what kind of fish, water/overhang - got to start somewhere.

Joe Robinson, a note fly fisherman and author for 30 years developed a "system" and wrote an article a few years ago about fly fishing with ultralight spinning tackle.

If you would rather get a new reel checkout a Shimano Sedona spinning reel. 50.00 to 60.00 new, super smooth, with all the modern features. I have 4 of them in various sizes and love em'. It will last forever if you take care of it. For rods checkout the mid price stuff from All Star or Falcon. Decent graphite rods for the money and can be found on sale at the big box stores. For vintage glass, I agree with kitefly. But don't forget the Mitchell 308 or 300.

If someone is getting back into fishing, I would just go the standard route and avoid the vintage glass. A nice IM6 or IM7 "store brand" rod is probably the best value. There are far too many choices to make when spin fishing. With a fly rod, the standard first rod is a 9' 5wt, but that is assuming you are targeting trout, panfish or smaller bass. I agree with the recommendation of the reel. In spin fishing, the reel is much more important than in fly fishing.

Carl

Hi All;

For someone just getting back into fishing, I don't think you can beat a Shakespeare Ugly stik for a medium weight spinning rod. Fairly inexpensive, casts well and as durable as they get. The IM6 store rods are superior to the Ugly stik at least my Galyan's IM6 far outcasts the ugly stik and is more sensitive but then again it would have cost twice as much as an Ugly Stik other than I purchased it when Galyans went out of business for next to nothing.

As far as freshwater spinning reels, I'd recommend an Okuma Avenger series spinning reel, I have Shimano Sedona and the Okuma Avenger and the Avemger is a much better reel at a better price. Sedona 3 ball bearings, Avenger 5 ball bearings, the Avenger seems better counterbalanced than the Sedona. Finally the Avenger's spool causes less line twist then the Sedona.

Wayne

I've had good luck with both Shimano and Okuma reels - they are the only two lines of spinning reels I buy now. Cheap spinning reels have a way of falling apart in the long run and the Shimano and Okuma reels do best in the end for me. They both have a wide range of prices so you can get a reel in your price range. The old Quick and Mitchell reels are fine if you want to go retro.

Most of the store rods are OK. My current favorite spinning rods are the Fenwick and St Croix rods, but most of the less expensive rods do the job. The Bass Pro less expensive lines are fine. I like a 6 1/2' to 7' rod even for small trout streams - never fell in with the short ultra-light crowd.

For retro fiberglass I really like the Phillipson or Orvis Full-Flex lines. They are more expensive than most retro rods, but the spinning rods are far cheaper than the equivalent fly rods. The big issue with going retro is the time it takes to find the rod you want. For the new stuff you just walk into a nearby store or go to Cabelas or Bass Pro on line; for the old stuff it is a long term quest at flea markets, yard sales, and Ebay.