Shakespeare Rod reels combos from walmart any good for first timer?

Combos can be a good way to get sorted for a particular style of fishing. All the matching is done for you. Shakespeare is a good company but $20 won't get much. That rod is a light spinning rod, OK but a bit too light for safety if you hook a decent sized fish.

There are heavier rods in the range which would be better.

Daiwa is also good and has an excellent track record and company philosophy.

Either of those brands is a good choice. I use both as many others do.

That $35 Daiwa is good. It will handle heavier fish. It's a medium/heavy spinning rod that will do well for pier and boat fishing as well as freshwater fishing for carp and bass.

http://www.daiwa.com/PMC/pop_dwave.aspx

Most rock and pier fishing is done with medium or heavy spinning rods of 7-8 feet using a fixed spool reel loaded with 12-15 lb line. 20lb+ is better if there is long weed around the rocks.

Spinning rods are good casters and good general purpose rods. I've used a Shakespeare 8-foot medium spinning rod for pier fishing for many years and it'll last a long time yet.

In practice almost anything can be used that will hold a line......you'll still get fish.

For shoreline fishing you need a longer rod. A beach caster of 11-12 feet is normal with a big fixed spool reel that can hold 200-300 yards of 25lb line, or use a center pin reel which is harder to handle.

More on here for sea fishing from rocks and piers...very long answer with safety first.

Always stay safe. The sea is a good friend and a terrible enemy.

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ar... . . . . . .

Enjoy the fishing. We live off the sea around here. Free food....and fun.

Walmart Fishing Reels

Rod&reel combos like the ones mentioned would work out fine for some species. If you wanted to fish the ocean surf you would probably need a longer rod, which makes it possable to make longer casts and would usually be more expensive..

Very interesting question, hope we'll get some good replies