Here is the page that talks about the fly casting classes.
http://hiwassee.net/newbieday.htm
The hiwassee river is about a hour drive from chattanooga. It is a great place to go to catch trout, though I have yet to catch a trout on a fly(I as well am a beginner to fly fishing)
Here is a decent site that offers some instruction and information on fly fishing
http://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/video-lessons
Anyways here is some general information to understand.
The parts of a fly line go like this:
Fly reel -> backing->fly line->leader-> tippet->fly
The backing is just some line that attaches the fly line to the reel. You will not likely use it unless fish are making strong runs when hooked.
The fly line is the thicker line and comes in a variety of styles which would affect casting. Some line has more weight in the tip, to help make casting easier(weight forward). Some are tapered, and some are tapered on both ends.
The leader is a tapered piece of line, usually monofiliment, nylon, or flourocarbon, that helps transfer the energy to the fly.
The tipper is a optional piece of line that is attached to the end of the leader. It usually uses just a regular kind of line(like you could use in regular fishing), and is much cheaper than having to replace leaders all the time from loosing line everytime you change a fly.
Now with fly line there is a rating system that begins with 1 wt, and goes up to about 14 wt. The smaller the number fly line the thinner the line. The larger the number the thicker the line.
http://www.orvis.com/s/choosing-a-fly-line-orvis-fly-fishing/2107
This link has a good table which shows in general what line weights are used for what species, and what fly sizes go well with them.
Generally speaking wt 1-5 is best for trout or panfish, wt 6-8 for large trout, or bass, and 9-14 for saltwater fishing.
The fly line MUST match the fly rod. You can adjust leaders and tippets and flys as much as you like. But if you try to put on line that is more that 1 size different from the rod, it will not cast properly at all.(so you could get away with having 7 wt or 9 wt line on your 8 wt rod) It is always best to stick to the fly line that is the proper weight for the rod, unless you know what you are doing.
Next you have leader size. The leader you choose can depend on what species you are targetting. The leader size is based on what the leader tapers down into. So on end A, you have the thickest part of the leader. On end B you have the thinest.
End B is the end that determines the size of the leader. So for example I have a 5x leader.
That means at the end of my leader, the leader diameter is .006 ". This diameter rating system is the same with tippet material. Here is a chart which shows the sizes and what is reccomended for what species. 8x is the smallest tippet size with 03x being the largest.
Tippet Size Tippet Diameter Pound Test Fish Size
03X .015? 25 lb. Big Game Species
02X .013? 20 lb. Large Salmon
01X .012? 18.5 lb. Striped Bass
0X .011? 15.5 lb. Salmon, Steelhead
1X .010? 13.5 lb. Bonefish, Redfish, Permit
2X .009? 11.5 lb. Large & Smallmouth Bass
3X .008? 8.5 lb. Bass & Large Trout
4X .007? 6 lb. Trout
5X .006? 4.75 lb. Trout & Panfish
6X .005? 3.5 lb. Trout – Easily Spooked Fish
7X .004? 2.5 lb. Trout & Panfish / Delicate Presentations
8X .003? 1.75 lb. Trout & Panfish / Small Flies
Now anyways it turns out you are trying to learn fly fishing at a good time. Please PM me, and then I should be able to remember to send you details of the fly fishing class they have at the hiwassee river. It usually takes place on the 2nd saturday of the month(it occurs monthly from april-october). If I am available to go, there is a chance you could carpool with me, or tail me to it. I certainly could give you driving directions and details of this regardless.
They do have rods available so you would be able to try the difference between your rod and the rods they have available(probably 5 or 6 wt rods).
Finally to answer your question about whether your pole is a all around good pole.
If you are mainly fishing for bass then the rod you have should be just fine for fishing for bass. I think it should be fine for fishing for pretty much any fish around here. However I am not sure it would be very good for catching trout. The reasoning is that your line is a heavier line. This should make it a little easier for casting, but it probably will make more noise and make a larger splash when it hits the water.
This is not a problem really for bass and other fish around here. However trout are much more likely to become spooked by the line. Thus it would just be more difficult to catch them. However with the line you have, you will mostly be throwing around streamers and larger flys that will resemble baitfish, mice, frogs, etc. Just larger baits that fish eat. And you should probably be able to cast them just fine with your rod.
(my 5 wt rod does not handle flys like that very well with my inexperience.)
So your 8 wt should work on pretty much any local fish, and also work on large trout I would think. It would not work well when trying to delicately present dry flies or small insects that most trout fishermen try to imitate, but it would be great for larger flies imitating bigger insects and larger animals that fish eat.
I appologize if I am incoherent but I am tired as I am making this post. I would be more than happy to answer any question you may have to the best of my knowledge. Take my advice however with a grain of salt, as I am speaking more from research and hours and hours of time learning things, than actual experience.
If you do have questions the best way for me to answer them would be for you to send me PMs(personal messages)