The Gun Counter

Ok, so what's recommended as a basic, no frills fishing kit for catching in any or most streams/lakes in the U.S. Staying below about $50 total.

How about the same, but in a compact, easily stowed form?

HTRN

That makes three times I completely agree with HTRN.

Must be some sort of a record.

Ah, yes, the Dupont Spinner!

For all around fishing, I'd go with a spinning rod and reel.
The rod should be 7-9ft, with a max casting weight of up around 3/4oz.
The reel should be a spinning reel of decent quality, of a good and wellknown brand.

Checking Cabelas, I found this: Spinning combo
This is under $50, and it's something like the 7ft model you should be looking for.
(The also have a few Shimano combos that are over $50, but are probably better value.)

However, I always recommend beginning fishermen to step it up a little in price, you get a lot more value and price. Get a decent rod and a decent reel, and stay away from the combos, that usually aren't as nice to fish with. You'll have more fun that way.

Good brands to look for are for example: Shimano, Berkley, ABU Garcia, Daiwa
If you stick to well known brands and buy a rod and reel in the right size, you wont go wrong.

Hook, line, sinker, and bobber is pretty basic. I like to use a small spinner with 2lb line for most ponds and small lakes around here where the fish are sunfish , bass, and crappie mostly. I like the small spinner baits like the Joe Fly's or something similare. Get an assortment of different color feathers and blades. WHen I go after walleye in the river I use a bigger rig and usually minnows. For catfish I have a beach casting rig with 20lb line and use large sunfish for bait. Catfish I have caught have weighed up to 40 pounds or so. When I go down to the mountains for trout I try using a fly rod but I am pretty clumsy with it and use a spinning rod where possible.

Dub_James wrote:Ok, so what's recommended as a basic, no frills fishing kit for catching in any or most streams/lakes in the U.S. Staying below about $50 total.

How about the same, but in a compact, easily stowed form?

Hard to go wrong with an Eagle Claw Trailmaster spin/fly pack rod. I've had the same one since I was a teenager, and it is extremely versatile and convenient to carry. Mine came with an aluminum tube case, but I don't know if they still do. If not, you could make a serviceable case from PVC pipe pretty easily. Be sure to get the 7'6" spin/fly combo rod, it has a reversible grip, so you can use it with either a spinning reel (though for spin tackle I use a high end level-wind reel on mine), or a fly reel. The rod itself goes for $50-60, so you aren't going to meet your $50 target, more like $100-$150 after you buy a reel or two plus line, basic tackle, etc. You can spend less to start fishing, but this is the way to go for a versatile package. Using both fly and spinning tackle with mine, I've caught cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, dolly varden, arctic grayling, and sockeye salmon. It's a little large for the smaller trout, and for silver salmon or larger I use a bigger rod, but this one will do anything in between.

Oh, and I've also used it to retrieve ducks.

my grandfather spent 50+ years fishing with a cane pole, a length of line, a hook and a worm... never had a problem.

As a young 'un, I remember catching copious sunfish, perch, bass and catfish with one of these: http://i18.ebayimg.com/08/i/001/09/10/01ec_12.JPG

My current fresh-water rig is a Garcia-Mitchel 6' rod that was part of a combo I bought when I was maybe 13 (I'm 45 now) and a Mitchel 300 spinning reel that just may be about as old as I am. The thing I love about this set-up is that I've been fishing with it for so long I know exactly how it handles. A few weeks ago I amazed my wife's cousin by casting repeatedly exactly into a spot that looked like a good one for bass (and got a couple too).

Here's the point: the fish doesn't care what's on your end of the line. As long as whatever's on his end of the line looks good, and what's on your end is up for the stress of bringing him in, you're golden.

Not having bought rod or reel in over 25 years I can't recommend brands. I'd steer clear of the real low-end stuff because it'll either wear out in a hurry or will break at the worse possible time (like when you've got a nice fish on the other end). $50 sounds a bit low for a decent rod and reel, you might have to stretch that a bit to get something good, better to spend $80 now than $50 now and $80 next year. Look for season-end sales. If money is tight go with someone who knows what to look for to flea markets, garage sales, etc, or look on e-bay. Properly maintained rods and reels will last forever.

The rest of the tackle depends largely upon exactly where you'll be fishing, a lake full of bluegills and perch requires different tackle than a trout stream. For that I'd go to a local bait shop and ask, they know what kind of fish are around, what they bite, and how you need to fish for them.