Mr. Deadeye Moderator, sir,
If I may humbly interpret,
There is a middle ground between Your remarks and PulseXT40's post.
It is beneficial to have the thrust to transition the plane from displacement to Planing on the step.
For those of us who have water-skiied, we'll remember that when the boat starts out it pulls harder than one can imagine, then once you're on top, The skis make so little drag that it can be hard to keep the rope tight.
Same thing with floatplanes.
Since you are in Montana, you may be more familiar with snow skiing. I tried Snow skiing but found it to be abusive to my boat. Bit I digress.
Certainly it is necessary to have the speed to fly, but I have found it advantageous to change by one prop size. e.g.: A .40 size plane would use a 10-6 can benefit by trying an 11-4.
12000 rpm with a 4" pitch prop would be 45 mph. Plenty fast enough for a Sig Kadet that'll fly at 15 mph.
It's like dropping out of fifth and into third gear to pull a load or to climb a hill. The lower-pitch prop will have more pulling power to get the plane up on step, and it will have more thrust to steepen the climb angle. Also, when landing, the larger propeller disc will help slow the plane so it is possible to come in more steeply over the plane-eating trees in the godforsaken snake-infested swampy briar-patch on the opposite shore and to place the landings more safely.
Respectfully relating my experiences,