I'm getting my brother back into fishing, and with his budget I thought a combo would be the best way to go.  I was going to suggest a Pflueger President Combo from one of the bigger stores.  Gander Mountain has an offer for a President Reel and they'd toss in a Gander Mountain Vortex Spinning Rod (Specs below.)  Does this seem like a good deal?  The rod is free, so he can always upgrade it later and put the rest of his budget towards terminal tackle.

 

Thoughts??

 

 

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=727161

 

• Length: 6'6"
• Power: Medium
• Action: Fast
• Pieces: 1
• Blank Construction: Graphite
• Handle Material: Cork
• Handle Type: Split-Grip
• Guides: Stainless Steel
• No. of Guides: 6
• Line Weight: 6 - 12 lbs.
• Lure Weight: 3/16 - 5/8 oz.

What's the total price for the package?  

 

My local StuffMart sells a Pflueger President combo.  It's a 6035 sized President spinning reel on a 6'6 MF graphite rod... The whole combo is either $69 or $79 bucks.  I bought one of these a couple years ago and it worked very well.

 

This past season, I decided to 'upgrade' the rods and made a trip to BPS.  Let's just say that the rod which came on the Pflueger combo I bought fights well above its weight class in terms of quality and sensitivity.  There's a clear step down in quality to the rods I purchased, even though they were much more expensive (proportionally).

 

I don't claim that this experience is normative, and YMMV.  However, I just throw it out to say that there are some `decent spinning combos at your local` stores.

It's $59 bucks.  Which for a president and a rod, I think is pretty good.

 It's Perfect.

 

I purchased one of these several years back for my wife as she was just starting out.

 

Worked great.

 

Still have the reel but we did eventually upgrade the rod.

 

Get it.

 

A-Jay

My first reel/rod combo was a president / cabelas series rod a few years back. Cost me 65 bucks, the rod was a peice of junk and ended up breaking at the tip to a 28 inch pike. The reel however I still use to this day and I always bring it out to any fishing outing. For that price, I would grab it in a heartbeat.