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