There is a rageing argument still going on after all these years, rod weight for specific fish? This is a personal choice different govening bodies views apart. Through 80% of my saltwater fly fishing i opt ofr a 9wt rod. Why? due to coastal condtions, wind rain and temperature, all combines add to weight of flies used and power needed to deliver them correctly to point of impact. Though i have also used rod in the 6,7,8,9,10,12 wt ranges on occassions. The following is my personal view and not endorsing the use of or otherwise implying this is correct. 7wt rods are ideal for mullet and mackeral if feeding close in or from a kayak.
8wt ideal general purpose bass and pollock rods
9wt for when the weather is bad or you have to target bigger species like, pike, zander, big bass. Or are fishing abroad for larger species tarpon big bone fish ect.
10wt for deep fishing if fishing from a boat, or kayak in deep water where you could encounted big cod, pollock, ling, bass ect

12wt now we are getting into bigger guns here, recently the guys from www.sportfish.co.uk managed to bag a blue shark on a sage Xi3 rod that is a cracking achievment in itself and i am indeed loong to do this in 2012 when time allows a little more.
14 and 16wt rods are available for big game shark, bill fish, sailfish, ect the list goes on though these are tropical water fish. If i could only fish a single rod for seffing it would be a 9wt due to power ti handle conditions that often fcae us and also the lightness of the tippets that can be used for mullet fishing if chose. I have hked mullet that couln't be handled by the 7wt rods, thus resulting in lost fish. This said i still feel that if i was using the sage Xi3 or orvis helios a professional salt rod then i may have stood a chance. The reason i say this is that the rods are designed with a different task in mind. Remember that all trout rods are designed to give and bend a lot more salty rds on the other hand are desiged with a much steeper power curve right through to the butt section.
The following are situations that are real world by this i mean i have used or indeed witness them being used.
7wt greys g-tec, mullet fishing on the plym enough power to present the fly at medium distance, but trong enught to handle fish into the 7lb marker.
8wt bass fishing off a secret mark in the dead of night with only a headlight, and hooking into a 9lb bass and fighting it hard landing on the reef in waders up to my waits in water.
9wt blowing a gale and fishing at wembury off the rocks no matter the wind i could side cast under the worst of it and still reach fish.
10wt carp fishing on the fly surfcae fishing for them hooked and landed a 27lb mirrir carp faster than i could on carp tackle.
12wt pike fishing in exeter canal a few years ago i was using a fly that was 9 inches long though the rod still managed to cast this with relative ease.

Now in the end rod weights and choice are all personal preference, if fishing in the salt then rods designed for this tast are lways preferable. though n need to spen a fortune. Though this said if you do then you get what you pay for. Sage, Orvis, Scott, Thomas and Thomas the list goes on they are all proiving at least 25 year garantees, i have broken many rods though when this happens i drop it back to them and get a replacment in a couple of days.
if you should have any queries or questions then feel free to contact me through the site. After all it is free to join and just there to assist other anglers in the pusuit of happiness well fish anyway...

tight ines all...

Well i managed to get a hold of a full set of rio outbound shooting heads late last year. These are the ingegrated shooting heads means a spliced conection from the factory to the running line. Much the same a a long belly fly line though the major difference with this line is it still retains the rio shoting heads weights and methods. They have thus far produced the following lines in this range. Floating
Intermediate
Hover
Type 3
Type 6
Type 8
T7
T14

All of the lines have a slick shooter running line pre welded with welded loops on the lines already again. I was using these lines on 9wt snowbee rods and also a brand new sage xi3 that i have the pleasure to borrow for a short period. The standard versions have a 37ft shooting head, though there is also a short 30ft shooting heads version avaialble. Cost wise they are in the region of $75 each. This is a little more than the average fly line on the initial outlay. Though with durability being a great concern when it comes to swffing. They have stood up to anything that i card to throw at them. Casts of 100ft are possable with relative ease once loaing is adjusted to each rod and then you give a fast double haul. Though i did find that the head loaded faster and better for long distance casts, when you extend the head and extra 2-3 ft from the tip eye.
Through using these heads i tried them on bass, macks, pollock, mullet. all of the species gave a good account, though i have to say that these lines truely came into there own when i was fishing a high point, above an estuary mark casting 130ft to reach the mullet i wanted on a floating line. This not only reached them but also didnt cause any spooking. the bite detection with a 8lb flurocarbon tippet was exceptional. To follow this i was bass fishing during the night on a favorite mark and i had 5 fish through the night up to 7lb in weight. Most f the fish took me right down to the backing, though no matter what they tried they couldnt break the leader knots or backing knots. The general feel of this line when casting is exceptional, though warning here guys, if your double hauling then be very carefull if the heads shifts in the wind, and hits you in the head it will draw blood. i found htis to my own intense pain and frustration. No matter the size of flies that i tried on these lines they are worked very well indeed i varied through size 16 currys shrimps and all through to a size 3/0 flatwing deciever that was 8 inches long.
In conclusin if you want a set of lines that will stand up to anything, then these are the guys. if storage and spools are an issue then rio max 2 heads are ideal with a single slick shooter running line. They are expensive, but last a life time.
tight lines all..