Boomstick

I would use my Tatula Elite 7'1" M/F ( Ehrler Dropshot model) for shaky heads with a Tatula LT 2000D with 12# Sunline SX1 and a 6# or 8# leader. For other lighter plastics, sometimes I will use that and sometimes I will use my Tatula Elite 7' M-MH/XF (Ehrler Finesse model) with a Tatula SV reel with straight 12# fluorocarbon line.

I would probably try a T-Rig, Senko if they have cover, Ribbon tail worm if the cover is a little more spare, my personal preference. And maybe a jerkbait, drop shot and finesse jig. Or if you're confident or if there is more cover etc, a full size jig.

As others have said, your gear is definitely not the problem. I'm usually able to hook them on a M/F rod on a weightless T-Rig, so I couldn't imagine a MH being inadequate. A MH/F is kind of the do it all T-Rig rod if you will. The fact of the matter is sometimes you hook them, and sometimes you pull the bait out of their mouth. One thing I can think of is what kind of hooks were you using? EWG hooks are very prone to this, since the hook point is inline with the eye which doesn't give it much room to swing out. So what is your solution? This year I have been trying the Owner Wide Gap plus hooks as recommended by A-Jay for this very reason unless I am on a lighter rod with lighter line where I use the Owner J-lights, and so far so good. They have a little bit of added grap between the hook which helps your hookup ratio. These run larger than normal, so use 3/0 for most worms and 4/0 for larger creature baits. They're also pretty stout so they would be difficult to bend, good for a Medium Heavy rod with slightly thicker line. Other people don't use EWG hooks at all for this reason.

I was thinking maybe a rockpile on the right, and a school of fish (maybe over another rockpile) to the left. I almost always run them split screen. Sometimes you can things in sonar a lot easier like fish, but then use the down imaging to verify that what you are seeing is in fact fish and not something that is actually in the form of an arch.

This is not normal. I would definitely say you will have to contact Garmin, maybe you have a faulty transducer or something.

The Striker Vivid is basically the older EchoMap transducer with a slightly updated unit that does not have lake maps available (you can still draw your own contour maps or download them from other users on the Internet). For a little more money, you should be able to find a Garmin EchoMap with the GT54UHD transducer which are greatly discounted as they upgraded the package to include the newer GT56UHD. The biggest difference is the GT54UHD's return on sidevu drops off around 50-70 feet depending on depth, where the GT56UHD is clear and bright all the way out to 100 but the 54 is still an upgrade over the GT52 that comes with the Striker. I have the same EchoMap unit. The only problem I really had is my GPS was a bit off until I enabled WAAS and it's pretty easy to use and configure.

I do almost the same thing but I don't pull up on the line as aggressively and also put my thumb on the top. This way I've never once had an issue pulling the line out of the T-Wing system.

Jerkbaits are good all year round. As long as you find where the fish in shallow water are and the area is not too covered in weeds for a jerkbait, then it should be effective. A lot of people think of cold water with jerkbaits, but it can be just as good in the summer when the water is hot to trigger a reaction strike

What do you mean? I have never had an issue putting my finger on the line.

The Tatula is a hair lighter, has two more bearings plus the T-Wing system. The T-Wing is nice and casts a little further, but the Fuego is like 80% the reel the Tatula is for 77% the price. If you go with the Fuego, if you keep the line guide centered when casting, you should get similar casting distance to the Tatula.

I'm the same way personally, but I could see someone wanting to use their same setup for full size jigs and throw them into cover with just a finesse presentation possibly, other than that I can't see why

There are two types of finesse jigs, a full size jig with a light hook and a slimmed down trailer, and a compact profile finesse jig. Generally early and later in the year, I will use the compact size finesse jigs, like the Keitech Finesse football jigs or the Strike King Bitsy Bugs or Booyah Baby Boo. Come late June to August, I like the full sized finesse jigs.

Or you potentially got a biggun I would not say this is necessarily true. Spinnerbaits sometimes end up not taking the weeds back because it'll just deflect off of them but if it doesn't take much to pull the weeds out then a spinnerbait will take a whole lot more back with it than a chatterbait. Generally if I see grass, I'll go for the chatterbait and if I see wood, I'll go for the spinnerbait. What you want to do with a chatterbait when it gets covered in grass is aggressively rip it through the grass. Sometimes the fish hit as it comes free.

That is a pretty wide range for one rod, but it could be done but you're always going to be sacrificing something. The Dobyns 705C or 735C in whatever line you can afford would be a pretty decent choice. The St. Croix Victory 7'3" H/XF "Full Contact Finesse" rod is very good as an all around jig rod, carolina rigs and heavier T-Rigs and can handle lighter punching. I believe the Falcon Lowrider Lizard Dragger would also be a similar, which I was going to buy but was sold out everywhere at the time. Typically, I use my Daiwa Steez AG MH-H/F "Bottom Contact" rod for things like jigs and carolina rigs and heavier T-Rigs (the Dobyns Champion XP or Champion Extreme 744C should do as well) which can handle a fair amount of cover, and then I have a heavy powered flipping stick for punching and flipping into the real thick stuff. I got my youngest son the Full Contact Finesse, and I'm very impressed with how sensitive that rod is. It's also a pretty solid all purpose jig rod, it's an extra fast tip but has a soft tip and a lot of backbone. The sensitivity is on par with quality expensive rods

I like the War Eagle Night Times in black, black & blue or black & red at night.

I agree, I mean rules are rules. If they won't be enforced, remove them.

I have the prior gen in 30 size and use it with 15# braid, and it works but it's gigantic and I don't how know much backing it has, but it's a lot.

I would probably go with the 25. It's lighter, and should hold enough 6 or 8# fluorocarbon or 10 or 15# braid as long as you don't use lines that run on the heavy side for their weight rating.

Since this is your first casting setup, I would try to keep it between 6'10" - 7'3". You can do anything on a 6'10" rod that you can do on a 7'6", the difference is when you get to the longer rod, it starts to typically fill a niche on various personal preferences for different presentations. For $400, I would probably do the following: Rod: St Croix Victory 7'3" MH/F "The Marshall". I got my youngest son the H/XF "Full Contact Finesse" rod for his birthday, and it is quite sensitive especially for its price point. Daiwa Tatula SV TW 7.1:1. This is a both a good reel for the beginner as well as the reel I would personally match to that rod. The Daiwa SV spool improves control and reduces backlashes and is awesome for things like skipping and pitching.

Daiwa Steez AGS Bottom Contact rod for if I remember I think $440 around last Black Friday. Like 26.67% off. Amazing rod too.

Yeah Nick Drake is cool. My dad bought a box set of his complete work when I was a kid, knowing my dad I'm sure he knew who he was when he was alive as well but that was when I first heard him

I have never owned a Veritas, but I know several people who own plenty and have not had too many issues. Maybe they were older models. I have heard their customer service is pretty good.

I've been using Sufix Advance Mono this year, the jury is still out. I lost a bait because the line randomly broke on a rather weak cast which was the third cast on a brand new spool, can't say that ever would have happened with Sufix Siege which is what I was using for topwaters previously, so that was not good.. I respooled and haven't had any issues since. It does seem to have low stretch, but ever since that happened the breaking strength seems very questionable.

I can fish virtually any moving bait on a mod. fast rod. Now granted it would be a different power on each of them. I don't always prefer it, but it generally works. Anyway back to the original question, you can throw basically anything with a treble hook that fails within the weight range, typically a crankbaits, jerkbaits, poppers, spooks, etc

It sounds to me like you either used far too much mono backing, or used line that is way too thick for the reel which has the same effect. Make sure you have enough braid so you can never cast down to the mono backing.