Hey Liz'!

I was in the same delima last spring. After lots of research I bought a top of the line St. Croix Legend Ultra 9'6" 8 wt. The price was comperable to many of the GL3's I looked at. Life time warranty too.
After another 2 months of research I decided on a #7 Teton reel. The Tioga mentioned by fishkisser is a bit less ($135 vs $205) and would do a fine job. The Teton is a little more refined & holds a s#*t load of line.(265 yds.) The disk drag is sweet! Also, it has life time warranty.
For line I went with Rio's Versi-tip. It has preformed very well under most any condition I have encountered while fishing. At $115 it's a great alternative to multiple spools & lines.
Extra spools for the Teton are $90 + line & backing.

Jeff