New rod/reel combo-mostly bass

Well I fished more last year than I did in the past 10 years, and I used a 5 foot ultralite ugly stick to the fishing. I fish mostly for bass in places like the yough, casselman, and the occasional lake. I do not have a boat, and wade almost exclusively. I use only artifical baits, spinners, tubes, rapalas, etc.

I like my ugly stick, but I'm looking for something that will be a bit easier to cast longer distances and so forth. I'm also not looking to pay more than $100 for the rod/reel combo. I dont mind spending the money, but i dont want to go crazy for top of the line equipment.

Any thoughts?

7' ugly stik lite pro from wally world is cheap and rugged I have a 7'ul and a 7'm. Some of the "store brands" from Gander and bass pro are good too. Again, spinning or casting? Looking for graphite? Or do you enjoy the somewhat ridiculous durability of the ugly stik? Graphite rods are much lighter and comfortable to use but if ur climbing over big boulders and busting through brush and whatnot f-glass gonna hold up better. I own 5 ugly stiks out of my 30 or so rods, some collect dust, the uglys do not. And +1 on the noodle thing, my 10'6" L noodle rod has caught nearly every species I Target.(shakespeare agility). Where are you from, I always like to handle any new rod I plan to purchase.

My suggestion would be the U.S. lite mentioned by FishinGuy ($42 @ fishusa)...anywhere from 6-7' medium.
Paired with a Shimano Sahara ($80) or a Shimano Sedona ($60)
Great all-around combo for between $102-122.
Served me well for years.

And yes, IMO, going to a 9' noodle from your 5'6" UL will be a hefty learning curve.
Noodles help with steel, bass...not so much.
Just my opinion/experience. YMMV

Good luck with your choice.

If you are just going to be using lures I would not want to use an Ugly Stik or noodle rod, the action on those rods is too soft.  I would suggest getting a rod that is a bit stiffer and has more backbone.  I see that fishusa has St Croix Triumph rods, that's probably what I would choose.  The 6'6" or 7' medium light model would be ideal for river fishing.

There are many good rods and reels on the market. I like St. Croix rods. What I would say is that I would look for a 6'6" or 7' rod for the river.

i'm not a bass man but i'll toss this out to you.over the years i use shimano reels someone gave me a okuma reel as a gift.the first trip out i hook a nice steel the reel snapsin half,line snaps the reel goes bouncing down the rocks.i called okuma they had me ship it to them.in 2wk.i had a new reel.i had no proof of purchase.it was a lower end reel and i used it a few times and have had no problems.it's nice to have someone stand behind their product.i do use their baitrunners for stripers for 3 yrs. with no problems and the price is there.

at this point I'm leaning towards a pflueger president reel and a cabelas fish eagle 6'6" medium light rod. does this sound like a reasonable outfit?

ready 2 fish,

i probably should have been a bit more specific, i only use inline spinners (panther martins, etc), i do not use spinner baits.

Shakespeare Agility with 7 ball bearing agility reel. medium action.$49.99  i can't seem to gather spending all kinds of money on a fishing rod. Ed

ended up going with a plueger supreme reel and a 6'6" medium light. thanks all for the input. looking forward to giving this rig a shot