I agree that 8' is the sweet spot. Lamiglass makes a nice 8 footer for their kwik series


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I picked up this 8'6" Okuma rod when I mounted my downrigger and thought it fought a 12 lber pretty nicely. I was really happy with the rod until the top 6 inches broke off while deploying gear the next trip out.

Maybe it got stepped on or something got dropped on it I don't know, but that was my experience. I only paid $24 for it so it is what it is.

https://www.fishusa.com/product/Okuma-Classic-Pro-GLT-Trolling-Rods

Ha, i've gone through two of these that never made it out of the house, both purchased from fishusa. 

First one snapped at the top from a little bend while setting up the night before a salmon run.  They sent a replacement.   Replacement snapped right out of the plastic in the same manner.  They sent me two more replacements, so far so good after a couple trips.  I feel like the glass used on these are fragile once it's nicked, which the first couple i received were. 

Glass is awesome on a DR for that bend though.

I use a 8'6" Shimano Convergence 2-piece rod.  As a fish is hooked and I'm "walking the dog" trying to tire the thing out I can see through my peripheral vision whether I have the right amount of bend and therefore the right amount of tension on the salmon.  If the rod is too straight I start peddling faster - too much bend I either throw line out or slow down.  BTW, I do use a down rigger.  I never had much confidence with the DD because I never really knew what depth it was at. And having confidence in your fishing gear is EVERYTHING, to me!

I like the 6'6" Ugly Stick Tiger for bottom fish. But I have to say that I've never tried it for salmon.

I went with the 8'6" 12-25 Lamiglas x-11. That seemed liked the best balance of length vs weight.
Okay, I'm ready!

lol, you are going to have a long pre-season   ... but i am in the same club