Myself I buy my rods in feb. when bps has a great sale, I use the ugly stick lite rod, not to bad but heavy compared to other rods. I going to be buying the bionic blade when it goes on sale to replace a broken rod. I use the Johnny Morris elite on my bait casting rods, I have two and love them. I would rather have a cheap reel and a good rod. Far is a bait casting reel my experience is the more you spend the more you get. Just my two cents.