I have worked in the fly fishing industry for over 35 years so this is what I have seen. The box store type combos may work out just fine.However many of these rods are priced right for a reason. One can be due to using second rate guides. If this happens you will notice your fly line will get cut up or rough do to the pour chroming on the guides. So you spend x dollars and decide you need a new line. Lines are $50.00 range. A few trips out and the line has the same problem as the first line. You know spent $200.00 and what do you have. A non usable rod 2 fly lines to tie your tomatoes up with and a cheap reel. Not all have this problem but should you get one and it happens you have a complete loss. I would stick to a rod such as TFO or others that have a warranty. They usually use the better guides , cork and so on. A reel usually just stores your line so save the bucks there. Almost any floating line will do. If you are a beginner you will want to practice casting and quite often it is in the back yard. This too can attribute to lines wearing out ( friction ). For just a few dollars more you will get a quality rod with a guarantee. This is hard to beat.