Dave,

I am fairly new to fly fishing, only three years. A great place to go is Orvis. They have a store in Bellevue or you can get the same prices online. All of the rods and reels come with a 25 year guarantee. They have a series call the Clearwater Classics , which are very nice rods at competitive prices. ( I have the 9ft , 6 wt myself) They often have a package price including a rod, reel and line. My suggestion is to buy the clearwater rod and reel but upgrade to their better line. It will last longer and work much better.

For trout fishing on rivers and lakes a 5 or 6 weight would be right . In order to Steelhead you would need to get an 8- 10 weight rod/reel and line set up.

A great place to go once you get set up is the Yakima river near Ellensburg. It is a year round catch and release river for trout on either flys or lures and has become a great fishery. Good luck and keep posting.

Paul