morneb:

It is a really good idea to go ahead and become accustomed to fishing with one of the name brand companies. My personal preference is for an American made rod like a Sage, Loomis, Scott, etc in lieu of a TFO, Reddington, etc.

You'll find that something like a Sage FLi is better in performance than a TFO but is actually about the same price. I've guided for a long long time now and I can attest to the fact that people can often be limited by the performance of their equipment. If you are just going to dabble in fly fishing then a Sage FLi would be the perfect outfit. If you are going to be a serious fly fisher person give some serious thought to a high performance rod.

John Wilson