2 hours ago, garroyo130 said:

Invest in some literature while youre at it. May not be as exciting as fishing equipment but a good book on fishing is a great way to make the sport more enjoyable, especially for younger anglers.  

Good idea... suggest getting it digitally on Amazon. Usually half the price and it sounds like he's plenty screen broken in so he'd probably prefer it that way.

 

I'm sure whatever you settle on will work well and set him up for some good open water time with you. Good luck!

Instead of getting one combo, with that budget I would get 2.  
 

I would recommend a Dobyns Fury 703 and 704 and two Daiwa Tatula CT or Fuego reels.

 

 

If you’re anywhere near a bass pro, check out the carbonlite 2.0\ currado k combo they sell for $269. It’s a quality setup he can get in a 6’6”. Also it looks great and leaves room to buy other things. You could go m or mh and do allot things with it. The currado will take him less then a week to get rolling on. 

Lots of great advice here everyone.  I appreciate y'all taking the time to give me your input. He said he's made up his mind on both now. He's going to buy the Curado DC and he picked the Shimano Zodius rod. I've not seen that rod mentioned here but hopefully it's a good rod.

 

I think the DC was a good choice for him to help him get fishing easier however, I also think maybe learning how to use a baitcaster without the technology helping him may have been better. But it's his money. And it is a very nice reel. 

 

I'm going to get the Tatula 100 and the Dobyns Fury for my setup.