There is no reason that this crew could not put together a shootout

Great rod/reel combo at a great price way under $100.

Cabela's Cahill Fly Rod and Reel Outfit on sale $39.99

A ready-to-fish combo at a great price
Moderate-action, four-piece, graphite fly rod
Cahill reel with disc drag
Pre-spooled with WF-Floating line, leader and backing

The Cahill Combo comes with a moderate-action, four-piece, graphite fly rod. Even at this price, you will find double-foot snake guides, cork handles and an all aluminum reel seat. Best of all, this combo includes a disc-drag Cahill reel with WF-Floating line, leader and backing that comes pre-spooled on the reel, so it's ready to fish. All you have to do is match the hatch, tie on a fly and start casting.

Available in 5, 6, and 8wt.

Click here to go to the website link.

In my humble opinion, the best overall LEC big box fly rod and reel line-up comes from L.L. Bean. Cabela's would be my 2nd choice...and not by much. Bean has no stores in TX. So you can't go touch and smell. On the other hand, they have no stores in Texas - which means they do not have to charge sales tax for on-line orders shipping to Texas. Either Cabela's or L.L. Bean...you won't go wrong. When I bought a combo for a young nephew for Christmas one year, Bean was out of stock in the model I wanted. I was in Southlake. And I didn't hesitate to put him in the truck and drive over to Ft. Worth to Cabela's and buy the right length and weight of combo to suit him. It was $90 on sale and came with a pack, some flies, a fly box, nippers, forceps, retractors, and the whole shooting match. Good little 8' 4wt combo for suburban pond bass. He still uses it, and that was more than 5 years ago. But take a look at the L.L. Bean stuff, too. Their customer service is impeccable and the gear is great for the price. Most of us down here in the Southern tier don't think about them, but they have an awesome website, great catalogs, and I've had nothing but stellar service and products.

Love that devious thinking.

Which also means the 10% that the tackle dealer pays to TPWD does not go into fishing programs in Texas.

First of all, I have given TX more than enough of my money for me to be worried about such things on the occasional rod purchase. I buy combo licenses every year and am not required to do so. I give to CCA, DU, TU, and IFFF. And I am a TPWD Angler Ed Instructor who volunteers a considerable amount of time, energy, and money to that program. So I don't sweat the small stuff.

Second, what "10% tax" are you talking about that tackle dealers pay to TPWD? This is the first I've heard of such a thing. While I am extremely well-versed in PR tax dollars at the FEDERAL level, I have never heard of Texas double-dipping on sales taxes on sporting goods items to increase funding for fisheries conservation. I suspect you are referring to PR Act sales tax contributions, but those are FEDERAL tax dollars and have ZERO association to the geographical realities of a purchase inside the USA. The feds divide the plunder how they see fit, spending some at the national level and allocating some to state agencies, NGO grant programs, etc.

Today, most on-line purchases are already subject to sales tax. In the increasingly rare event that I can avoid paying it, I don't protest and demand that the government takes more of my money than they already do. Cry all you want to. But crying because someone isn't paying EXTRA taxes puts you in rare company in Texas.

Thanks for your kind response. I am a native Texan and just for the record I TOTALLY disagree. Anything that helps Texas I don't have an issue with.

BTW, I never said "tax". Use your vast knowledge and look it up.

Not holding back any surprises are they?

The name is just too funny: "Cheap Chinese Plastic Reel"

Packaging Details ---> Unit Type: "piece"

They aren't kidding!

I always wanted a flyreel that claimed "Breaking the traditional design concept" as a design feature.

"You will never get the reel at such a low price!"

It says it in the description.

I'm not going to dignify that with a reply or distract others from the topic of discussion. I'll shoot you a PM.

This is an interesting challenge! I would be very hesitant to push super cheap line like $15 Cortland fly line on a beginner though.

I have a Bass Pro White River rod that is perfectly decent for $60. If you are on a real budget though, don't forget used equipment. I've found some real steals under $100 on Craigslist and Ebay