ORIGINAL: indianahunter83
If you plan on any saltwater fishing at all then definitely buy decent reels. These cheap 50 dollar specials that Chuck loves so dearly will rust on your in no time. Note that a 50 dollar reel might last you 5-10 years but a good reel that is properly taken care of will last you a lifetime.
AMEN Brother!!!!
I have 2 main combos i use for fresh(bass crappie) and salt(red speck flounder;bay fish)water
1.Abu garcia 4500 reel on castaway 7ft medium action rod. Rod=50$ Reel= found in junkyard and made it a treasure
2.Shimano Bantam reel on shimano ojourn 6ft 6in medium-heavy action rod. Rod=20$ Reel=?, they dont even make them any more but my dad had them for a long time and i "adopted" it