JediAmoeba

The pawl and the channel that the pawl rides in will wear out long before a bushing. It's better to have a good bushing than a junk bearing for the worm shaft - most of the 4×7×2.5 bearings on the market are cheap ones. I say this but have ball bearings in mine. I take one of the retainer rings off on each one and point the opening towards the outside of the reelin in case it gets dunked so it drains easier. I have never noticed an improvement from bushings to ball bearings.

Gimmick unless you like your handles spinning for eternity. I do it on most of mine just because I tear them apart all the time but I pack each bearing with grease to keep them smooth and not spin freely. It's really a preference thing for freshwater fish imo.

The MB Jr's are notorious for that IMO. Of the dozen or so I have all of them were floaters out of the box.

It lasts me for years. I change my leaders every time I go out and I retie a lot. I haven't had a failure in a long time...

I don't understand the hype for the DRT baits - they don't impress me at all. I have swimbaits that seem to do everything better. I get they are kind of a jack of all trades type bait - which is perfect as plastic injection molded bait - but they are priced like a fine tuned bait. I don't get it. The Rafa glides though, I like those.

For older parts - ebay, Facebook marketplace and local Flea markets. Find old reels that no longer work to get parts.

Try the missle baits or hogfarmer spunk shad. You get a similar action with those

The SV is absolutely worth the extra money. If you prefer a smaller reel, go with the newer 103 model. If not, the old version is great.

8-10 lbs fluoro leaders with a 20lb braid main line. If I am deep cranking I usually have a 30' leader. If it's less than 10 feet, a shorter leader.

The biggest bass I can recall ever catching on a spinnerbait was one that got messed up from a Pike. I was fixing it and bending it back into shape and on a retrieve where the whole bait was literally helicoptering a giant bass inhaled it - the only reason I caught her is the trailer hook. Ever since then I realized it doesn't matter all too much unless you are throwing through laydowns and grass.

I have a whole 3700 deep box with an assortment of colors, sizes and materials of spinnerbait skirts. If I usually use white spinnerbait heads and if I need another color a sharpie does the trick

I get so many baits each year, I don't know what I am excited for this year. The one I am most excited to catch a huge fish on is one of my Black Talon Donks. What's to figure out? Rig them on a swimbait head, and chuck and wind. You can also Damiki rig the smaller ones.

That's why I can't do it - I want to work the bait and that's counterproductive for dropshotting.

Ice fishing is so much fun!

Flukes do one thing for me - catch loads of Pickerel. Water near 60 I can only dream of...We are still holding in the 30's here.

What fish finder is 2 pounds? Jesus

If it is a good bait during the day, it's a good bait at night. I would definitely add a trailer hook on the top of the Hudd though.

Northern swimbait fishing is great...

Lucky craft makes an lv-50 that's 1/4 oz - dynamite pond bait.

As a coangler I take 5-7 rods. I keep them tied together with velcro straps so they aren't all over the place - you never know what the boater is going to decide to do so you have to be versatile.

Because all the swimbait guys I fish with run F5's, Leviathans and other custom rods. I am by no means knocking it, my buddy has a Genesis and loves it.

You will be OK fishing most of those, however the swaver 168s won't be too good - glides fish a lot better with some flex to the rod, a musky rod is, like you say, cumbersome and stiff. $200 will get you a fine swimbait rod - a good one is IROD Genesis is a great beginner swimbait rod, even the 6th Sense Milliken rod is a great strater rod for what you are looking to do.

Buy both and sell the Loomis for 200.

When talking about customer service, you usually get what you pay for...all you can do is keep trying to make contact. I thought they were mostly sold on Amazon?

Musky rods aren't ideal but when you are starting out, they will work perfectly for you! If you like it, get a decent swimbait rod - they are much lighter and generally a bit more parabolic. Do you have some baits in mind?