surf line

Hello,

Back in the States again and got my tackle out of storage, which
includes a Penn jig master 505. It has old mono on it which has taken
a serious 'set' which I want to replace and wonder what the latest or
best line to use. I saw some braided lines at Walmart which are
suprisingly thin, but wonder how they cast [I used to get better than
300ft under a light favoring wind with Ande mono]. Spool/plate
clearance may be a problem with the thin stuff because I had to go
above 20lb mono so as not to concern myself with an errant loop on a
pump retrieve.

Also, I stripped the reel to remove the old grease and oil. Is
silicone the way to go now?

Thanks.

Jan