Questions on first conventional, general purpose setup

Since I'm a cheap a$$, I try to keep my rod/reel combos under $150.  This is mainly because I don't want to send  a $500 combo down to the bottom of the lake or river that I accidentally drop it in.

They might not be the highest quality but they don't break the bank I I have to replace them.

Yet another great valid point Justin!!!!! Under $150 is best. I acually picked my Penn combo up on sale for $110 minus the line, I dont think you can get any better for that price.

I'm a huge fan of  use what you have but "look forever for the perfect deal and pounce on it like a tiger on a one legged chicken."

Right now I'm putting together a sweet setup. I recently picked up a new Avet SXJ blue left-hand for a ridiculous price as well as a Lamiglas triflex blank that I'm tying up. The whole rig will be under $200. (I'm jealous of myself) But I might be scared to fish the thing for fear of losing it or even drive-by whale farts tarnishing the finish.

I'm jealouse of your reel score too

I am looking at Salmon casting rods that are under $100 and are 9’ or under, and should handle pt. Wilson lures up to 4 oz. I didn’t see any Ugly Stik that can handle heavy lures. So, I am thinking of getting either:
- Lamiglas Classic Glass (9', 2-piece, Mod action, Heavy Power, #15-30 line and 3/4-4 ounce lures) or
- Lamiglas X11 (9', 2-piece, heavy action, #15-40 line and 1-4 ounce lures).

Does anyone have any feedback on these two rods or any other suggestions?

Thanks
Irfan

The listed weight range for a rod may be the casting weight.  My 8'6" extra heavy Berkley IM8 (A92-8-6XH) is listed at 3/4-3 oz but I've jigged up to 8 oz with it.

I really like the inexpensive Berkley rods. I have 8'6" Berkley IM8 heavy. Irfan, you tried this rod + TEK500LC last week with a 4oz cannonball weight.

Berkley IM8 and Lamiglas X11 are currently on sale at Outdoor Emporium.

Went to sportco to check out the rods but I saw your responses just now. Otherwise I would have checked out IM8. In any case, I found X11 to be too fast/rigid for me but Fenwick Eagle GT (Med-Heavy,#10-#25, 1/2 to 1 1/2 oz) was on sale for $38 so I went ahead and bought it.

Now on to buying the rest of the stuff...