Reel Suggestions?

Can any expert steelhead anglers recommend a reel for my new 9' noodle rod. I was going to by the Shinamo sidestab 2500R but wal-mart does not carry them any more. I really do not want to spend more then 30 dollars for one? Any suggestions. Thank you in advance.

The Pflueger President is pretty hard to beat for the money.  10 ball bearings and very smooth drag system.  Okuma also makes some really nice reels for the money...I bought the Okuma Stratus GT for my daughter last year, and it has worked great thus far.  I think Dicks had a sale on it for $25 to $30 if I recall.  The President should be anywhere from $39 to $50 depending on where you buy it.  Try the Sportsman's Warehouse, they have a great selection and you can actually feel the reel work in your hand.  Good Luck!

I like the Okuma Epixor and Cardinal 3 for extreme cold weather (Dec-Jan).  Internet articles also say they are good cold weather reels.  They are around $50-60 which is more than what you want to pay.  For $30 I would stick with the Okuma Stratus as Shutupand fish mentioned. 

you cant go wrong with one of the better quantums.  i had 3 quantum infernos in all sizes, they were only at dicks.  they were 100 when they started selling them a few years ago now they are 50.  get them if you can find them they are just like whatever the $100 quantum model is right now in the catalogs.  sweet drags.  steelhead and raging hybrid stripers below the dams will second my opinion. 

Okuma Inspira IS or IA, 30 or 40
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I just bought a new sidestab 2500 at Cabela's this past weekend. They also carry them at Gander Mountain. The thing I really like about that particular reel is the rear drag. Easy to adjust while fighting a fish.

I think you should save up a little longer and get a better reel.  I don't see $30 reels holding up to the strain of steelheading or having a smooth enough drag.

in 2003 before i got my head out of my rearend and got a decent paying job ( i was a waiter after college) i had just a few rods, and on reel that was used for everything.  it was a 30.00 shakespeare whatever they called it that year.  yes i went thru one every 2 years, but i also abused the sh-- out of them pretty much like i still do my so called better and more expensive ones.  that was the last year i had one.   up till then i had put 20 lb musky, giant hybrids, 35 lb cats that decided to take walleye lures, and all the steelhead i had ever caught till then.  the ONLY problem i have ever had with cheaper reels is they will lock up on you eventually if you dont take care of them (all reels do this but they will do it faster) and the anti reverse may go out (had this happen on more than a few "expensive" reels). 
 
buy the best product you can afford.  if its 30.00, be happy that in 2008 there are plenty of options for you and that maybe a few decades ago you would be choosing between 1 or 2 reels in that price range.  a lot of them are more than functional. 
 
its much more about the fisherman that it is the equipment.  much like  golf.  nearly all of us who fish for steelhead often could take a snoopy rod and not do all that bad with it.