I don't know anything about Albright rods but they should have grain wt. recommnedations for the line.

The spey rod should have a grain window designated. This will tell you about the line/head wt that you will need to get to properly load the rod. Sounds like you have a long belly line which isn't the easiest to cast for a beginner. Just because you rod says 7/8 or whatever, doesn't mean you buy a line that says 7/8 --- you want to buy based upon grain wt. of t he head to start with.

There are different types of line-- Scandi, Skagit , long belly, etc. to chose from. Also, head lengths are much different from a 9 ft. rod.

I think I remember when you were considering buying this rod. Didnt you post about the rod?

Go to Rio's web site. The have a section that you can click on that will take you to a long list of spey and switch rods and the recommended liness and grain wts. This will be a good start. Rajeff sports also has a similar chart Ithink.

I would also hightly recommend that you call The Red Shed in Idaho and ask for Poppy--- tell him what you bought and get his opinion.

Alsoo check out the Spey Pages web site. You can post your questions there and get some answers.