loviatt

Buy a GOOD LINE and use the remaining part of the 200 bucks to get the best reel that you can. For most fish, a large arbor (insert popular brand/alloy here) is probably overkill, and as long as you don't beat the crap out of your stuff. One of my best reels was an old cabellas reel that has an offset drag, and I still like it better than newer redingtons/pfleugers that I own. Just my 2 cents though.

Explosive runs, eh? I have never had any fecal matter deposited on me by a fish. In seriousness though, I too have caught some acrobatic browns that took me to backing far quicker than i would have liked. If it's big, it will run, and it may jump as well. Unless it's a bully or a grayling. Or a rock.

I fish the shouldice park/edworthy park area a lot in the summer, and you'd be surprised at the fish you can pick up by just nymphing 10-15 feet from shore or closer. worth checking out.