Braedon

At Sail we have the Crucial/Citica combo for I believe $200 right now, great combo.

From my understanding the Chronarch is much like the first Japanese run of curado's, If you are looking for an "old school" style baitcaster with all the tech of the new reels Id go chronarch. But after having the new curado in my hand I think youd be stupid not to go that route. With xship there is no movement in the reel, I quite like the overall feel of it.

 

My limited 2 cents

I also just got a flipping stick a Dobyns Champion 7"6 and i am pairing it with a Shimano Chronarch. The Chronarch is $199.00 but worth ever cent, perfict flipping reel. For the crankbait rod i would pair it with a Shimano Curado which is $149.00. I have used a lot of different reels but Shimano just feels so good and they really last.

As far as line for the flipping stick Power Pro Super Slick 65lb.

For your Crank rod i would use Sufix fluro 20lb.

I assume you are targeting bass with both of these rods. For reels, Basspro has the Diawa Lexa 100 on sale right now for just over $100. It is a very well built reel and has extremely good reviews. You could go with a shimano curado,  shimano chronarch or abu garcia revo sx. All of these reels are more expensive then the diawa. I have used shimano my whole life and the cheaper reels(under $300) are decent. 

 

As for line there are many factors to consider. For crankbaits, if you plan on running shallower crankbaits the mono-filament is more then likely all you need because most mono floats. For bass fishing in open water I will use 10 lb test. If I plan on using it in light weeds I might bump it up to 12 or 14lb at the most. If I'm fishing heavy shallow weeds then I will use 20-30 lb braid because the braid will actually cut through the weeds easier and will give you the extra strength.

 

If you are fishing deeper structure with deeper crankbaits(10-25 feet) then fluorocarbon line is better because it sinks and will allow you to get the lures deeper then mono. If you are in open clear water 10 lb test is fine. The benefit to fluorocarbon is that is is nearly invisible so if you fish clear water a lot it would be beneficial.

 

If plan on fishing heavy cover all the time then braid is the way to go. It has no stretch and and allows the bait to have instant reaction with your rod tip. I suggest 30lb test braid if your fishing really heavy crap!

 

For your flipping stick you really only have one option. 40,50,65lb test. It you plan on flipping light weeds and cover then 40lb is ok, if your going to get into the nasty stuff 65 lb is what you want.

 

 

 

Hopefully this doesn't confuse you too much, Good Luck!

Wow great advice guys.

Braedon I'm not too experienced with baitcasters yet but I got an okuma calera for about 80$ and I really like the feel of it and the tuning components so far. If you're willing to go up to 150 tho then I'm sure u could get something better.

You can't go wrong with okuma reels. I've tried ahimano daiwa but I'm loving the okuma spinning reels. But I guess its just a personal choice. Picked up 1 yesterday which I will use for walleye and pike. If you're a member at lebarons I know they will absorb the tax for rod and reels right now. Cool stuff.

If you need to stretch a buck:

 

$100 mark: abu garcia orra sx; pfluger trion.  Both centrifuge brake systems.

 

$50/60 mark:  abu garcia black max and silver max.  Both magnetic brake systems.

 

Gear gets better at the $200 mark, but fishing does not have to cost you your college fund.