I have an update here! I ended up going to a high end fishing shop not too far from me. They had fishing poles costing over $440 just for the pole! That was too high end for me.<br><br>I ended up getting a decent Ugly Stick (Shakespear Bigwater model) that is sturdy and long enough and detaches into 2 separate pieces for easy storage. Plus got the Penn BTL8000 Reel to go with the pole. Everything was put together separately, as opposed to the combination packages. The pro shop guy manually added 250 yards of 30 pound line to the reel for no extra cost. Plus he also helped me in obtaining what he thought are necessary starter items for my tackle box. <br><br>The pro shop guy really knew his stuff. He showed me how some poles were not sturdy enough, and demonstrated by flicking the rod up and down to show how much some rods wobbled in the air excessively. But the Ugly Stick he recommended to me was quite sturdy and will hold up for most any saltwater fishing needs I might encounter. He also told me that I shouldn't get a graphite pole because it's not as sturdy, and may break under pressure. I don't know if that's true for certain, but I took his advice.<br><br>The rep also gave me helpful advice, such as why it's better to *not* have the line already spooled into the reel (pre-packaged). That's because the line may have been packaged that way for many months, and may have developed a "memory" of being wound in the reel for so long. Hence when you throw the line out, the line may not be as smooth in going through the holes in the pole (rough paraphrase). So I went for his suggestion of adding the line manually to the reel, which he did at no extra charge.<br><br>As for the reel, I had read good reviews on the Penn series, so I opted for one. I almost got the 5000 Penn reel, but there was noticeable difference between the lower 5000 model versus the 8000 model. The 5000 model has parts made of thin metal, and I think were also plastic versus metal. The 8000 model was noticeably thicker with its stainless steel metal parts, and I can easily tell the difference that the 8000 model is sturdier. So I opted to pay more for the top of the line 8000 Penn reel.<br><br>I almost got this other reel called the <span id="btAsinTitle">Okuma Avenger that has a special "brake" lever feature at the back of the reel. The rep was trying to explain how that special lever works, and that it would be more convenient to use versus traditional reels. But unfortunately, I had a hard time understanding how that special feature works, so I didn't get the Avenger reel. The lower end Avenger reel was around $125 and the higher end Avenger reel was around $170 if I recall correctly.<br><br>Before going to this boutique fishing shop, I had also visited other sporting stores such as Big 5, Sports Authority, Walmart. But seriously, these big box stores have a smaller selection of low(er) end fishing equipment, plus trying to find a knowledgable sales rep to help me is sometimes next to impossible. So many of these sales reps at these stores are like young kids that could easily work at a Starbucks! So no matter what they tell me, I would be doubtful about any of their "expert" advice regarding fishing needs! <br><br>Anyways, check out the 3 pictures attached. I spent a total of just over $200 that includes the reel, pole, tackle box and items.<br><br>Now I need to get a fishing license and watch some "how to dummy" fishing videos on YouTube, haha! <br><br><br></span><br><br>
