I'm a bit of a newbie to the piking game too..but

I just bought a lovely 2.1m telescopic shimano spinning rod for about £45.
I'm well pleased with it.
It suits me 'cos where I'm fishing is a bit wild and overgrown - so the rod
can be collapsed down when fighting through the brambles etc.

I'm waiting delivery on some plugs bought via e-bay and I'll post and let
you know what I think of them once they arrive.

upto now I've had follows, takes and landed half a dozen pike upto about 4lb
on various cheap plugs and lures.
I hooked, and lost a huge pike (estd about 20Lb) the other day on a £3.50
diving plug so you definately don't need to spend loads on the lures!!

SS