After several years away from the hobby, I�m ready to start fishing again.
I�m looking for a good all around bait casting rod and reel set-up for fishing north Texas and south Oklahoma lakes and ponds.
If you could only have one rod and one reel, what would it be?( I have a $500.00 budget)

Reel- 13 Fishing Concept A

Rod- Dobyns Champion Extreme HP, DX 703C

This will put you right at your budget limit but, will be a versatile setup. It will work good for Texas rigs, spinnerbaits, jigs, senko's, etc...

Lews reel. I have several models, all work great. Sold 3 Abu Revo's for the Lews. Much better reels with great castability. The Tournament MB is $139 at Tackle Warehouse. $109 on Ebay with free shipping. Falcon Bucoo 7' MH Rod Tackle warehouse $109. You can buy two setups for under $500. I have some $200 rods and reels and these fish just as good. Very nice quality.

Or use the savings for a spinning reel setup for lightweight lures that don't cast well on a baitcaster (such as weightless Senkos).

Check out the Daiwa Tatula if you want a nice reel that doesn't cost a lot. The Shimano Chronarch Ci4 is nice (for more than double the cost of the Tatula) if have to have a lightweight reel.

Wow, I wouldn't spend $500 for one rod/reel. I'd go for four so you can have rods matched to different types of lures. I think you can get a decent rod and reel for $125, especially so if you buy combos.

I moved down here almost two years ago and realized my high end salmon fishing gear, Lamiglas and Edge rods, Ticca and Abu reels, were not well suited to fishing in North Texas.

I don't mind spending money for good gear. My last salmon setup was right at $750. Average salmon setup for me ran around $500.

I spent a couple of weeks shopping around and handling rods and reels.

I settled on TFO rods, in particular the Tactical rods and Lew's BB1 Pro reels.

The rods are $150-$160 and the reels are available for around $140.

Dobyn's Champion Extreme $300-$320 or have a custom built. I can can build you a rod for $250-300 depending on what you want (with any customization you could want), pair it with a Shimano Curado 200HG 7.1:1 $180 then change the bearings out to Boca Bearings Ceramic ABEC7 Orange Seals $25. You will have an amazing setup right at your budget

And guys, Texasguy4 didn't ask for your opinion on how he should spend his money differently. He asked a specific question, lets respect his question and answer it specifically to help him.

I don't think he asked if anybody could build him a custom rod either.

I got the Lew's Mach 1 combo and love it. Just ordered 2 more.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/LEWS-MACH-SPD-SPL-MH-BAITCAST-COMBO/2140398.uts

Halo Twilite Series rod with a revo

First off to the forum..

You didn't say what species of fish(s) you intend to pursue. It makes a difference.

For one rod/reel set up at $500 I would consider a 7'3" TFO Tactical Rod in MH and a Shimano Chronarch Ci4 bait cast reel (probably 6:3 to 1 ratio). The reel will run around $270 and the rod will be around $155. Add line and tax and that gets you in the ballpark (probably sliding in a bit below $500).

This set will do a lot of things pretty darn well. Will it do everything....no. So like others said it might be good to think about two set ups. Lots of pretty good rods to be found in the $100 price point and reels in the $150 price point.

Good luck and welcome!

Falcon makes some really great rods for $100. I have been fishing them for years. I prefer Abu Garcia reel, they are outstanding. For a single rod for most occasions, I prefer a baitcaster if I am on a boat as much of the time I am fishing vertically. If the majority of my time is fishing from shore, I prefer a spincast as I am casting much more often and the spincast will give you more distance and a near zero chance of backlash.

Agree

If you don't plan on fishing tournaments:

Casting rods: Falcon Bucoo and Jason Christie signature series rods $100 each
Spinning rods: Abu Garcia Vendetta (Wmarts are clearing them out for $20-40 each)
Casting reels: Pflueger Supreme $90-$100 I don't have a Tatula, but those are always mentioned in the same price range
Spinning reels: Pflueger President $30-$60 at Wmart

You want at least three rod set ups when the water temp is above 45 degrees.
One for topwater
One for mid depth
One for bottom contact presentations