Thanx everyone fer the valuable info, truly appreciated!

Why do people use topshots? I'm guessin it's when they use lures? I wuz kinda thinking bout a hole I fished last year that had a big mess o braid in it and thought the topshot might help prevent me from addin to that kinda pollution.

Also braid seems to abrade a lil worse than mono...but then you've got an extra knot and the power pro I've been using seems pretty tough so I guess it's a six of one half doz of the other kinda thing.

The mono I wuz usin was awfully thick -- pulled off of a spool of twenty some year old stren (yeah, I know ya shouldn't use line that old but it was unopened and sitting in a storage unit), think that wuz mosta the problem. Had been using some 12 lb as a top shot and the uni knot slid thru the guides just fine.

Spent some time on my casting today and after fiddlin w/the reel's brake and friction controls I was able to eliminate the backlashes (kinda new to baitcasting, and haven't fished much the since the mid to late 90s so that's probably the primary source of ma troubles). Another reason I wuz having trouble was the light weight and the aerodynamics, i.e. would shoot off the reel just fine and then put on the brakes mid-cast.

Sure is great to get back on the rivers in our great PNW!!

Sorry, tend to ramble on.

Thanx again fer the replies

Take care,
Roger