I use green #65 Powerpro, never had any problems before... I believe the root cause of my problem was that I had tangled my low rig with my hi rig, during bad wind chop, once lines were freed, I didnt go back and make sure the knot in the middle (caused by my tangle) of my spectra had cleared...
I have used #30 PP on my jigstick, and it spontaneously broke a few times... I wouldnt recommend anything less than #65, but I only use Spectra on my bait rigs...
RE: short bit on cudas, I prefer that, as opposed to hooking them...
Chris