I recently permanently relocated back to the PNW (BC) and one of my longtime buddies has offered to go fishing together for salmon. The spot he goes to, he regularly hooks 80lbs chinooks (not an exaggeration, he's previously given me some of them and they're in the 60-90 range),

Regulary hooks 80 pd salmon? There is no river in B.C where 80 pd salmon are hooked regularly. I call BS on this post.

Test the rod and reel by lifting your spare tire in front of the tackle store. If it is ok, you are good to go.

just go into any tackle shop and they should be able to hook you up with a setup for under 150$

It’s May 06 not Apr 01. I wonder when the SPAM will start?

My friend is an aboriginal and he fishes mostly on reserves. He has access to some fishing grounds that almost nobody else has. Maybe not regularly, but 6-8 a year - to be fair he fishes like 100 days a year so...

one of my longtime buddies has offered to go fishing together for salmon. The spot he goes to, he regularly hooks 80lbs chinooks (not an exaggeration, he's previously given me some of them and they're in the 60-90 range),
Thanks in advance for any advice or tips

We've all got one of those buddies. What really matters is that either you need a new scale, or you need to start sharing some of whatever the 2 of you are smoking. It must be powerful stuff.
No one in BC in 2024 is regularly hooking Chinook over 50lbs....never mind 60-90 range.

I recently permanently relocated back to the PNW (BC) and one of my longtime buddies has offered to go fishing together for salmon. The spot he goes to, he regularly hooks 80lbs chinooks (not an exaggeration, he's previously given me some of them and they're in the 60-90 range), so I don't think my old sockeye rod from 10+ years ago will work.

Friend uses a custom rod that costs more than I ever want to spend on fishing, ever. I've used spinning reels all my life, so I'd prefer that, though I don't know if they can handle these kinds of loads. Friend uses a baitcasting reel in the several hundred $ range (CAD), I'd prefer to not go that far. Looking for advice on rod & reel setups that can handle that kind of fish.

I'll also start going on my own for some trips, probably for much smaller fish. Friend fishes both salt & fresh water, so saltwater compatibility is a plus.

Thanks in advance for any advice or tips

Another Participation cup ? Another Participation banner hanging from the rafters ? Meanwhile, the Canucks just keep rolling along.

The Cup is ours next year for sure.

Leafs out in the first round again. Auston Matthews 69 goals in the regular season, only 1 in the playoffs.