What to buy… Fresh/Saltwater spinning outfit?

I want to get my adult son a nice spinning rod and reel for him to use for general fishing; freshwater bass, trout, panfish, and also for light saltwater like fishing the bays and harbors.  Maybe a 6 to 8 lb line range.  I want to get him a quality rod and reel, but I really don't want to spend much over a $100.  What do you guys recommend?  I know tackle pretty well, but I would just like to see what others recommend.  Thanks!

For that price range I would start looking for used.
Any reel under $100 for salt is nothing more than a throw away.

For reels, look at Shimano

If you're looking new, shop online and you can get a Shimano Sedona and a Convergence spinning rod for about 120. I have had a few Sedonas over the past and they have been solid low maintenace reels that are comparable to the higher end Shimano lines. The Convergence is IM7 which, for the price, is a great grade of material.

I have a Convergence crankbait and have pulled my PB 7# bass without the rod breaking a sweat.

Just make sure to rinse the reel and rod off well after fishing salt or, like stated above, it'll be a throw away.

Komori,

You didn't say why you are buying it. Birthday present, does your son not fish much, or did you see a hole in his game?
My all around rod in that price range  would be a 7 foot Ugly Stik in Medium. It's rated for Lines 6-15 lbs for 40 bucks. You could pair that with a Pflueger President or PENN Fierce to fit the $100 thing.

I remember you saying you had a Abu Garcia Conolon at one point. Maybe kick that down and spend the whole $100 on a reel.

Jerdon- Hey thanks man!  Yeah, my son Corey has not done much fishing in the last few years because he is working two jobs and now has 4 young sons (plus a new mortgage).  When we would go out fishing, I supplied all the rods and tackle, since he and his family used to live here in my house.  Corey wants to have his own nice outfit there at his new house in Hemet, so when he gets a chance to go fishing at DVL or wherever, he will have his rod ready to go.  I thought I would take him to BPS and get him a reasonable priced, quality outfit for his upcoming birthday.  And yes, like his ol' pops, he is a great fisherman, just has not had much of a chance to go out lately.

Here's Corey hooked-up with a 15 pounder at the Salton Sea, when the big Corvina were there-

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Shimano Sienna 2500FD ~$33 before tax

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This is my go to Spinning reel for the 500-2500 sizes.  It can take a beating, produce big fish, and the drag is pretty good for the price range.  I have noticed though that the 500-1000 sizes tend be smoother than the 2500 size for some reason, but it's not really that noticeable.  Extra grease or WD-40 solves that issue. 

The Abu Vengeanance is an option. ~$50 before tax

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Or the Sellus by Shimano.~ $50-$60

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For rods, anything in the 50 dollar range won't give you premium performance, but it sure will get the job done.  At the end of the day that's what matters.  

Maybe BPS might have a combo package for the Sienna.  I'm not sure on that.

Oh and not to piss anyone off, but I'm sure I will.  Pflueger President's are CRAP.  They can't take a good beating from the salt.  One of my buddies' reels just fell apart after a few trips and he keeps his reels in good condition.  He'll rinse with fresh water after trips and service his reels as well.

Ifishtoolittle wrote:Oh and not to piss anyone off, but I'm sure I will.  Pflueger President's are CRAP.  They can't take a good beating from the salt.  One of my buddies' reels just fell apart after a few trips and he keeps his reels in good condition.  He'll rinse with fresh water after trips and service his reels as well.

Pflueger reels and basspro reels are made by Abu Garcia. Take them apart and there the same but they do use cheaper bearings than they do Abu Garcia reels. I had bass pro reel that I beat the crap out of in the salt and when the bearings went out I returned it lol.

x2 on the sienna, i have 3 of them they kick ass for the price, i have one with 12 10 8lb test, i use them on a 7 foot shimano rod

x2 on the sellus, picked one up for xmas and works champion! i have it on a 2500 Sahara 10bs test...

u cant go wrong with a 2500 series Shimano, they will work in salt, fresh, surf

My first one was a Shimano Sonora 2500 10lb test on air raid 6-6 daiwa rod, my go to...even works for trout haha..

and nice pic komori, nice BENDO action!

x3 on the sienna .. I had a Pflueger reel and it could barely handle a 7lb bass . had the reel for 6months and it is now in the garbage as it is 100% broken .

I was thinking of picking up a 2500 series myself .  As i need to get a little salt gear and the way people keep talking about hooks rusting off the line. I am afraid to take any of my higher end rods into the salt ever ..


Another Company I would look into is Lew's Reels , I have baitcaster and it is amazing and not a huge hit in the wallet  

Wes

Uh oh! Look out, Wes is gonna gear up for the salt. Bout time.
Just kidding Wes. You won't be sorry.

Misfitdog wrote:x3 on the sienna .. I had a Pflueger reel and it could barely handle a 7lb bass . had the reel for 6months and it is now in the garbage as it is 100% broken .

I was thinking of picking up a 2500 series myself .  As i need to get a little salt gear and the way people keep talking about hooks rusting off the line. I am afraid to take any of my higher end rods into the salt ever ..


Another Company I would look into is Lew's Reels , I have  baitcaster and it is amazing and not a huge hit in the wallet    

Wes

Wes you higher end gear will last longer in the salt than cheap S**t. Don't worry about it, hitting the salt here and there isn't gonna hurt anything trust me on this as don't wash off my stuff as much as I should!

take a look at the Daiwa Legalis. my cousin used one in the salt for the last year and a half and has had no issues. (with regulsr msintenence after each use) and i believe u can find em for like 50 60 buccs

i say go shimano al lthe way, the symetry reels are amazing and can be uses for both. or the saharas. for rods there is a ton of them it just depends how u fish the sellus is a good over all rod for bass and trout and they are like 40$ , but if you wanna spend more go get a ci4+ thats what i have they are the best salt/fresh water spinning reel in my opinon on them market and they have anti corrosion parts.

I too use Shimano spinning reels for trout, and bait casting for salt. Don't buy cheap reels, invest in a good quality $80-$110 reels, you can pay more. They will last for years with proper maintainence. Rods, they break before reels do so don't spend a lot. Just my two cents..GT