TrampledTurnip

You're thinking of the Grow Design Works Flag. Their G-Flag gill glide is good too, but are a little pricey and hard to come by for someone just jumping in. Osakana Slide would definitely be his best best as far as price and availability. There's also the Megabass Ayu Twitcher, which I didn't personally care for. Still haven't tried the Berkley Chop Block, but it at least seems to be better than the Nessie. Another favorite of mine is the Skinner Baits Clide, it's line through and can be run completely weedless with a BKK Titanrider. Also made of silicone so holds up great. Really the most unique one on the market. It is extremely premium starting at $120 each, if you catch a drop haha

Besides the usual free rig and flipping with these, I really like drop shotting (well, power shotting) these. Know some guys that have success swimming them around on flashy swimmers, particularly the biggest ones, but haven't tried that myself. If you're looking for action on the fall I'd honestly rather go with the Deps Bull Flat. Great spiral and also a very versatile bait overall.

Same here. Bought a couple reels around a month or so, no problems at all. Came in the same timeframe as before the tariffs as well. Just ordered another reel a couple days ago, so we'll see with this one. I'm sure there can still be random hiccups no matter who it's through, so hopefully I don't run into them...

Clearly isn't the Gamakatsu since the bend isn't the same, and I was curious myself so I looked around a little. Appears to be a cheaper brand sold on Amazon as "Dovesun Weighted Swimbait Hooks" https://www.amazon.com/Dovesun-Weighted-Swimbait-Saltwater-Freshwater/dp/B0CJWYDB3M?th=1 Only time I've ever used a hook with a similar bend is the Owner Jungle HD flipping hooks, and really don't think it makes any difference, but interesting!