[keakar]

you wont ever use more the 50 yards unless you hook into a big red who might take 100 yards on you so anything with at least 100 yards is fine and 150 yards wouldnt hurt but most reels might say they hold 150 yards at 12 lbs test but only 100 yards at 17 lb test so watch how the capacity is counted for the line you will be using

get a medium heavy weight rod at 6 1/2 foot and most of those say 12-17 lb line which is what most people use. some like to go light tackle for specks with a straight medium rod and 8-14 lb line and some like to go with a heavy rod for redfish with 15-25 lb line and use 20 line on it.

you dont want a very sensative tip or it will be harder to set the hook so be sure it has a little stiffness to it. if you buy a medium light rod you cant set the hook on most fish because its just not stiff enough causing you to way overexagerate the hookset motion.

reels are easy since just about anything you pick will do as long as it is designed for 15lb line or better so it has a decent drag system for large fish.

also if you are bank fishing you might want a 7 ft rod for longer casts and if surf fishing a heavy rod helps when using heavy weights to get that bait out past the sand bars.

the type and style of fishing you do will have its own "best" rod reel combo setup for it so most people have a couple poles for redfish and a couple for specks and a couple for fresh water fishing so gear changes with the fish you target


STAY AWAY FROM 2 PIECE RODS - they often break at the connection and just arent made as well or last as long as one piece rods, i suggest for starting out go to academy sports and but a medium heavy rod and reel combo or two and by the time they need replacing you will have developed your fishing style and can tailor your next setup to match that style.

also dont expect anything to last so buy a rod reel combo expecting it to maybe last 2 years only, buying expensive gear doesnt make it last longer it just costs more so think of it as temporary equipt and dont go out and spend $200 on a setup. expect to spend maybe $60-$75 on an average decent quality rod and reel you buy seperately ($20-$30 rod and $30-$40 reel) or $50-$60 on a combo setup (usually with $20 reel and $30 rod)