Zak,

It doesn't sound shady to me. It does sound a little like he sold you a beginners set-up, but other than that and 8wt is fine to fish those species. But if you get into the sport more, you'll most likely want to graduate to something heavier, say a 10-wt. I fish for striped bass directly in the surf and I started with an 8/9-wt Reddington. It was fine to learn, but then once I got serious I knew there were tools better suited to the job and bought a really fast 10-wt. Bottom line, I think you did fine for a for just getng started. St. Croix is great stuff and there's no rule saying SW flyfishing has to break the bank.