Thereās so much to talk about here. First, when youāve got spots that are that good, the fish will be stacked up and itās so difficult to put your bait in front of a 20 incherās mouth before those 16-18ā fish get there. Thereās the competition thing going on in full force.
As far as casting to the āheart of the the spotā first, I tend to agree with your fly fishing buddy. If indeed the big one is in there, thereās a better chance he will get it before you hook a 16ā fish and alert the whole school. Then they will all know Uncle Al is back in town for his annual float.