Cheen,
As far as your braid question goes, the only expearance I have with it is on fresh water rigs I have. And on those I love it, I can't think of a better way to fish spinner baits around lilly pads. Spider wire 10 -50 on a Abu 4601C3 and a Lami 7 ft rod, its a joy to pull those lillys up by there roots.
As far as where to get a 650ss reel, check e-Bay it's pretty common to see them there. And what gets me is people are will to pay more for a 5500 or a 6500 then for the older 550 or the 650. All my Penn ss series reels are the older models.I prefure them to the newer modles. I also like the 704Z reels and reasantly picked one up on e-Bay for under $30 including postage.
Hope this helps,
Ed J
