John,

The Sage 9140 is a good rod and is well loved by many people. I currently fish one and find it adequate for most applications. The one knock would be that it is an "in between" rod. By this I mean it is too much for much summer run fishing where a 7 or 8 would be preferable. It is also a little light for throwing heavy tips to winter fish. Depending on how you plan to use it, it may be the best single option though. If you are thinking primary use for summer I would suggest you look at the Sage 8150. For winter fish, the Sage 10150 or 10151 are good choices. I have also heard that both the Scott 15' 9 weight and 15' 10 weight are great rods but have yet to fish either.

As for reels, the Tioga is a good bye. I would recommend taking a look at the new Redington reels. They are a super bye ($195 for the spey sized model), have a lifetime warranty, and are quite smooth and attractive.

If you are serious about getting into double handed fishing I would suggest you check out Dana Sturn's site dedicated to this addiction. http://communities.msn.ca/internationalspeycasting/

Good luck!

Duggan