OK...first of all...great advice here so far.
2nd I throw flies at bass a lot...here's my current arsenal:
8 wt.:
Temple Forks Axiom with a Rio Outbound Short intermediate sinking line. This set up is top of the pile if I'm fishing sub-surface on still water. It's a little heavy if I'm on a small river. Reel is a Nautilus CCF #8.
Rood and reel are E-Bay buys...but we're still lookin' at $400+ here. Line is a solid $90, no matter what you do...
This is a true strip in, one back-cast and back out set-up. It's amazing...but it ain't cheap, even used. You get what you pay for...
Scott SAS, Scientific Angler's clear intermediate sink line, Lamson Guru reel.
Do yourself a favor...don't even look at what new Scott Rods cost...you'll choke...this was another E-Bay find...with the line from Sierra Trading Post. I probably have $225 - $250 in this rig. It excels at mid-weight streamers.
Cabela's L-Tech, Lamson Litespeed (older version) and Airflo 8 wt. floating line. This is my topwater rod, and the least expensive 8 wt. overall. Bought the rod on E-Bay for < $100, the reel used from a friend for $100, and the line for $39.95 from Sierra Trading post.
Overall...if you expect to get into a decent 8 wt. rod, reel and line for $175...I expect you'll be frustrated and will give up fly fishing for bass.
7 wt.
St. Croix Bank Robber with Cabela's RLS reel, Scientific Angler's Hover line.
This is my "go-to" bass rod.
Cabela's RLS Reels are a crazy good deal (a little heavy, but work great)
Were I going to do this over, I'd swap in a Temple Forks Mangrove, Axiom or TiCr X rod for less money and the same (or better) performance.
6 wt.
Temple Forks Mangrove, Nautilus FWX reel, Airflo floating line.
I won the rod at a banquet...but I'd buy another in a heartbeat at full retail ($260). Bought the reel on E-Bay (you should see a pattern by now), snagged the line for >$40 from Sierra Trading Post.
Custom on St. Croix Legend blank, Lamson Guru reel, Scientific Angler's Hover line. Love this rig...would use it more if the above rig didn't kick it's fanny.
...so here's the deal: Don't try to do a decent 8 wt. bass fly fishing rig on a $175 budget. You'll wind up frustrated and you'll tank fly fishing as a way to catch bass...and that'd be a mistake, IMO.
In a perfect world, for an 8 wt. topwater set-up I'd recommend a Temple Forks Mangrove, Lamson Guru reel and an Airflo or Rio floating line (the Rio Smallmouth line is excellent!). Were I going subsurface, I'd look harder at the Axiom or the TiCr X from Temple Forks. As a 2nd choice, I'd look at Cabela's RLS reel on whatever rod they currently have (probably the LSi).
Echo makes some good rods too...but I have no personal experience with them.
DON'T TRY TO SAVE MONEY ON THE LINE. Spend the $90. Cheap lines suck and will make you think fly fishing isn't any fun.
Call this guy: http://www.lundsflyshop.com/
...or a similar shop that can guide you down a good path. Brian will set you up with a well balanced rig as inexpensively as he can...and he won't BS you.
Again, I don't think you're going to find a well rounded 8 wt. rig for $175. IMO, the rod alone will cost you more than that if you do it right.