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Tatsu is probably the best stuff you can get, but I would even think about going a little bit cheaper. Fluoro is truly "you get what you pay for", so after having some bad experiences with Stren fluorocast, I will not buy FC's with a MSRP of less than $18 for a 200yd spool. Personally, I've had good luck with Spiderwire FC, & Sunline Sniper.

My only recommendation is do not Snap / Slack line set on the fish after it bit. I would compare it to a crankbait hookset. I can't believe no one mentioned the Owner Down Shot hook. It looks almost ilke an EWG, but extremely thin wire. I really haven't seen any improvements over a mosquito hook, but for some reason I've got all my confidence on that..... so I guess that's all that really counts.

Many of the Japanese jerkbaits work wonderfully for smallies. My favourite is definitely the ones by Lucky Craft When jerkbait fishing, I like to have something that covers all different depths, up to 8-10 feet. Then for each depth, you should have ones that you need to "jerk" hard like a pointer, and ones that you "jerk" lightly like a vision 110. After having one of each of them, then it's time to expand a little bit in terms of your colour selection - One Natural, One Firetiger (or something bright), and One that is translucent for the extremely clear lakes.

My ideal situation for your weedy lake would be to find a few large boulders mixed in among the weeds. In Canada, you'll often find an entire back bay filled with lily pads, coontail, milfoil, and whatever weeds with a boulder near the back of it. There will usually be a smallie or two sitting on it practically everyday. If not, I would just call it a day of "bass fishing" and pitch at clumps of weeds, weed edges, docks with sand, and whatever good stuff you can find.

Smallies are smallies, so for the deeper clearer lake find rocky points or possibly find deeper water transitions of the bottom composition. I'd have a popper / walkin bait, dropshot, and lastly a jig and swimbait /twister tail for targeting the entire water column. I don't particularly have much luck with jerkbaits in the summer, but others do, I'm sure The weedy lake will probably have weed smallies. Try look for hard cover, but if you can't find it, start looking for weed smallies. T-rigs all day, unless you can get a topwater bite.

I had a spot I scratched that is peeling some clear coat... My fault I'd say, but the epoxy for the guides are turning yellow. It's getting kind of old now, so I'll just use it til it breaks and get something that won't have these problems

It comes down to confidence in your gear, and how confident you feel when you're fishing. Sensitivity comes into play, but I like to think it is far overrated. Yes, you can claim some techniques could use a feel for transmitting slack line bites... But I once read an ice fishing book that there is no such thing as a fish that can bite your bait without moving the line. I believe your full concentration to your line is more important. But if I'm holding an ugly stick and spending Half my time complaining about a crappy rod, sure as hell it'll make me less efficient

I haven't used the new Trilene XL, but I have used Senshi for a couple seasons now. Senshi is pricier, only offering 200 yards... But the 200 yds you get are fantastic. Not a lot of stretch, supple, thinner than most other lines... I love it for topwater and jerkbaiting in 12#, 6# for panfishing.

The Sunline braid feels like as if it were a 4 strand braid (It's got 8 strands). It's got a very textured feel to it, unlike Samurai or 832. It's a little bit louder than those other braids as well. On the other hand though, I haven't been able to break the line with any kind of pulling... Straightened all sorts of different hooks. The texture to the braid might also be helpful in cutting weeds and lily pads though. I don't think you can go wrong with the sunline fx2. Especially with that price going on at TW.

On a baitcaster, I only know how to pitch with my left and retrieve with my right. I recently bought a LH baitcaster and it's been more of a bother than anything trying to pitch with my right.