I was wondering what rod and reel setup is best for light creature baits and flukes?? Around $300-350 range

Welcome aboard!

Only one rod I own is near that range, though
south of $300, $250 ish to be true, so I can't
really recommend one north of it, other than
St. Croix!  

Mojo bass 71mf or 71 mhf- curado 70 I or lews tp

g loomis e6x Mbr843 - lews tournament mb

st croix avid 7 mf -  lews tournament mb or citica

The list goes on....

I use my 6'8" MXF Mojo Bass for both..mainly flukes though. Pair it with a 2500 Stradic FJ (unless you prefer bc gear). 

I'm with Burtonxj on this (kind of). I like spinning gear and use a Stradic Ci4+. My rod is a 6'10" MLXF brand that cannot be mentioned.  I like the Mojo Bass a lot, this rod is just slightly better though with the difference being casting distance., I like super light baits on spinning set ups.  Seems more natural to me.  

If your going to be throwing light baits get a shimano I am also very fond of the st croix mojos.

St croix 68mxf with a 50 series shimano, I have an avail honeycomb spool in my reel on this setup.   Its my favorite combo to fish with  

I've switched over to using my spinning set up to throw light and weightless plastics until I can get myself a decent med baitcasting set up. No matter what I've tried with my MH set up (granted, it's a cheap combo) will allow me to cast them any sort of distance without a blow up. But it sounds like you've got the cash to get exactly what you want. I'd be interested to hear what you end up with and how it works out for you.

Welcome Bud! New member myself... are you looking at a baitcasting or spinning setup?

For soft plastics:

I use a Loomis IMX852C JWR paired with a Shimano Curado 201IHG for daytime soft plastics... 

A Loomis BSR852 with a Shimano Stradic 3000HGFK for lighter soft plastics i.e. smaller senkos or creatures

And a Loomis E6X 783S SJR with a Shimano Saros 3000FA for nighttime plastics i.e. larger senkos and beavers. This setup and night time fishing have landed me my two biggest Largemouths of the season and both came on the same night in October. ?

 

There are so many great options that will fit your style and budget. If you can be patient and diligent you can find some awesome deals!  I go with Loomis rods and braid with fluoro leader for the sensitivity with bottom contact baits be it casting or spinning equipment. 

 

 

 

Curado 70