Cortland ready-made rig. OK?

I mentioned in my first post yesterday that I had picked out a newbie kit for Father's Day. Thought I'd ask everyone's opinion on this rig. It's a Cortland rod (CL graphite, 4/5 #), reel (55), line (444 floating rocket taper), leader (4X Precision II Trout), backing line (well, backing line).
I wasn't overly impressed with the reel. I'm a southpaw, so I removed the spool to reverse the pawl and drag. The pawl is a long plastic piece that struck me as having a short life expectancy. The drag gear had to be taken off and turned over, but there were no instructions on how to do so. It's a good thing I got it apart and back together on the first try, because I don't think the plastic keepers for the gear would have stood up to another attempt. AND the gear fits in a carved spot in the side, just tall enough for it to have clearance when it's seated. This meant I had to cock it at an angle with one edge in the carved out spot and cram it down a little crooked until the keepers were halfway engaged in their grooves.
All in all, it seems like a fairly high quality setup to my untrained eye, with horrible engineering inside the reel.

I'm open to all criticism, yelling, fatherly advice, blatantly bigoted opinions, and free stuff. Again, thanks in advance for your help.

Steve.

I think that should serve you just fine while finding out if fly fishing is something you want to stick with. If you can find a friend or relative to give you some casting instruction, that will come in very handy. You could also see if there is a local club in your area that you could check out. You're pretty much guaranteed to find folks more than willing to help you along and shouldn't cost you more than a thank you. There's plenty of time to upgrade your gear if you find that you're "hooked". Good luck in your experiences.

beginning can be aggravating as you have discovered. I expect if you like flyfishing at all that you will soon give your current gear to another newbie and you will embark on the delightful journey of exploring and buying new fly equipment. There is some finely engineered equipment out there which makes fishing a delight. I have had a blast and I love the sport having been at it only one y ear and a half. Best wishes and have fun. Fun!

Got one for my daughter. In some blind casting with a group of rods it was mistaken for more expensive rods. She likes it just fine and it's landed some nice fish. Enjoy it, they are fine lil rods.

It was originally marked $189, on sale for 25% off. It came with hard case, all the above, and a video that I have yet to watch. I do have more than one friend who can help if I ever get time. I just figured (and have read on a few websites since) that I wanted to get a complete set since I didn't know what I was looking for, and wanted to just go back to one store for one return if it was junk. It looked like a really nice rod for the $$$ to me, and I didn't know what kind of action it should have so I just got it.
I knew it was shorter than the typical rod (7-1/2'), but as said above I thought it might do just fine for starters, and had hopes it was a little better than the others I was comparing it to. It was also the only complete kit I found in 2 stores.
Thanks for the replies.

Steve.

After fly fishing for trout for 15 years, I decided to give fly rodding for bass with one of those cortland outfits last year and couldn't be happier with my outfit. If not graceful, my outfit has proven to be tough as nails.

If you're looking to beef up your fly collection; orvis, cortland, and most of the other big manufacturers have assortments where you can get 12 for the price of 10.