Big Hands

I have a rod similar to your Rod #2 (mine is a Daiwa Elite Randy Howell 7'4" MHMF) that I run with 15 lbs mono for bigger topwater plugs like Zara Spooks, 117 Gunfish, Dartwing 125, Pop-Max, as well as Flashy Swimmers and bigger crankbaits or spinnerbaits. I have tried several reels on it including the Tatula Elite SV TWS, and the Shimano Curado 200K is the reel I like best. . . by a long shot. The Tatula Elite SV TWS is one of the most expensive reels I own. The build quality is very good. I tried it with rods from ML/F to H/F and many in between, with 6 lbs mono to 50 lbs braid, and as much as I wanted to love it, I just don't.

Have you been to Bois d'Ark yet?

"Shorter" boats and fishing with more than just you are not ideal. With two young sons on lakes like Hartwell and Keowee, I would definitely be looking at larger boats. It will be more expensive in every way, but it'll be a much nicer and safer user experience. As mentioned, if you have the budget to buy, maintain, operate and store it, it'd be my suggestion to go bigger.

This is the boat I have with a 40 hp tiller. It's been a great boat for me. I found one with 2 hours on the motor for $6,800, but I had to drive to TX to get it (I honestly didn't mind, LOL). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since you mentioned rod locker being something you'd want, I suggest taking a looking a look at the 1654 Sportsman T. It's got a rod locker built in one side, and a general purpose locker that IIRC is removable on the other side. Not sure if they sell it sans motor. It is nicely rigged and laid out IMHO.

I have a Shimano SLX 6'10" M/XF casting rod and a Daiwa Kage 6'10" M/F rod that are both marketed as jerkbait rods and both work very well for that purpose. I prefer the casting rod, but it can be a little tricky if I have to cast into the wind. They're the shortest rods I have in my starting lineup. Everything else is 7' or longer. I don't think I could find a better budget jerkbait rod for the money ($99.99 MSRP) than the SLXCX610MA.

Interesting. . . My hands are a glove size 11-12. The hand I palm my reel with is 10-1/4" from thumb tip to pinky tip, and the SLX 70 MGL is the exact reel I have on my jerkbait rod. Bottom line is to use what feels good and works.

The 1/4 DOOON spinnerbaits are $12-$13. The 1.5 oz Megalo DOOON goes for $27 on the JDM site I saw. A garbage fast food meal goes for $12-$15. I caught 22 bass in an hour and a half on a $25 jerkbait, and I still have it (although it does now need a little tuning, LOL). Maybe I could have done the same on a $10 jerkbait. Maybe. I'm throwing hardbaits a lot more this year, and I don't seem to be spending as much as when I was mowing through bags of Senkos, hooks, and o-rings. So long as I don't bury the hook in a submerged tree, I can fish a spinnerbait for quite a while when they're well made. The thought of a $35 spinnerbait kinda makes my eye twitch, but I can't promise I wouldn't be tempted. It does come with a trailer hook after all, LOL 🫣

I have two Daiwa M/F (Kage and Tatula) spinning rods and a Phenix Feather M/F spinning rod (which is somewhere between a true M/F and ML/F. For finesse (not actual BFS) spinning techniques, I much prefer my Zodias 7' ML/F or the St.Croix 7'6" ML/XF Hair Jig rods with 2000 or 2500 reels (with 10 lbs braid to 6-8 lbs fluorocarbon leader). I would add my 7' Expride Light + before I used any of the M/F rods for finesse techniques.

I have the Feather ML/F and have owned the Feather L/F. I also have a KastKing Zephyr BFS and a Kestrel BFS. The Feather rods are serviceable with the KastKing BFS reels, but I also picked up a Phenix Classic BFS rod and THAT ONE is a great match for either KastKing BFS reel. The Feather rods are good light action rods, but for something more toward actual BFS, the Classic BFS rod is an easy choice for me if I want to throw something like a Lucky Craft Pointer 48 or a Texas rigged Tiny Brush Hog with a 1/16th or 1/8th oz worm weight. If you want a true ML/F then the Feather would be my pick for baits from 1/4 to 1/2 oz. I actually like them (the KastKing BFS reels) better than the Curado BFS, especially the Kestrel BFS. Even though the Curado BFS has a better build quality, I would rather fish with the KastKing BFS reels because they cast better with lightweight baits. JMHO.

