Recommend Me a Good Bass Rod and Reel

One good bass rod & reel is not possible,you must start out with at least 8 and go from there

I have an old Abu Garcia black max rod and reel getup from Wally World. I don't use it often but it has caught plenty fish. It's probably 4-5 years old and still fishes well. Every now and then the spool doesn't engage and you have to push the button up manually. Other than that it's a legit little rod and reel.

Congrats on picking up the hobby. I have enjoyed it for over 20 years now. I hope that you catch lots of fish and whip your buddies.

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Why is open face better than a spinning reel?

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It's not necessarily better. They have different functions and I have found that both are necessary to master if I want to consistently catch fish.

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Please, opinions and recommendations?

I'd like to keep my first rod and reel below $75. If I stick with it and get good, I'll pony up for a nice one

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There's nothing wrong with your thinking there. Any of the ones that have been suggested would be fine. Baitcasters take practice. So much of using one involves controlling the spin of the spool by making tiny little presses on the spool with your thumb. The only way to learn is to practice over and over again. You can get the fundamentals of it just sitting in your chair and slowly letting a casting plug drop until it almost touches the floor, then reeling back up and doing it again. Disengage all cast contol features while you do this. If you begin like this you won't have to be frustrated with backlashes while you learn the basics. Once you master that basic control you can move on to attempting to make short casts. I would learn the overhand, roll, pitch and flip. You can learn it. It just takes alot of practice.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.