New bass rig, thoughts and concerns

Hey guys....im a part time bass fisher here in Sunny South Florida. I just
purchased a new rig from Walmart and wanted to share some info. I purchased
a Shakespeare Catera Rod and Reel combo. The reel is about 11oz in size and
hold approx 145 yards of 8lb test. I wasnt even really looking for a
rod/reel. Im a big fan of my good old Penn 916Z and 5'6" UL Uglystik with
Ande's 6lb test. I used this setup for a while and was pretty happy with it
till I picked up the Catera Combo. The Catera Reel is overall 6 Ball
bearings. The model I got was the 6635. Infinte Anti-reverse was awesome,
ZERO slack when ever you stop the reel. Its extremely smooth and the reel is
quiet (Penn reel clicks unless you turn off Anti Reverse). The rod is made
from IM-7 graphite, its 6'6" Med action. This rod is fantastic, its heavy
compared to my UL Ugly Stik. The rod/reel didnt have a price on it. It was
the only one left and decided to see how much it was. I took it up to the
counter and had the cashier ring it up to see. It popped up 39.99. My first
thought was that cant be right....39.99 for a IM-7 Graphite rod and a 6 ball
bearing reel. A IM-7 Graphite rod is probaly more then that, even the
cheapest Bass Pro Shops brand rod is about 20$ more. So i bought it anyway
thinking that its worth the 40$. Even if i didnt like it i would keep it for
some shiner fishing. I was EXTREMELY impressed with this rod. The first trip
i took with the rod I hooked up a Charlies 7" (purple/black/metal flakes)
and a 1/16 bullet weight. The line i bought was Spider Line Mono XXX 10lb
test. Its very very thin compared to normal 10lb line. (something else about
line, will get to that later) The cast went pretty far, farther then i
expected with such alittle weight. After the 3rd cast, boom fish on. I
gently set the hook and then set my drag since i had the fish on. I noticed
right away that the fish wasnt big at all....though the rod detected such a
light strike i was amazed. I only had 1 purple worm and caught 2 1-2lb bass
in about 20mins. As the bass stopped bitting the worm I swap out rods and
used the UL Penn/Ugly Stik with a small white single blade spinner bait. I
noticed that my UL didnt feel strikes as much as my new setup. I connected
with another fish about 5mins after swapping rods/baits. All the bass around
my canals here are about 1-2lbs. So it was pretty much the same size as
before. Fun to fight though.....

Point of the story.....sometimes those Walmart specials can compete with
more expensive setups. 40$ for this setup is a AWESOME price....I cant wait
to really put some wear on this rod and see how it comes out. I paid 35$ for
my Penn and 39$ for my Ugly stik waay back when. If this setup was around I
would of purchased this over Penn/Ugly stik combo. Im still amazed at the
price/performance for this combo.

Some concerns were with the line i purchased. I bought Spider Line Mono XXX.
Its 10lb test line, but its THIN. I thought since its mono line then a
normal knot would do. I use the simple Clinch knot. I casted my newly tied
knot and was amazed that the knot itself broke. Now, even though its Mono
line, should i move to a different Knot? What type of knots should i use
instead?

Also, im located in Coral Springs, FL. I have a few places that i go to, but
want to start moving alittle.....anyone in the area recommend some new
places? I can travel alittle distance for some big fish.