Kow

A plastic side plate by itself wouldn't bother me. What matters more is whether the reel stays quiet and the frame stays rigid after a season, because gear noise and handle slop are usually what make a reel feel cheap, not the material label. Plenty of good reels use composite side plates to save weight, so I would treat it as a preference thing unless you are buying a true abuse reel for heavy cover.

I’ve run a few budget spinning reels on travel rods, and at $63 I’d be tempted too. It probably will not feel buttery like a pricier Shimano or Daiwa, but if the line lay is even and the drag starts smoothly, it should be fine with braid for light multi-species work. The thing I’d watch is handle play and spool wobble after a few trips, because that is usually where cheap reels show themselves first. If it is mostly a backup setup, I think it makes sense.

The strip idea is the part I’d skip. Older onboard chargers are usually the wrong charge profile for lithium, so I’d keep the onboard charger on the lead-acid battery and use the standalone charger for the lithium battery, even if that means a separate plug-in routine. If you want to make it easier, leave a quick-connect pigtail on the lithium charger so you are not fighting battery terminals every time. Do you already have a plug-in lead on that charger, or is it bare ring terminals?

If a multi-piece rod is the requirement, I would judge the new Premier more on ferrule fit and where it bends under load than on the old Premier reputation by itself. A lot of two-piece rods fish a lot better now than they used to, but the bad ones still feel flat in the middle or loosen up after a few trips, so that is the part I would want nailed down before buying. If St. Croix got that connection right, it should be a legit option in that range, but I would still compare it against Dobyns and Tatula offerings before deciding. What power and length are you looking at?

Of those three, the 734 is the cleanest fit if chatterbaits are a real priority and you still want one rod that can cross over to jigs. The 744 is the better straight jig rod, but it starts giving up some of the load that makes a bladed jig rod feel right, and the Tatula Elite fast would not be my first pick as a do-it-all middle ground. If you are bank fishing and trying to keep the lineup versatile, I would lean 734 and live with it being good for jigs instead of chasing the most jig-specific option. Are chatterbaits the main driver here, or do you really want a jig rod that can survive double duty?

This time of year I would start with moving water and cover that gives you two chances, first females sliding up and second fish already easing back out. A weightless Senko absolutely plays, but I would not make that the whole plan. Keep a bladed jig or swim jig for active fish around tules and outside weed edges, then slow down with a wacky or Texas-rigged stick worm when you get a follow or miss. One thing I'd watch for is tide, because the same stretch can look alive on one swing and dead two hours later. Are you fishing mostly lower-water current windows, or more protected cleaner water?

I would definitely keep the skeg and treat the real question as how low you need the transducer to sit before the motor starts shadowing it. If you go side mount, I would get it low enough that the face is clearly below the nose/skeg line when the motor is deployed, then idle-test it on the water and turn the head both directions to see when the picture starts cleaning up or dropping out. This gets overlooked but a setup that looks fine on the trailer can still lose one side badly once the motor is turned and under load. Are you mostly trying to protect 2D/down imaging up front, or do you need side imaging to stay clean too?

Spacer washers are interchangeable only if the inner diameter fits the main shaft correctly and the shim sits flat, so brand name by itself is not the deciding factor. For line bunching at the top, add one thin shim at a time, make 10 to 15 casts, and check line lay before changing anything else, because too much shim will usually push the stack to the bottom. Also check spool fill level first, since overfilling can look like a shim problem when it is really line management.

Horizon style is mostly about posture and tracking, not just hook sharpness. The head shape and tie point usually keep a minnow bait running flatter with less random roll when you slow down, while a true round ball tends to wander more and can roll easier as retrieve speed changes. Round ball absolutely catches them, but Horizon heads are often easier to keep consistent when fish are following on forward-facing sonar and you need that bait to hold one clean lane.

Got it, that changes things quite a bit. If you’re around 1 oz for 90% of your casts, that rod is much more in its sweet spot and the occasional frog shouldn’t be a concern.

For frogging, pitching, and flipping, I would not jump to a 200 size just because the rod is heavy. A Bantam palms better for close work, and 65 on that reel is plenty unless you are making long bomb casts into matted grass all day. The bigger thing is whether you want compact and solid or just more spool than you will ever use, and parts are not the issue on a Bantam since that reel is sold here too, you are really just giving up the US warranty by going JDM. Is this rod going to live mostly as a frog rod or more as a pitch-and-flip combo?

Half ounce is where I would get cautious on a rod like that, especially if easy casting from a paddleboard is part of the goal. The short length absolutely helps in close quarters, but that same tradeoff usually means the rod wants to be loaded a little more before it starts feeling good, and that can make it a compromise if 0.5 oz is the normal bait instead of the occasional low end. I would rather give up a little on the top end than buy a short swimbait rod that never really loads right on the lighter stuff. Is the Citizen 6 and 1/2 oz range your everyday use case, or just something you want it to cover once in a while?

If you are mostly fan-casting small ponds from the bank, I would not force baitcasting unless you just want to learn it for fun, because spinning is still the easier tool for lighter baits and blind-water fishing. Under $100, I would prioritize a forgiving reel with decent brakes over bearing count or hype, and I would honestly look for a clean used Daiwa or Shimano before buying a brand-new bargain reel. The biggest mistake people make here is buying the cheapest caster they can find and deciding they hate baitcasters after a week of backlashes.

If that Aux 2 position is already a switched positive feed, then yes, the red lead normally goes to that fused positive side, but the black lead should go to a true negative buss or straight to battery negative, not another fuse location. One thing I'd verify before buttoning it up is that the wire size and fuse value actually match what the Micro wants, because the fuse is there to protect the wire and circuit, not just the accessory. I would also leave the final battery connection for last so you are not sorting wires on a live circuit.

That’s a good call, the jaw stretch is a sneaky good tell once they get over that ~4 lb mark. I usually just go off length + gut feel, but I like adding something like that in. Gives you a quick double check instead of just guessing blind.