I thought about picking a set of these up, but they dont make the 50 series SS anymore. I havent fished with any other reel so I dont know. Money wise, im lookng around $100 per reel and maybe $100-$150 per rod. The rest is cheap enough to get but these are the two main and important pieces.

I have 3 Fox Warriors I will part with for $150.00, thats 100 less than I paid and they are lightly used.
12 footers at 3.0 TC

Man I would flip that around and spend 100 each on the rods and the 150 on the reels, you can just about get you some Penn bait runners at that rate and you can use them for other species too if you want. You would also be very close to the shimano bait runners as well, both of which you should never have issues with.

shimano baitrunner

Penn Bait Runner
The penn reel is going to be a new model, the big difference between them is the penn has an all metal frame and side plate

Steve if you still have them when I get the
Cash I'll give you a shout. I could use a sod/cone rod.

Dawson, thank you for the insight on the reels. They look reasonable and sound very reliable. I really like the shimano!

regal plus are the ones I own. don't know how big of a difference it makes but I heard these are better the the regular old bri

there isnt much difference between the 2 the bri are black and the pluses are grey. i have 3 pluses and there junk. im using them for parts lol.

Yeah I'm not sure what's up with recent Regal Plus BRI's. I have four of them, one of which is about 4 years old now. It's a 4000 size and has been very reliable since I bought it.

I got 3 more of them a couple of years ago in the 4500 size (which has a much bigger chassis than the 4000). I've had issues with two of them, though not to the extent that Steve and Chris have. The clicker in the bait feeder broke very quickly on both of them and one of them intermittently seized up on me the last time I used them.

The clicker thing is not that big of a deal if you're using them with alarms as the drag still functions properly, it's just silent. But the seizing up thing is exactly what Chris's and Steve's have done. I think theirs are the bigger sizes as well so maybe the issue is confined to the big reels, I don't know.

All I know is that these reels used to have a very good reputation as far as "entry level" baitfeeder reels go, but they seem to have hit a hitch in the last couple years. Not to say that all of them are going to fail, but I've seen enough issues that I wouldn't recommend them any more.

the Daiwa emcasts look really nice for the low cost and I hear good things and good reivews about them.

The Daiwa Mad Dragons looks like a nice rod for the money as well. Heard good things about these rods.

I think this will be the two i decide to go with. I will hopefully be starting my "part time" work next weekend and have the money to fund this little rebuild.

I did think about harrassing you guys for your spare and used parts, but this time around I want my own NEW stuff. I am building a 2 rod set up with the possiblity for a 3rd if i choose.

I did a lot of method feeding but I really want to look into a more target specific set up with a spod/cone rod.

I already have a cheap marker float rod which will work fine, but looking to get a cheap set up for a spod rod. I thought about going with a king kat rod for the backbone and stoutness with a lesser quality reel, but I don't know if this would actually be worth while or not.

Any input on the spod rod set up would greatly be appreciated.

I did some spod fishing with Shane (UKcarper) and i really like how tactiful and precise the fishing was. I dont prepare a very good method mix that breaks down so i feel like i waste a lot of time fishing. I have noticed my method ball either breaks at the surface which isn't too bad if it is loaded with particle, but on the other hand I typically reel in my entire method ball....I know its too wet and i need more breakdown particle, but I feel like for the money, spodding out maize and assorted particles from the feed store would be a lot more efficient and productive.

Anyways, sorry for the long run. Any input or feed back on this is certainly welcomed!

King kats make great spod rods, Donny and I both used one for spodding for a long time

cool, thanks

yep the king cat rods are great rods. i started out with them and still use them today.

Thanks duckhunter, I've been looking around also. If they're holding up to what your doing I want 2 for my boat. Really appreciate the info man.

I have caught plenty of carp, far and catfish on ABU 6500 and 7000 reels and ProAngler rods. Best rod at $45 I think. Have not broke one yet.

I have caught plenty of fish with Garcias as well and hold them in my highest regaurds for quality. I am looking for spinning reels with bait runner option if possible.