I also agree with Chum Man and Pugnacious. My float rod was $60 and love it. But those are some nice reels to put on a crappy rod I guess, might not seem quite right. My set up is 30 lb braid mainline, banana weight, and 4 foot 12lb or 15lb fluoro leader. I have never lost a float using this set up, but still use the cheap ones. I am certainly a novice, but float fishing has caught me almost all of my steelhead and I have put plenty of time in using other techniques. Definitely one to have in your arsenal.