Welcome to OFF and Oregon,
First OFF I would like to say you're question is kinda vague. Second search the site, there's a ton of info on here. That said, more info from you is needed in order to get a better idea on how to answer your question(s): Are you going after trout, salmon, steelhead, panfish, carp....? Each one is going to yield different answer(s), both for the rod question and for the location question.
I'll give you my opinion on rod choice, but remember its what I think. Its hard to beat a 9' 5wt. Its a work horse, as for reel that depends, but find one that balances with the rod.
Then again....around my parts (Central Oregon) I find I can't live without my medium action 8'6" 4wt for a handful of rivers I hit for trout...nor can I go without my medium fast 9' 5wt work horse on some of the bigger waters and heftier redbands.... but then again when I want to throw streamers I wouldn't think twice about grabbing my fast action 6wt. And then there's steelhead time, gotta go with my 11' 7/8wt switch for those summer Deschutes steelies.... small stream tributary fishing - 8' 3wt.....
I kid......, but not really. I do have a bad habit of having a lot of rods when I could probably pare down, but I believe in the right tool for the right job. What I'm saying is...it depends on what type of fishing you're planning on.