Giant Hippo

When someone says that the reel's levelwind is "hard plated", what does that mean?

Anyone here use a shallow (12lb-110yd) spool on their baitcaster? Have you ever been spooled?

Thinking of getting a shallow spool but afraid of getting spooled by large fish.

IM thinking about whether i should go for a med or a med-hvy rod for my next purchase.

I will be fishing T-islands and harbourfront areas, and will be throwing topwater(poppers/wake), jigs(1/4-1/2oz swim/arkie), and various weedless lures in weedy areas on a 10-12lb mono.

Would a med rod be strong enough to fish these areas(ie, turn a fish around before you get tangled)? Never fished these areas before, and I cant judge the strength of a rod needed. I mostly fish sparsely vegetated areas with my ultralight. Going to try weedy fishing this summer.

The rods(all casting model) im looking at are:

Med: Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'10", Shimano Compre 6'6", BPS Bionic Blade 6'6", 

Med-Hvy: Shimano Compre 6'10", BPS Bionic Blade 6'6", Rapala R-Type Custom 6'8"

I understand that there is no industry standard for the power of a rod, so every company is slightly different. Of the rods that I have listed, which ones are sufficient/safe for fishing in weedy areas?

When someone other than a conservation officer/police(ie, some bystander, another fisherman, etc) asks you for your fishing license, what do you do?

Do you show them? or tell them no?

Im looking to buy a new ultralight rod for around $50.

The 2 that im considering right now are

Fenwick Eagle GT 5'6" UL, Mod-Fast $49.94

Daiwa Presso 5'6" / 6' / 6'6" / 7' UL, Fast $48.94

Anyone fished either of them (the UL ones) and can provide a feedback, or have some other rod to recommend? Will be putting a Pflueger Trion ulralight reel with 4lb mono on it. Will be using micro jigs, cranks, spinners and occasional spoons.