Piranha,
I think the bit with the duct tape and mono on the spool is to help the line grip the spool on the bottom layers. I know spectra is very slick compared to mono. I also know how it is to get a backlash out of it in the dark
At Cherry Beach, we used Krocs and did well. But some of the guys I saw were getting smelt from the nearby pier then using long rods to catch halibuts from shore using live bait. We used to fish with frozen anchovies also and a few halibuts came up using those. Hope this helps,
Perry