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Patrick,
The most popular spinning and casting reels are mass produced in factories and sold by hundreds of thousands (millions?). Mass produced fly reels are equally inexpensive (LOTS of salt water fly fishers use a $35 Pfleuger Medalist, $50 Okuma or $80 Pfleuger Supreme). You don't need a Tibor (mega $) or even a Teton Tioga. Such premium reels are hand milled from aircraft grade bar stock aluminum for a relatively small market. When you put the same amount of effort into a limited production spinning or conventioial reel, you get the same price effect.
Same goes for rods, although I think the high end rods have gone off the deep end! I look at rod makers like St. Croix and Loomis that make all kinds of rods on similar blanks--and it seems like they tack on a $100 or more just because it is a fly rod. I guess my limited market argument applies here to some extend.
You can get a 9 wt. Reddington Red Start rod, Pfleuger reel with extra spool and any of the popular intermediate and sinking lines and be in business for less than $300. If you can go up some, I would put the extra money in the rod and not the reel.
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