I'd HIGHLY suggest the DS series fly rod by Sage. They are great rods, and I have a DS890 as a backup for my RPL.

Don't mean to knock anyone. But it's funny, I wonder how many guys are new to the sport in the past 10 years (or I guess a bit more since graphite has been readily used for awhile now). All these rods nowadays are a dream to use. My 8wt is about 50% lighter then the old fiberglass 5/6 wts I used in years past. I used to salmon/steelhead fish with a 8wt Fenwick glass rod. Could toss it all day. Used a big fenwick glass 10wt with 6" extension handle for salmon. I could throw them all day long. Once I got my first graphite was like tossing a whip around. No problems. Funny that these "8/9wt" rods are such a bear to cast all day. I guess it comes from using dinosaurs so long ago (up until fairly recently). Go figure.

But, DS you get the sage name, a wonderful rod to cast/fish, and all the benies of a Sage. I sometimes use her as my primary 8wt in fact.

I agree, you usually get what you pay for in a flyrod. Cheap usually is just that.