My overall thought on gear rations for bass is that faster is better because its not as if bass pull so hard that they wear you out on a high gear ratio. To me, fishing for bass with a low retrieve ratio would be like buying an offroad truck with low gears when you only drive on the freeway.

People like to make a case for using low retrieve reels on big crankbaits, and I understand why because its physically easier to turn the handle and it forces you to slow down, but if you get used to working the bait at the 'right' retrieve on a 6:1 its not as if they bait does anything different in the water on the high speed reel vs. the low speed reel. Swimbaits are the same way, even though the baits are heavier its not like you're going to get worn out on a high speed reel.

As it is, the best swimbait reels are calcutta TE's and the 300 and 400 are 5.0:1 ratios. If they had a 6:1 or highter I'd use that but 5:1 does the job great as it is. Maybe they'll come out with the levelwind version of the Trinidad 12 some time :)