Hey CustomRetrieval,
I know your original post is in here somewhere
Welcome aboard. I'm still a Newbie here but I've had some great advice thus far from guys like Thick Rick and Rodney. I purchased all my tackle from Army & Navy as they are just down the street from me, bought used waders and boots from FlyRod (Bare Blackwaters and Simms boots) and a Patagonia SST wading jacket from ....wait for it ....Ebay. I saved myself over $100.00 CDN on the jacket and it turns out the seller was in Vancouver so I saved on the shipping and taxes as well.
Anyway, to the point of your question, I am currently borrowing an Abu Garcia reel and rod combo which besides having too much line on the reel the first time I used it, has been just great. So far I've landed countless chums plus a 30 pound Spring last week and a 40 pound Spring the week before. I can see myself wanting to try out another reel at some point but for now, I'm set. If you have any questions, let me know. Happy to help you out if I can.
ps: I created a very cool little Ebay calculator in Excel the other day that takes the current exchange rate, the US retail price of an item, the Canadian retail price (plus applicable taxes, duty and shipping charges) and the Ebay bid price and calculates the CDN savings based on the current bid. I have everything shipped to a PO Box in Point Roberts, WA to save on shipping. I have purchased other gear from Highwater tackle in North Vancouver and some at Michael & Young Fly Shop. For the more expensive items, you can't knock Ebay IMHO.