I put the big gear out because the laker numbers you catch in April off Niagara county is crazy and I want to weed out "small" fish. I say small but 7-8 lb lakers are trophys everywhere else. I can tell you big spoons do match the hatch as most of the deep bait coming out of winter are adult alewives. My time on the Kaho showed me that 6-8" alewives is what is available. With the supposed hole in certain adult alewife year classes, I think going with smaller baits would make sense. The slimy sculpin that were netted were only 2-4". Not sure how much the bloater chubby will play a role....might be putting a hook off a dodger one day??