As has been said before, be very wary of cheap combo deals. Normally the reel is ok but rod is thrown in for next to nothing because they cant sell them and braid is often sub standard

I take the guess work out of buying gear as we thoroughly test anything before we sell to the public and because we cut out the middlemen, we are always cheaper for high end products

It's a wee bit above the $400 budget, but includes braid as well.

In case you're not familiar with the reel sizing, a 3000 in Daiwa is about the same as 4000 in Shimano.

Agree with above. If using micro jigs(max 40g) it is definately better to use a longer rod, 7ft 6" at least, i use and sell 8ft 2" rods, they cast brilliant and can work the jig, something a short rod cannot do properly.

My rods are also great for softbaiting so a multi purpose rod. At $250 new, they are cheap compared to the major brands but all componetry is top class, Japanese toray carbon blank with nano composites and all fuji reelseats and fuji concept guides

Leaves you to buy a decent 2500-4000 size spin reel to match it.

Hope that helps

Kevin

Depending on what kind of lures/jigs you are thinking of, that'll be what outfit to concentrate on. Someone like Uncle could give you some great advice on the best lure/jig gear to use off Matakana etc.

For what it's worth, my take on retail combos is to be careful. Often, retailers sell a great reel with a mediocre rod (sometimes by a name brand, but exclusive to their store), basically throwing in the rod for not much more than the full cost of the reel. They tend to have cheap guides and reel seats etc.

OR they pair a great rod with a cheapie reel to meet a certain price point, but that's less common.

If you go the spin way, I think it's hard to beat a Shimano Stradic FK in terms of bang for buck. I only buy Daiwa reels overseas given the ridiculous price differential we pay here for Daiwa versus say Australia. 

And I'd recommend a spin rod that is at least 7'6". 

At last year's On Water Boat Show I heard well known angler/writer manning the Top Catch display telling a customer one of the white Abu Garcia Veritas rods was the best soft baiting rod ever made. The pitch worked and hopefully the angler has been happy with his purchase ever since!

Great place for research (sorry to all the vendors) and saw lots of people struggling to carry unwieldy fishing rods around all day. I didn't buy anything, on purpose.

My research paid dividends and I have subsequently sourced some nice items off the forum members here as Clifftastic mentions.

I plan on being there Friday so it might be possible to meet up?