[basspilot]

I personally only fish the rivers with a 6'6" to 7" rod, 20 to 30lb braid and an average sixed reel for the rod so 2500 to 3000 model. As far as lures it varies depending on body of water, target species, temp, water clarity, etc. My advice would be if your fishing the passaic you can't really go wrong with live bait as you'll get into a number of different species there. Good luck with your purchases try not to go to crazy like everyone else on here does myself included. BTW I got my first st croix last year and I absolutely love them now I have 3 so you didn't go wrong there. As far as reels are concerned check the reviews online there are so many makers and models its hard to reccomend just one. Tight lines maybe ill see you out there this year.