Definately sounds like you have twists and too much line on the spool. Its hard to get it just right sometimes... too much... you'll get a mess... too little, you lose casting distance.

Best way to remedy line twist is running it out bare behind the boat at about 4-5 knots of speed. Once you get the line out and in the water (no bait.. JUST THE LINE!), it will bow your rod just like you were trolling a hardbait... I'll pull half the line off if I have enough water (I mostly pond fish). Then just reel it all back in... presto.

I like florocarbon...no stretch... invisible in water.... but it has its downsides... it does have a fair amount of memory and when it starts to deteriorate.... its totally useless... it gets very brittle. I've found that its a great leader material, and on my finesse fishing rods/reels... I use it exclusively.

I'm a fan of both stren and Trilene lines. I've used them both for decades and have no complaints.

For braid (which I use more on offshore fishing gear) I like Power Pro....can't beat it.