I'm a ul fanatic, s I have to go against all the 5 wt suggestions. Go with a 3wt. My BVK 3wt was my go to rod the years I spent in Colorado. With practice and self control you can land big fish 20-24" range with no issues. I very seldom keep any fish for the frier. And never large trout, I released all caught with zero mortality rate. The flexibility of the lighter rods protects your light tippets and pretty much fights the fish for you. You may wonder why I recommend a 3wt when I'm selling it. I went lighter with a 2wt, and it hasn't seen use since. Big miss conception light rods are for small fish, I disagree the only limiting factor is the size fly you can cast and how windy it is for your distance. Both of which can be worked around. 2 wt in 15-20mph winds with a size 4-8 heavy clouser. Not pretty by any means but it can be done.

To clarify what some folks have said here, many well-meaning people will tell you that you need a specific weight rod for a specific species / size fish. I hear over and over, "You need an 8 weight for reds, a 6 weight for specks, a 5 weight for rainbows/white bass/bream", etc. Ignore that. The rod weight is all about what you are casting, and under what conditions you are casting it. If you need to throw heavily weighted flies, you will need a heavier rod and matching line. If you are fighting heavy winds, you need a heavier rod than normal (generally -- there are a lot of factors at play in that scenario). If you are throwing tiny unweighted flies, a 1 weight rod will suffice, and increase the fun. If I can land a 150 pound tarpon on an 11 weight setup, why would an 8 weight setup be required for a four pound redfish? I routinely use a half weight and a 2 weight in salt water. But at times, the wind or the depth of the fish and the speed of the water requires me to step up to my 8 wt. in exactly the same spot, so I can throw flies with large lead eyes to get down deep quickly in a swift current. I'm catching the same fish, but one day I can do it with my half weight rod and on other days I need a heavy rod. The flies and the conditions dictate the rod weight, not the fish you are casting at. Evaluate the predominant conditions, and base your selection of an outfit on that. You'll have a whole lot more fun.

What would be a nice set up for under $350? I go to school at Arkansas, so its only an hour drive to the white river. We catch a lot of bows up there and we occasionally hook into a brown. I recently got a TFO Mini Mag set up 8-10 wt 300-400 Gr, 8 foot rod with a Prism CLA 9/11 from a family member, but everyone I've talked to has said that it's too big to fish for trout. If it's too big, I would sell that set up to buy one that's the right size. The goal is to really get into fly fishing this next semester. Thanks in advance!

What did you decide on?

So I ended up going to the TFO factory and asking if I could exchange it for another one of their set ups. I didn't want to have the hassle of trying to sell it and dealing with prices. When I went into the factory, they were extremely nice and said they would exchange it. However the only problem they ran into was that the mini mag was more expensive than every set up that fit my needs. They said they would call me after the 4th regarding the exchange. I would like to get a Pro 2 rod with maybe a BVK or NXT reel. I really appreciate everyones help on this! Ill let yall know what I end up actually getting this week.