New member here. I grew up bass fishing in small ponds and lakes in Central Florida. I pretty much strictly fished with Texas rigged plastic worms. It's been over a decade since I've gone bass fishing and over 15 years since I fished consistently. I decided I really wanted to get back into it so I came here looking for rod/reel suggestions that were going to perform well but not break the bank.

Instead of starting a new thread asking for suggestions I've spent the last week or so searching through as many threads as possible. After doing that I purchased a Flueger President spinning reel and a Lew's Speed Spool LFS baitcaster and they are both going on Berkley Lightning Shock rods. 

I wouldn't have been able to come to those decisions without all of you who have taken the time to answer the numerous "What's the best rod/reel under $100?" threads. I look forward to continually learning from all of you in the future. 

Best of luck with your new purchases. You have to watch yourself as you get more advanced as an angler because pretty soon you will be fighting off urges to purchase high end rods and reels. Then after that will be your JDM purchases

welcome man, great first post!  hope you enjoy the new combos, i'm a big fan of lew's casting reels (have 4 now) and pflueger spinning reels (have 3 now) and also have 2 lightning shock rods.  so i feel qualified to tell you that you're going to like them!!  

Welcome aboard!

Hello and Welcome! 

 

 

Mike 

1 hour ago, Fishin' Fool said:

Best of luck with your new purchases. You have to watch yourself as you get more advanced as an angler because pretty soon you will be fighting off urges to purchase high end rods and reels. Then after that will be your JDM purchases

Oh I hear ya. I'm a pretty avid shooter and I always fight the urge to buy more and more haha

 

1 hour ago, buzzed bait said:

welcome man, great first post!  hope you enjoy the new combos, i'm a big fan of lew's casting reels (have 4 now) and pflueger spinning reels (have 3 now) and also have 2 lightning shock rods.  so i feel qualified to tell you that you're going to like them!!  

Thanks man! I'm really looking forward to using everything and getting back into this hobby!

That is great!  The site is pretty great to get a lot of great advice/feedback.

1 hour ago, Sheepdog1984 said:

Oh I hear ya. I'm a pretty avid shooter and I always fight the urge to buy more and more haha

 

Thanks man! I'm really looking forward to using everything and getting back into this hobby!

The best advice I can give you that I wish someone gave me is try not to pay retail. There are lots of deals out there, whether you buy gently used or new over the Internet. I do suggest you go to a store first and put your hands on the rod before you buy online.

39 minutes ago, Fishin' Fool said:

The best advice I can give you that I wish someone gave me is try not to pay retail. There are lots of deals out there, whether you buy gently used or new over the Internet. I do suggest you go to a store first and put your hands on the rod before you buy online.

Absolutely! I snagged the President on Ebay for $46.