Hey all,
I also wanted to add a lesson I have learned through years of flyfishing. When you are starting out the best way to get into the sport is to accually fish, even if it is with cheap gear. Cheap combo models will give you an entry level foot in the door. Also you don’t have to fish for just trout. One of the best ways to hone your skills is on bluegills at a local pond. A cheap rod and bluegills may not sound like the way to look like the guys in magazines, but even they will tell you that skills are more important than gear. Skills are only gained by practice and if you don’t like flyfishing(heavan forbid) there won’t be a $500 rod in your garage that reminds you.
Till later,
Sarge.
Good advise sarge, 
I must say I gained most my rod building skills from building better casting rods (or so I thought) one after another so I could be competitive in tournament casting.
Funny thing after a bit of time practicing with these new rods I kept building, those older rods in my closet that couldn’t cast worth a darn learned how to cast pretty good with time.
Let No One Walk Alone
><))))‘>------<’((((><
Bill
This is good advice and also lends itself appreciating quality at a later date when compared to a stiff combo outfit with level line, etc. My first fish was caught on a hand line peering over a dock. I was hooked and started a lifetime of learning and aquiring equipment. Either at the bench or on the water, there is nothing that beats practice. Even with a simple vice and limited materials or a hand me down glass rod and a single action reel, fish, fish, fish. Way to go Sarge!