Sometimes I just wanna see if I can make whatever is there bite something. Topwater, jerkbaits, crankbaits, several different types of spoons and slabs, flukes, bubble/feather. Various retrieves from burning to soaking, and everything in between. I start every fishing day with somewhat of a plan, but my plan can change at any time. Sometimes it goes just as planned, sometimes it goes nothing like I thought it would. There are times I would definitely sit on that bait ball and see if I can get them going. . . Or not. I have often found that when there is a ton of bait in the water and all a fish would need to do is to swim around with their mouth open, that downsizing to really small baits, or supersizing can draw strikes.

I handled a Trigon handle spinning rod in store and several Daiwa and Shimano reels squirmed in the reel seat. That's a deal killer for me.

BOC played on the shores of Castaic Lagoon. The show was very poorly promoted and as a result, only a few hundred people were there in a venue that could hold 20,000. They said they got paid so they were gonna play in spite of hardly anyone showing up. As for gut hooking wacky rig Senko's (assuming small hooks), I don't really set the hook, but simply reel in until I feel pressure, and lift firmly while continuing to reel. I find setting the hook like I would with a larger hook, will pull the hook out before it has a chance to find purchase inside the bass' mouth. Once the fish has the bait, I can go ahead reeling, with no need to wait, thus minimizing gut hooking. If a small hook does get stuck further down, it is easier to remove than a larger hook.

The occasional fatality happens. If you're gut hooking on a regular basis, you might want to think about why that is happening. I would also suggest that every bass angler that wishes to have the best chance to mitigate harm done when we hook a bass, that you have the tools that will make that easy and quick to accomplish. If I could recommend one such tool, it would be a pair of straight long nose (needle nose) pliers, and a curved pair. I think the curved pair is the most useful are the Booms 11" Stainless Steel Long Nose Pliers. They have a slightly different bend than the carbon steel version and they are simply amazing for removing a hook that is way far down into the bass' mouth. Of course, the best thing to do is to make sure you're not being careless in some way that results in more bass being hooked in a way that jeopardizes their well being more than necessary.

I live less than 2 miles from Castaic Lagoon, and another mile or so to the upper lake. My 40 hp four stroke practically makes it's own gas. On a long day of running around, I might use three gallons, but usually a gallon to a gallon and a half for the boat. This year, I have been throwing many more hard baits than plastics, which is crazy talk if you know much about the way I fish most of the time. I used to figure that plastics are cheaper to fish than hardbaits, but after this year, I have been rethinking that logic. I was even going to start a thread to discuss just that. Normally, it would be a $25 launch fee per day, but I volunteer at the lake so I launch for free. I can go for a few hours and not feel too bad about doing so. My fishing budget has been pretty modest lately TBH.

I prefer the LT2000 size with whatever line size is referred to as 10 lbs braid (apologies to @bulldog1935 , I'm trying, LOL), and then 6-8 lbs fluorocarbon leader on my spinning rods. But, if I were you, I think I would go hippity-hop to the tackle shop with my rod in hand and try one of each in the 2000, 2500, and 3000 size to see which one feels most balanced on that rod. To me, balance is at the top of my priority list in most cases with spinning gear. I HATE fishing a rod that feels tip heavy, and I also don't care for a combo that I have to fight in the opposite way. I will also say that for me, I would look for a non-USDM reel with a shallow spool. Line is too expensive these days to be careless with how much it takes to fill the reels they sell us here with deep, and even 'regular' depth spools, and you'll never need 1/3 of what it takes to fill a LT2500D-XH and futzing around with backing is a chore I don't need to deal with. JMHO.