I wanna bite the bullet and get a baitcast combo. However, I only have enough dough to buy cheap baitcast combos. I narrowed it down to 2 baitcasters, the zebco rhino or the shakespeare alpha. Which one do you think will be the best?

How much do you have? I just bought an academy ethos rod, and with their mettle reel, this is an excellent combo under 100 dollars.

only enough for those two baitcasters mentioned above 

 

Save your money and look for something nice on sale or used.

I would try to save up more money and get something decent.  Check out the Abu Garcia Black Max, it seems to be a decent budget reel.  Academy has some good reels cheap in their H20 line.  As for the 2 you listed, you might not find anyone here with experience on those reels.

I think you will end up regretting your purchases. Like others have stated you should try to save up some more money to get a better quality reel. 

I agree with the suggestions to check out what Academy might have on sale if you're near one. I bought 2 Daiwa Arids from them last week for $26 apiece, no idea why they were priced like that since they're $90 reels. Then you can get their lower end Ethos on sale for $40 pretty often or they carry lots of lower end rods down to some that are $10 or $20 apiece. 

I doubt there's going to be many if any folks on here with any experience with those two you named.

You can get a black max reel for $30 at Cabela's online.  A silver max for $40, a Lew's Laser MG for $50.  I'd go with something like that and then go to Wal-mart and and get a decent rod for around $30-40.  You'd probably thank yourself later.  Also, wait a little bit.  There's going to be spring fishing sales at all the major stores in the coming month or two.  Great deals to be had.

Have a friend that bought one of the Shakespeare alpha combos and asked me to see if I could cast with it since he couldn't. 

I tried using it and struggled to get it to cast even with a 1/2 oz weight. By no means am I an expert with a baitcaster but I have been fishing with baitcast reels almost exclusively for the past 2+ years.

If I had started with the alpha combo I would have probably gave up on using a casting reel.

I understand that money can be tight and $40-$50 may be all you can afford right now; but if that is the case, do yourself a favor and save more money for a better set up or spend it on something else.

If you can come up with $99 in the next 2 weeks the BPS Pro qualifier with a Carbonlite rod combo would be an amazing starting combo that would last you for years. 

 

I second that ProQualifier and Carbonlite rod combo at Bass Pro shops for $99.  That is a deal and a half for a nice reel and rod.  That ProQualifier is a very popular, reliable reel for the money and I am a big fan of the Carbonlites.  Great fishing tools without going broke.  The sale starts Friday.

Another vote for the BPS deal on a ProQualifier combo. Hands down for the money its a great real very tunable for a beginner that will help a lot especially if you take the time to study how to set it up. It will make the transition much smoother/less aggravating. 

And it's a reel you can use for just about any bass fishing being it has a aluminum frame flipping into the muck hanging a good one won't snap the reel off dragging him out. Also distance is not a issue, the reel is smooth as any Ive tried in its price range. 

I too think you will regret the cheap ones. Usually it will cost you in the end because your gona either hate it and want a better reel or you will throw it down in frustration and not use it. Either way its a loss. 

 

Be mindful that when you buy a cheap bait caster, you get what you pay for.   My advice would be to save your coin until you can get decent gear.