J Francho

As long as there's tension on the spool, that's fine.

You set it auto, or use the menu to adjust max depth. It's all in the manual. I suggest you put the unit in demo mode, and run through all the menus and function to understand how to operate it.

No, I use a cymbal stand from my small club kit. Based on my own advice, been doing my spinners upside down for a while. No ill effects to report, though.

I load both off the top. NEVER THE SIDE!

You might as well use a 3-way rig, with a leader if there are pike and musky as well... The purpose of a drop shot rig it hold the bait, above the bottom, weightless. And movement of the bait doesn't move the bait from the spot. Yes, you can move the bait as well, and in that case, it's used to keep the bait off the bottom, and out of the snot. Some for popping, or power-shotting. I just don't see the advantage of trolling, but go ahead and try. It's not like you won't get bit. That part will work, if you're getting the bait into the spot. I recommend you use the pencil weights for this. They work best for me, when let the current drag a DS rig across a ledge, without having the sinker hang up.

It's okay to have two nets, each with a specific purpose. I in fact have several nets. I wouldn't take my salmon net bass fishing.

It's not really a trolling rig. There are better rigs to use to get the bait down. Are you trying to catch more walleye, or bass? Because whether trolling or casting has zero to do with what species you catch. What you're asking is like saying, I want to troll a jig. Or, I want to jig a Dipsy rig. Pick the right rig for the job.

I don't spoon feed the masses with my go to baits.

Yugoslavian import, not native. Related to the brown trout. Really cool looking. Actually, the taxonomy is interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohrid_trout

That's a lot of inflation for the penny for your thoughts, lol.

Kalibur by Guiness is a "non-alcoholic" beer that's very dark and full flavored. As far as lower alcohol content goes, there's plenty of crafted Lager, Pils, whit, hefewiezen, or Belgian style beers in the sub 6% range. As far as shandy goes, Leinenkugal's Summer Shandy is pretty good, but gets old, fast. Personally, I don't drink on the water. When things go bad on the water, they go bad fast, and want my faculty. That's not to say I'm entirely innocent in the past.

Blueback trout is a subspecies of Atlantic char, if I'm not mistaken. Coastal brook trout are simply a sea run brook trout. Not unlike sea run rainbow trout or steelhead. Neither enjoy unique species status, scientifically speaking, though they are interesting fishes.

I have so much confidence in the rig, that pretty much any 3-4" soft plastic appeals to me. I've caught fish on so many different baits, using a drop shot.

@Poolshark I haven't seen any issues with composite worm drive gears. Though, I prefer a gear cut form the same alloy as the worm. Mostly because it's easier to disassemble. That's expensive though, and only found on high end reels.

I agree with the pawl and worm gears on baitcasters. Even more so if they get dirty and aren't flushed out, so great advice to lube that part often. Older spinning reel designs used to have issues with bail springs, but I feel like all manus have resolved this issue. Most are using a lever or jam bar mechanism that is not as failure prone, and doesn't really stress that spring. One thing I do see some issues are corroded roller bearings. That's the part that actually comes into closed contact with you line (via the roller sleeve), and helps prevent excessive twist. If it freezes, you're just creating friction on the line. Manually closing the bail is always a good plan.

You want to use the skinny weights. Everyone thinks it's a short drop shot rig, and in a way it sort of resembles that, but the function is different.

Like said above, there's lots of options in the $10-15K, including that Stratos. Great boats. I think you should be able to find something a few years or so newer.

Jika Rig is the common name from Japan. The point of it is the sinker drives the bait straight down through weeds, with less weight. Some baits hang off the bottom, most do not. I've also made my own Jika punch rigs, using heavy 2 oz. trolling weights and split rings. This has pretty much replaced my T-rigs for creatures and other action plastics. I still like a standard T-rig around wood cover and docks though.

American Trash Fish is one I like.

Always better to buy in fall.

$6K to $8K.

Way over priced.

Get a crimping tool and waterproof connectors. Take the battery to a home improvement store, and they'll help you with gettinntr right stuff. You'll want to also get an inline fuse.

Way cool!

I've played with Garmin units recently. Years ago, I had a pair of sonar/gps units and they were very reliable. My only reservation on this unit is the lack of mapping tools. That might not be a huge concern for you though.