What rod and reel would you suggest in this price range?  The reel is more important to me than the rod, and I want a 7(something) to one gear ratio.  A 7 foot (something) stiff flippin' stick would be nice.

While $40 more than you were looking for, I think the Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier Combo is actually a pretty sweet setup - I like the 7 foot medium rod with extra fast tip. The rod actually had great power. Get whatever ratio you like best, I got the 6.4 for an all-around reel.

I would find a BPS Tournament Special reel, they are $100 retail, can be found used around $50.  This is a great reel for the price.  This leaves you with $100 for rod selection, you should be able to find a very good rod used for $100 or get a nice mid range rod new.

Did you mean the Tourney Special reel?  It is about 50 dollars new.  I wanted a 7 to one gear ratio and a Flippin' Stick!  Come on, guys!  What's good?

There is hardly any good flippin' set ups for $150 man! That is less than what a decent flippin' stick costs! An excellent 7:1:1 reel is the Revo STX but it is $139.00 right now. For the reel i can think of a Revo S model(not 7:x:1), about $80 new on Ebay. Maybe a Cabela's Fish Eagle rod? For this technique i would not buy just anything though! Flippin' or any kind of contact bait requires a lot of sensitivity in the rod and a strong reel.

Sorry I ment the Pro Qualifier... don't know why I always think Tournament special.

The BPS Pro Qualifier is 100 retail 50-60 used and is a great reel.

What about a Shimano Clarus casting rod in 7'6" Heavy Fast?  Looks good for 79.99 at TW.  Paired with a Quantum Code Red casting reel, it looks like the perfect setup.  Together it would cost a little more than 150, but it's probably worth it at 160.  What do y'all think?