I saw these last night at Wal-Mart on clearance for $19.99, are they any good? I'm not sure of the McStick color scheme (bright red and yellow)...don't know if I dislike it or if I think it's kinda' cool looking...lol. They have both casting and spinning rods available for the same price.

For $20 why not buy one and give it a try? You're not out much if it sucks, and you're way ahead of the game if it's even halfway decent. 

Unfortunately my frugal-ness dictates I find someone with first hand experience that can give me an honest assessment before I lay down any money for a rod...even $20 :).

How did it feel to you?  Even if limited experience, your impressions with it in your hands are probably going to be worth a lot more than a stranger's experience with a $20 rod.

Well, hard to tell without a reel on it but it felt okay...seemed to be light but had decent backbone and the tip had good bend to it. Both the spinning and casting felt decent. I think I'll probably get that Falcon Bucoo trapcaster for $25 first as I'm relatively sure that rod will be well worth the money.