Hey Gar - Welcome to Minnesota (state bird is the mosquito)! I'm in Minneapolis, and I'd agree with everything Broadwing said. I think it's going to depend on where you're living. I have a 5wt and found it's been a decent starting point for trout streams and panfish. I'd also second going with a shorter rod for those situations. Most of the streams are not that big. If you plan on floating the Mississippi or St. Croix, both good smallmouth rivers, I'd go longer and heavier.

Western Wisconsin has some great streams too (Kinni, Rush, Willow) which are closer to the twin cities than the SE MN streams down by Rochester.

[This message has been edited by ameyers41 (edited 09 March 2006).]