My buddy and I are going to cabelas after school tomorrow to get him his first good spinning reel. He's wanting to spend about $130 on one. We fish port o Connor a lot so he needs a saltwater rated reel. What do you guys recommend?

I have 3 of the Cabela's brand salt strikers and they work amazing. Have used them for several years now, with little to no maintenance of any kind with use in both salt and freshwater. Never used anything else, never had to use anything else. They were around $100 if i recall.

Penn Fierce 3000 are great reels, that is what my customers use when they barrow from my selection. they run about $60, Penn does make some higher end spinners as well.

At that price don't bother with the penn fierce...they're great starter reels but the slightly higher end ones are a very good upgrade. Look into at least a penn battle, or even better get the penn spinfisher. The spinfisher has sealed drag washers which really helps in saltwater if you accidentally dunk it or are getting splashed a lot. I wade a lot so the spinfisher is my go to...right in his price point as well. Can find some good deals on ebay if you look hard enough

I use Penn Fierce and Battles at the coast, both have held up well.

Penn battle 3000

Daiwa BG series

See Alan Hawk's review: http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/bg16.html

I recommend to buy 6 cheap (properly sized) chinese reels bought online. They cost the same and will last longer.