Roadwarrior has posted his recommended 3 setup combos that will cover all ranges of fishing:

#1 6 1/2' or 7' MH baitcaster for jigs, some soft plastics and spinnerbaits

#2 6 1/2' or 7' MM baitcaster for treble hook lures

#3 7' MF spinning rod for lighter lures and a variety of techniques

I plan on going by this to get me started down the path. I started fishing by going to Walmart and always picking up an Ugly Stick and a spinning reel to slap on it, then hit the water. Lately I have really jumped into bass fishing. I try to wake up early to get 2 hours of fishing time before work. So I think its time I start buying quality setups.

Going off of what Roadwarrior posts, what ratio would I want for the baitcasters? I heard 6.4 is a do it all ratio but wasn't sure if I should just put 6.4 ratio reels on both setups 1 & 2 or should go with a higher or lower ratio on a given setup?

6:3:1or 6:4 Shimano or other baitcaster

Any 7-foot, medium heavy, fast tip graphite rod.

Yo-Zuri Ultra Soft line based on the rod's and reel's specs.

Be sure to balance the rod and reel based on their specs with the line test and baits you are going to throw.

The fun of fishing is to experiment with different setups.

How do you think we have accumulated over three dozen rods and reels in our collections?????

#1) 7.x

#2) 6.x

That's what I would do

#1) 7.x

#2) 6.x

That's what I would do

Price range per combo?