J Francho

I can't stand the guy. Watch Hunt For Big Fish w/ Dahlberg. Way better.

Correct. And there were "Good Ones" which were probably defective, that built that legend. Trust me, you don't see too many really "Good Ones" on the used market, unless it's by accident. Most are prized by their owners. The rest out there are for collectors people that like to overpay for old baits. Anyone that has more than a few knows what a "Good One" looks like in the water. They're almost impossible to retrieve at any other speed than the right speed for that particular bait, and they really hunt wildly. Sub Warts are even worse. The thing is, Wiggle Warts that work as intended are such a good fish catcher (pre and post Rapala) that I don't get all the fuss and high prices. Yes, I have three "Good Ones" out of the dozens I've owned.

Keep doing this, you'll quickly see you can break even a rod rated for 20# line with just 10# line. It's simply not made to be treated this way.

You're not missing anything. Sensationalist bologna.

If that's an adult fish, sure. They never stock adult fish here, unless it's for a trout derby. I'll bet they dropped several hundred into a lake that's maybe a square mile. This was years and years ago. Tigers are sterile, so when they die, they're gone. There's one in that lake that's pushing 50". Lives near a particular set of docks, and always get bit off there. The rest of the lake can be tough, but the bass are all generally over 3 lbs.

I keep my eyes on the water, even when going 6 mph. I can find what need to find glancing at my tiny 7. Once up front, the viewing distance is greater, which is why I want a bigger screen up front. What the OP was suggesting was NO SCREEN UP FRONT, which will almost unanimously be thought of as a bad idea. The side imaging thing up front. Tell you a little secret...you can scan docs by sweeping the TM head, and using just the single side view. This will let you preview what's under there, before disturbing the dock or getting too close. You're welcome.

Hardly a drop in the bucket.

That's one less tiger and one less under size dink. Sounds like a win win. Seriously, you are looking at this the wrong way. NY has been introducing tigers for decades to improve fishing, with great success.

Dink tigers, while fun aren't quite the same as a real musky.

Correct, sort of. What happens is muskie either eat the small bass in the area, or they displace bass's typical territory. They rid the lake of over populated panfish, and allow for greater biomass, which means bigger bass. Often what happens when things on a lake change, the typical 90 percenter anglers keep doing what they've been doing, and don't adapt. If you're catching muskie, then move. Plain and simple. The game changed and you have to change your strategy. I fish a couple tiger muskie lakes up here, and the bass are stupid big. So are the tigers. I'll use Conesus lake as an example. There is at least one tournament per day, usually a couple of evening tournaments, and several on the weekends. It's 20 lbs. to even be considered "in the money." Most other lakes, 14-15 will win it. Tiger muskies didn't ruin a thing. My suggestion to the OP is to do some map study, and try something different.

A 5 lb. squirrel actually sounds a bit frightening.

Short answer, yes, but not very well. Just buy some more braid.

I just had a Thule strap snap on me. I bet that thing is 12 years old, lol.

I converted that for you!

I honestly cannot think of a worse plan for electronics. You'll be on the front deck more than at the helm. You'll be fishing more than driving. Put a full feature, large screen unit up front, and get a basic GPS graph for the helm.

There's really no way to predict what will work and what won't, and if it has anything to do with manufacture. My main criteria for picking a bait is if that company has shown consistency in their baits. If I lose one, I want to be able to replace it right out of the box without fussing, and have the same bait again.

I throw 6" G2 Punker on a custom built on a St. Croix SCIV79HF. It's 1.9 oz., rod is rated 1-4.

https://postimages.org/

Bloomfield is a good option. It's pretty out there.

DVT Mike can make you one for a reasonable price.

Welcome back! Canandaigua is a beautiful little "city." Planners though that it would become the major metropolitan area, but it was Rochester that actually became the big city. Too bad, streets in Canandaigua are laid more sensibly that our crazy layout. Victor, NY is close to Canandaigua, and is the hot spot for housing. Farmington is right next door, and is a bit more rural, without being out in nowhere. Western NY is NOTHING like upstate, NYC, or LI when it comes to taxes, property values, etc.

Mine is demo from 2000. Has hand written specs on it!

You want to leave a bit of the skeg in the water, otherwise you'll have trouble tracking while running the TM. The stern will have a tendency to "spin out" on you.

Does it really matter if you can cast either fine? There's a reason there's buttons and knobs - they're adjustable.

There are no standards when it comes to brakes. It's trial and error, and user ability.