I started with a Daiwa M-One. I think it is a perfectly good reel. Then GutZ had a Shimano 4000GT, and I bought on of those. Slightly better than an M-one, but not by much. I can say that I have never had a single problem with my M-One, however Myself & Several other owners of the 4000GT have experienced things like screws coming loose internally, which makes a annoying clank when you reel.

You'll be fine with either of those reels for starters, then after you have used them for a couple years, even though there is nothing wrong with them, you might start looking at the Islanders. Like Said, they are made with great precision and sport an exceptionally polished Anodized finish.... = bling.

Rods, Nothing shorter than 10'6", fiberglass, e-glass, or a blended blank with a mooching handle. I like at least 10" of cork below the reel seat so it sits in a downrigger rod holder and won't feel like it might slip out. I use a 1264BP blank made by Rainshadow. Other off the shelf rods that work well are Daiwa Heartlands and Shimano Convergence rods.

If you go custom, Check out the salt water reel seat components that Kerry has at Rainshadow, they're really sweet!

With a single action reel and a long slow-action blank like mentioned, keeping barbless hooks in a fishes mouth is much easier than with a 8' 6" Fiberglass rod and a levelwind. Setups like this really shine when playing a fish around the boat. When you get a fish close and see color, you loosen the drag a bit so that before netting if/when the fish darts off or makes a quick turn, there isn't a bad jerk on the hooks. The reel just pays out line silky smooth and the hooks stay orientated correctly. The extra length of the rod from butt to tip also helps if you have to stick the rod in the water because the fish went under the boat, guiding a fish around an outboard, and during landing.