RE: Newbie Kinda
Thats a whole lotta questions Hugh.... it'd be pretty hard to answer em all just because of time, and many many other questions that would arise, but I'll se if I can help out a little bit anyway...
One thing that stuck out at me after reading your post was the line... you didnt know what pound test it was.. can I also asume it is probably the same line that came with the setup then?? if so it needs to be replaced first thing... with a regular mono(plastic) line like you probably have, it should be changed often... I change mine every couple of weeks durring the summer...but I get mine for free, if not I would probably change about every month or so if you are fishing allot, and if it has been sitting there for an extended period of time without use, I would probably replace it then as well...
As far as the differences between types of rods and reels, I dont know where you'll be fishing or what for... so I cant really recomend anything... but if it is inland freshwater fishing, which is what I asume it is... then you really only need to worry about spinning and baitcasting... if you are fishing more for smaller fish or fish that require a light presentation such as any type of panfish, trout, walleye etc.. then you would be looking at spinning equipment... it is usually made for lighter presentations, line weights and lures... if you are fishing for any of the bigger species... bass, pike, muskie, then baitcastin might be the way to go... however, it does take some time and practice to get the hang of using a baitcasting reel...
The general rule of thumb, is that if your situation requires a line heavier than 10 lb test, the use baitcasting... lighter than 10lb test, spinning... bait casting reels handle heavier lines and cast heavier lures far better that a spinning setup... but spinning handles light line and casts light lures much better that baitcasting...
if you were looking to get on rod and reel combination for anything... then go with a spinning setup... something like 6' to 6"6' and medium to medium/heavy power(sometimes called action) with maybe a 6-8lb monofiliment. there are also super lines out there, but I dont know that you need to deal with those right now... thats another whole thing. if you have questions about it feel free to ask me though... anyway knots.... thats hard to explain... there are so many knots for different situations... like carp master said though many of the line packages will tell you the best way to tie their line.
but if you went to a sporting goods store.... such as gander mountain or cabelas.. you could get the line wound on the spool by them, I would definatly recomend doing this.... it puts the line on much better than you could do on your own, no twist for one thing.. anyway though, then you would not have a line package... so just ask the guy who winds your line, he'd porbably show what kinda knots to tie... much better than trying to learn it on your own...
lures... well that one is really a very diffacult question as well... I do not have enough information about your situation to help you. each type of lure is fished differently, and often can be fished in several different ways... allot of lure packages will tell you on the back how to best use the lure, so look for that... and also, if you went to a sporting goods store, ask one of the sales people what lures would be good for your situation, and how to use them... thats what the people are there for... they can be very helpful...
one more thing, if you are looking to buy a new rod and reel setup, and I had a little more information about your situation, I could give you some specific recomendations, just let me know what kinda price range you are looking at as well...
Hope this helps some...
~Ryan