best budget buy under $80

[Nunz]

 i am a relatively new fisherman and love the information on this forum. Unfortunately, i'm also a broke a** college student and need to upgrade from my 10 year old $25 combo. I'm looking for a solid MHF 7-7'2 rod ( needs to be good for all around fishing, which is why i picked this), for under $80. I would prefer a solid $40-$60 rod, but if its a great deal will consider up to 80, so please refrain from the "spend $20 more and get a ..." as i really don't have the cash.. Also looking for a quality reel, same range. Any sales on nice equipment would be VITAL (and preferred), or any combos that offer a solid deal on rod and reel as well. I just missed out on a $60 sellus and sedona combo at dicks and am very ticked, so that is pretty much my standard for deals, I figured someon on here can help me find where the major deals are. Thanks guys, happy fishing

[Bass Turd]

Spinning or Casting?

[webertime]

Spinning... The new model Berkley Lightning Rod ($40) with the previous generation Shimano Sienna 2500 ($30).  Sienna to Sedona there are veeeeeeery slight differences between them.

 

[Largemouth21]

The search bar is very helpful. Lots of people with your same question

[lbriggs]

Go to ffotackle, check out their combos. Berkley lightning casting combo, or get a pfluger trion and put it on one of their discount abu Garcia vengeance rods.

[rippin-lips]

I have a Shimano Stradic FJ 3000 for sale for $75. @Nunz

[Nunz]

22 hours ago, Bass Turd said:

Spinning or Casting?

spinning 

4 minutes ago, rippin-lips said:

I have a Shimano Stradic FJ 3000 for sale for $75. @Nunz

no thanks, too expensive 

[rippin-lips]

16 minutes ago, Nunz said:

spinning 

no thanks, too expensive 

? 

[burrows]

There are plenty of decent combos you can buy at dicks for 80$ you should have no problem finding one. 80 bucks is a decent budget for a nice combo check out the Abu Garcia pro max combo for $69.99.

[JigMaster4]

If your range for reels is $80, then look on Ebay for a Daiwa Tatula CT.

[Nunz]

7 hours ago, rippin-lips said:

? 

don't have 75 to spend on just a reel lol 

[Nunz]

Unless a major deal comes up on a combo, so far it's come down to

lightning shock

cabelas tourney trail + president combo

fenwick silver hawk

on sale lews carbon fire rod 

 

still havent decided on a reel, probably the president or a shimano sienna or spirex, or a reel that feels nice in store and has a decent reputation. 

 just as a sidenote, does anyone know when stores start to move rods+reels to clearance and have major outings on discontinued or old model items? or what is usually for sale on black friday? may be worth the wait to just save up for then, its only a month away

[Nunz]

also is tacklesupplydepot.com legit? some of their sales seem too good to be true..

[BrackishBassin]

You do any saltwater, or is it a strictly freshwater setup you’re looking for?

[Deeare]

Narrow your search to a few combos and wait for Black Friday deals.  

[Nunz]

4 hours ago, BrackishBassin said:

You do any saltwater, or is it a strictly freshwater setup you’re looking for?

 strictly Freshwater i'm looking for , I mostly spearfish saltwater, but may possibly do some shore fishing this summer. 

[edfitzvb]

At $80.00, look for a deal on Pflueger combos. At that price you might very well find a President combo on sale somewhere. Pflueger makes excellent spinning reels. I have a President that impressed me, and because of it I bought a Supreme XT. Super reels and a LOT of bang for the buck.

[Nunz]

found a used dobyns fury on amazon for 83$, says it is like new... is this worth spending extra money on and waiting for a reel or buying a less expensive reel? dobyns are never usually on sale

[BrackishBassin]

8 hours ago, Nunz said:

 strictly Freshwater i'm looking for , I mostly spearfish saltwater, but may possibly do some shore fishing this summer. 

 

I’d suggest an Ugly Stik GX2 (medium or medium light) and a Penn Pursuit. If you’ve got a few extra bucks, upgrade the reel to a Penn Fierce 2. Worth it just for the braid ready spool on the reel. 

 

I know now that Ugly Stik and Penn aren’t regularly mentioned on these forums (seem to be more popular with the saltwater crowd), but I have a medium light GX2 with a 2500 size Penn Fierce 2 on it that’s caught everything from my PB largemouth to bullnose rays out of the river with zero issues. Both the rod and reel are tough as nails. I also feel like (and I’m sure not many will agree with me) that the fiberglass tip on the GX2s are relatively sensitive for their price point. 

[Nunz]

1 hour ago, BrackishBassin said:

 

I’d suggest an Ugly Stik GX2 (medium or medium light) and a Penn Pursuit. If you’ve got a few extra bucks, upgrade the reel to a Penn Fierce 2. Worth it just for the braid ready spool on the reel. 

 

I know now that Ugly Stik and Penn aren’t regularly mentioned on these forums (seem to be more popular with the saltwater crowd), but I have a medium light GX2 with a 2500 size Penn Fierce 2 on it that’s caught everything from my PB largemouth to bullnose rays out of the river with zero issues. Both the rod and reel are tough as nails. I also feel like (and I’m sure not many will agree with me) that the fiberglass tip on the GX2s are relatively sensitive for their price point. 

I was debating on getting the ugly stik, but for the bass fishing i do i decided the 30-50 dollar price range would be better spent on a lightning rod/ rod shock than an ugly stick, sacrificing durability for sensitivity 

[Nunz]

There is a flash sale on dicks right now..lews carbon fire rod marked down from $80 to $60..berkley heritage from $60 to $20...skeet reese down to $50, and a berkley lightning baitcast combo for $39. which one of these rods would be best?

 

[Catt]

Academy's H2O series of rods, reels, & combos would fit your price range.

 

Solid performance & great warranty ?