. We started drifting, and I was ripping that spoon with one hand, and suddenly, when I ripped it, it was 'solid'. The rod flipped up out of my hand, flew in the air, and landed on the trolling motor. Thankfully, it 'rolled' back onto the front of the boat right behind the trolling motor. As 'bumpy' as it was out there, I couldn't just grab for it, so I had to drop to my knees on the deck, and dive forward for the rod. Once I had control of it again, I said: 'there's one', hoping he didn't see me. When I looked back, he was 'rolling' in laughter. Guess he saw the whole specticle. Moral of the story: when one of those big ole 5+ girls decides to grab that spoon, they don't move 'up' very easily, everything 'stops' in a hurry! If your arms hurt when you get done, it will be the best 'pain' you ever felt.
It also happened a little later in the day, but, I managed to catch that rod in the air, after it flipped up out of my hand, and knocked my hat off. Bass fishing on Erie is a 'contact' sport.
I will say, they were full of ==== and vinegar, fighting up a storm. Lots of 5's out there, you'll have a ball.
And no, Larry doesn't need a handicap, he should 'spot' us a few pounds.
Gregg