I just cast the Scott Alpha series 8wt and this is a REALLY nice rod
for around $215. Way underpriced for the way it feels. I have a bunch
of high-end rods and this was in their range. The word on the street is
that Scott realizes that they are underpriced and is going to bump them
up about $100 next year. I have a couple of GLoomis GL3 rods (8&10)
which go for around $240 and I love 'em. Actually they are both LL BEan
'Guide Series' rods (which are GLoomis blanks similar to the GL3) and have
a better warranty than a rod wrapped by GLoomis!
Add a Lamson 3.5 (~$225) reel for 8-10wt, a Teeny 350gr. sinking line,
and an AirFlow clear intermediate line, a box of Clousers and Deceivers,
Rubbermaid homemade stripping basket and you'll have a great starter set
they you may never have/want to upgrade!
Good Luck,
Sean