Pinnacle rods will be fine. I have been fishing 12 footers for 4 years and they have caught a lot of fish. $70 for 4 from Grizzly is a cheap way to get started.
I use Mitchell Avocet IV spinning reels on the Pinnacles.Nice little reel for the purpose with a decent drag. Cabela's has them on sale for $18 right now.
So for less the $150 you can have a set of 4 that will catch fish.
I will say this. I messed around with several rods of different brands for a while. When I finally broke down and purchased a matching set of rods I started catching more fish.
It is easier to see the bite when all of the rods have identical profiles.