Packard

That sucks, I've never used owner too much, I stick with Gamakatsu and Mustad.

Fireline Maybe?

Here is my recommendation. Finesse/Drop Shot: Rod-Shimano Cumara 7'2" Medium XF Spinning Rod ($219) Reel-Shimano Stradic CI4 2500F ($200) Cranking: Rod-St Croix Avid 7' Medium-Heavy M Casting Rod ($180) Reel-Shimano Citica ($30-$100, they are closing out for a good deal right now.) This should cost you around $650 so you can spend $50 on tackle.

Wrong, I've caught bluegill on 3" grubs and even a yum dancin' eel.

He has a curado

I use berkley power grubs and trim the front half off.

It will work fine with most treble hook lures.

Your wrong, you can in Michigan.

It will work for all of them. A good plastics rod would be 7' MH Fast. 5.3:1 is perfect for crankbaits, I use a 5.0:1 and it works great.

He's not selling it

Shimano Med-Fast is more like a moderate. So this would be a crankbait rod.

You can use them in most states if there is no size limit on them. But to answer your question, no.

Really? I didn't think that there would be better rods than $50 rods. Of course there are better rods but if he wants to upgrade his rod later on then the Lightning rods will be fine. You can't get much better than the Lightning rod in the $40-$50 range. No one said that there's no point in spending more than $50 on a rod in fact most of us wouldn't spend less than $100. Oh and by the way, you keep mentioning that you don't need sensitivity for cranks when in fact you really do.

Hey, I guess you didn't pick up that he's not using this for just bass fishing. He wants an all around setup so either would work, whatever he likes.

Oil the bearings.

X2, but if your will to buy used I would get a nice used reel off ebay or our flea market.

When I go fishing I will fish fast with 4" Senkos, Paddletails, Spinnerbaits, and Square-bills trying to find fish. If I'm catching a lot of decent size I will bring out the big guns, swimbaits, 7" Wave worm anacondas, and huge tubes. I would rather catch one hog than a buch of dinks but that's just me.

If you want to save money on the rod then I would look at the Berkley Lighting rod or shock. They are $40-$50 and are way better than an ugly stik.

It's lookin good!

You can't work them wrong

Should be a decent starter set up. Once you get the hang of it I'd upgrade though.

I have used my friends premier and they are a great rod, they get praised a lot here.

For bass fishing I'd go with the revo s. For all around fishing I'd go with the c4. I have had the opportunity to use both. I feel the c4 is stronger, durable, and unbeatable. The revo s however is more user friendly, more features, lighter, and balances better. For rods in the $100 range I have had good experience with the Falcon BuCoo, Bass Pro Extreme, Abu Garcia Veritas, Shimano Compre, and Bass Pro Carbonlite. My favorite is the Bass Pro Extreme with the Compre a close second.

A few to name are Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow, Grubs, Floating Rapala, and small tubes.