GetFishorDieTryin

Between the Tatula and Premier, I think the Tatula has it beat in every department other than possibly customer service, as SCs pretty good for the most part and I've never experienced Daiwas cust service. 
The Tatula is more comfortable in hand, particularly if you have a high grip on the rod.(all or most fingers above the reel stem)
The New Tatulas are actually going with an A O guide instead of the Fazlites of the older model, which is a downgrade IMO.
The 2pc Tatula will be slightly heavier than the 1pc, but Daiwa knows how to make a great multipiece rod.  
SC has certainly had some issues over the past few years.  I was really sad to them change the guide train on one of the most well-loved rod lines out there, being Avid Inshore.  IDC what kind of coating you put on SS, its not going to be as light or corrosion resistant as Ti.  Some of their new lines are kind of gimmicky.  The tri grip mojos are like a novelty.  Its already been done before on big game rods to increase comfort on long fights.  It was found the points of the triangle cause hotspots in your hand after prolonged fights, but that shouldn't be an issue with LM and SMB.
One nice thing about SC is that they have dramatically improved the balance of their rods when you compare the current lines to ones made in the early 2ks.
It really comes down to which one feels better to you.
     

I replace nearly all my SW plugs with inline singles.  They actually hold better than trebles, so long as you get a decent set.  I havent done nearly as much replacing trebles with FW lures.  Ive doe a little with JBs in the summer and they work better than expected.  I actually find squarebils to be one the more snag resistant baits, so long as its the right one moving at the right speed.  I have been replacing the trebles on my traps in late winter with duo hooks.  It makes a big difference when you're yo yoing them.  I have noticed that I do lose a noticeable amount more fish when even 1 treble is replaced by a duo, much less both.
Ive got a few older Yo Zuri plugs that came stock with circle hooks.  They do work, but the problem with circle hooks is they are a PITA to sharpen with the sharp angle they are on. 
I could definitely see them being useful in areas you dont want to blow out with a snag.  The problem with single hooks and snags is that they are much stronger than trebles due to wire size and shape.  If you do snag up, its going to be much harder to bend the hook out if you dont want to run the boat over and blow out the spot.     

Ichikawa Rick Clunn Kamikari lights in #8s work, you may even be able to go down to 6's.
Ichikawa has light wire round bend that will work in a #8.
 
Duo Spearhead Ryuki Treble #8
 
Hayabusa TBL 930s NRB #8 

Not as easy to get anymore, but the Hayabusa brush easy would work really well.  I jig worm with 1/0 on a 4" bubbling shaker.  The hooks tend to break instead of bend that and availability are the only drawbacks to the BR head IMO.

 

2/0 with a short shank.  Not too many around in the lighter wights I like to use 1/16 and 3/32.  Theyre expensive, but Picasso makes a really good one.  Normally I dislike screw locks, but these are pliable and don't really get in the way.  

 
Bite Me Tackle has great one, but the eye is horizontal instead of vertical.  They come with a Gami sproat hook and are perfect for finesse worms.  The keeper is really effective, but the baits dont last as long. 

For longer worms my favorite SH is Gamis Tricky head.  It does everything well and has that Oshaughnessy style hook which just sticks em.  The shanks are a little long for 4.5" worms IMO, but work great for 5" or longer.  Really like the keeper ass well, it hold traditional plastisol and elaztech really well.   

 

Bass X for sure

Didnt get to fondle a whipsnake until last year and was very impressed.  They were next to the new SC LTBs and IMO the Orochi looked and felt superior in every way, really liked how stout it was.  With a Luvias FC that must be one of the best combos for the $.  
If it were me I would go with the SH.  It would be a good soft plastic or deeper water finesse.  
If I were to need something heavier then SH I go to casting gear.

August-Nov can be really inconsistent as far as the bite goes.  Its a time of year when grinding the rest of the day with a couple baits that did well the week before is just a waste of time, IMO.  Ive found downsizing to be really effective.  Small JBs, 1/4oz traps, 1/4 buzzbaits and small spinnerbaits, more times then not, out fish their full size counterparts, both in term of quantity and quality.  If down sizing the paddletail doesnt help, try going to a straight tail swimbait or even a straight tail 4" worm.

ML is good for 1/8, but once you get to 3/16 and 1/4 then a M is more effective IMO.  Not sure what the budget is, but for the money a 7' M F Tatula is incredibly hard to beat.  They just do everything really well, better then quite a few rods close to double the price point.  They offer them in 6'6 and 6'8, but Ive only handled the 7'.  The 7' M F feels like a lot like a ML in the tip with a little more power in the backbone, which makes the rod really versatile.

If it was my rod, I would be ticked if he didn't offer to replace it.  Ive had the same thing happen to a few rods and losing just a couple inches can dramatically reduce the sensitivity, especially with faster actions.  The EMFT may not be as adversely affected by losing some of the tip section because its softer, but its going to make a difference.

Ive gotten pretty good at eying it, especially with the 2500 LT spools.  The other way is to reverse spool, which ive never tried.  
Go out any buy some 12lb big game or something you can actually use and use that as backing.  Since 10lb braid is so thin you will want to almost completely fill the spool with mono, then add the braid.  If you run out of room and dont have enough line on the spool then open the bail and wrap the braid back on the filler spool with your hand and take the appropriate amount of backing off.  
You can get a rough idea of how much braid you're putting on by counting the number of times you crank the reel multiplied by the inches per turn, then convert it to ft or yards.  Since the diameter of the spool is changing slightly as more line is put on, its just a ballpark figure.

I think I know the video you're talking about.  Essentially what it comes down to is the smaller bait will get more bites vs a bigger bait.  Although the smaller bait, jig in this case is likley to get more bites then a bigger one, he starts out with a bigger bait because hes looking for a better fish.  The jig just gets steadily smaller and the action of the trailer gets more subtle as he becomes more desperate to get bit.  

Theres a lake by house that is similar, it has a small fish population for its size, receives an incredible amount of fishing pressure and usually has 6"-18" viz.  Every fish you catch you have to earn, they're are good days every now and then but for the most part its always a grind.
Try downsizing along with using something more subtle.  Instead of using a real aggressive SB, throw a shad rap or a silent SB at the very least.  Since they see a ton of spinner/chatterbaits, dont throw them unless you have some cloud cover and or wind. 
When you do throw them make them look different, trim the skirt down to tighten up the profile and color in chatterbait blades with a black sharpie.  I know it was mentioned earlier, but those little pond magic booyahs can really do some damage.
On days where you dont have the wind/clouds or they just aren't responding to cranks or spinner/chatterbaits go with a really compact swimjig.  There are a few really good ones, but the past few months Ive come to depend on the Greenfish Chibi swim jig with a swimming fluke jr on it.  Its got a light wire hook and a thin weedguard which makes it a bad choice for cover, but its excellent for sparse cover and open water.  The hook penetrates so well most of the time the fish hook themselves, just make sure to use a M power rod or set your drag accordingly so it doesn't open the hook.   It just gets bit when other swimjigs wont and it gets a bigger bite on average then a swimbait of equal size. 
 

Start small, 3" keitech or grub with a 1/16, 1/20, 1/15 or whatever lightweight jighead you have.  If the water is cold, keep the rod tip high and reel as slow as you can without hitting the bottom so you don't get bogged down in grass or slime.  Just about anything will take a shot at that little bait, so it will tell you where the fish are.  Ned rigs and DSs will do the same thing, but you can cover water faster with a small swimbait.  Once you have an idea of where the fish are, pick the area apart with a ned rig, jig or DS.