I have a 13 bearing Gander Mountain  Elite Baitcast reel and a Quantum Burst...what kind of rod power and action should I pair with these 2 different reels? Line weight? I have only ever used spincast with worms n leaches so don't know diddly. Thanks

You could match them with just about anything you want.  As far as line weight, I would say anything from 10-14.  Have you fished at all with a baitcaster?  What will be your primary baits for the setups?  Live bait, cranks, soft plastics, it all plays into what you will need.  Add some more detail and others will help.

I bought a couple of every kind of bait, got a nice gift card to Bass Pro,  I just mainly want to know do I put the better reel on a heavier rod/line or do I use it for the lighter stuff on account of all the bearings? I don't have any idea what the rational is for matching.  I've read a lot of things but all the combos are out of my price range, so these 2 are what I got and need to know what kind of rods to save for.

and I remember somewhere I read that the Berkely Lightning Rod is worth the money so I been leaning toward it, but don't know what power and what reel to match it to.

I would say that you would want 7' rods and probably one with a moderate or medium action and one with a faster action. Lightning Rods are a good rod without spending a lot of money. Many will say that for some extra money there is always something better. You need to know what you are willing to spend on a rod and then get specific with it. Is the Lightning Rod in the price range you want to stay with or would you look at a $60, $100, or a $150 rod. Answer this question and it will help in showing you what kind of rods would serve your purpose.

Knowing what the gear ratio is on each reel and what you intend on fishing for will be a big help in what size and type of line you may want as well as fitting a rod to the reel.

they are both  7:1 I think, the 3 spinners I have have all lower ratios and 2 of em are on M rods, the third I can't remember. I would go up to around the $50 range per rod.

If it were me, I would get a couple 6'6" medium heavy rods with a fast tip and use Bass Pro Shops xps flourocarbon line in 12-17 lb range.

BPS rods are fine rods, and you certainly can find a decent rod for $50- $60.

so a MH for both the different reels?

I would get:

6'6 or 7ft. Medium Bass Pro Crankin Stick and use it for all moving baits. Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits, Crankbaits, Jerkbaits. I know you have both 7:1 ratio reels, but pick the one with the lowest IPT (inches per turn) and put it on this rod.

6'6 or 7ft. Medium Heavy Fast Action Bass Pro Bionic Blade and use it for all bottom contact baits. Jigs, TX rigs, senkos, etc.

These can be found for about $20-30 less than their retail during the Spring classic coming up. Might want to wait and check them out.

If you have a Cabelas by you then I would look at their Fish Eagle II rods. They also go on sale frequently.

I would definitely go with a house brand rod, as you will get the most for your money. Good luck.

Thank you uicdent, there is a Gander about 30 minutes, Bass Pro about an hour and a Cabellas about an haour and a half from here. I'll check the Fish Eagle out.  I had looked and the 3 spinners I have are a 6' M 4.8:1,  5'6" UL 5.6:1 and a 6' M 5.2:1 .That was my thinking for the 2 fast baitcasters I guess.