So they seem to contradict a bit but I think I understand:

A 5:1 ish reel has a larger mechanival advantage making it less effort to crank, but you need to turn it faster to keep up with a 7:1 ish

A 7:1 ish you need to crank slower relatively to achieve the same speed, but each turn will be more difficult with the smaller gear and thus wear you out.

Correct for the newbies like me?

A dd22 and 10xd are 2 different worlds

A dd22 and 10xd are 2 different worlds

If you have trouble getting down to depth try long lining. It's a lot of work but worth it. You can use 2lb test and it won't mean anything if you don't get the bait out there. This method also puts both anglers (if there are 2) on even ground to effectively hit a spot. If your partner can't throw as far as you he is not getting in the strike zone so he is basically wasting his time. You will want a reel that holds more line IMO. I don't think ratio is as big a deal as people make it. As you empty a spool on a cast the ratio of a reel stays the same but your inches of retrieve per turn decreases. An oversized spool decreases this effect. If your only pulling in 12 or 13 inches per turn on an empty spool the bait is not going to get down until you get some line on the spool to increase your retrieve but by then it's to late, you have missed the zone your looking for. There are many schools of thought on this and somewhere in the middle is you answer, your just going to have to do some testing.

Agreed, Keith Combs uses a 7 to 1 gear ratio most of the time. I think most would agree he is one of the best anglers in Texas.

Bill D,

I am still using McCoys Mean Green. It's 12 # is close to regular mono's 10 # so, it gets down more than the normal 12 # mono or fluoro. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains