Tim, I was very (VERY) reluctant to get a baitcaster. I have over 30 spinning rods with even more reels than rods. I figured I could do just about anything with spinning gear that guys could do with baitcasters. I also used the excuse about watching everyone pulling backlashes and nests out of their baitcasters.
I finally broke down and bought 2 of em. They came in the mail this week and I love em already. Yes, they take a little practice, but they can cast and are very smoothe. I'll still use a spinning rod for most of my applications, but some techniques (spooks) really need baitcasting gear to work right.
I bought the Bass Pro Shops XPS Extreme Baitcaster Combo for $99. That's a screamin' deal. The rod retails for $100 by itself (Woo Daves medium heavy 6'-6"). The reel is 6:3:1 (you can always reel slower but it's nice to have the faster ratio). The combo is on page 37 in the catalog. The reel retails for $80. A couple guys I know have Curados and say they like the BPS Extreme reel just about as much. Walkerdawg used it yesterday and is going to order one. He uses a Curado but liked this reel and loved the rod.
I practiced with it one night and used it yesterday. I highly recommend buying one. It's not that hard to learn. If you don't go with the Extreme combo, at least get the Curado, Clunn or Morris.
Let me know if you need to know the rookie pointers with the settings and how to get started.