atunatado: Back in college, when we were too lazy or too inexperienced to conduct original research, we would do what we called a "...survey of the literature." That was academic BS for reading what everyone else said and reporting on it. That is the track I took before I bought a popping rod (I now have 5 of the damned things.) While I have hooked and landed a total of 4 YFT, none of them was by popping. However, I can tell you that, based on the fun I had using a 6 foot roller rod with a 130 rating, and a 50W reel with 900 yards of 130 pound line, drag set at about 20-25, and catching nothing bigger than 75 pounds, I don't want to use light tackle on one of these brutes--much less one potentially twice that big.
Also, having researched the topic of popping equipment on this and other boards religiously and to the point of passing out, what Snagged says is absolutely correct--and a majority of the experts (not me) agree on something along the lines of a Calstar 700 (rated for 40 - 80) or the similar but probably even superior OTI rod. If you look back at all the similar questions on this board (including several of my own

) or if you go out to 2cool or any of the other big saltwater boards, you will find that such rods, with a minimum line rating of 50 pounds and a mid-rating of around 70 pounds, are the gold standard of popping rods--something between 6 1/2 feet (really stiff and harder to get good distance) and 9 feet (great distance but may beat you to death quicker than the fish), depending on what kind of a horse you are.
I am a great believer in educating myself in what the real experts do. When I have a medical condition, I ask my doctor what he would recommend if I were his own father. When I have a plumber come out, I ask what he would do if it were his pipes. (When I consult a lawyer, I consider suicide.)
So what I did when I came on this board and others, the first time, was to pick everyone's brains. Based on that advice, I bought:
1. A Calstar 700H Spinner (40-80#)
2. A Calstar 700XH Spinner (50-100#)
3. A Calstar 700H Conventional (40-80#) (are you beginning to see a pattern here?)
4. A Smith LTD 80P/35 spinner (8 feet-Japanese) (approx. 65 # rating)
5. A Souls True Excalibur 90HHS (9 feet-Japanese) Even I can cast tis rod a mile and I just couldn't resist the name!
I bought the last two rods for 3 reasons: One, I love the Japanese removable butt (that came out wrong, somehow-

) two, for me at least, much superior casting distance, and three, they are beautiful and they are fun. But they are also expensive, and if someone told me I was going to have to fish with only one rod for the rest of my life, fight big fish with it, and not break it, it would be one of the 7-7 1/2 footers.
My next and hopefully last popper will be the OTI because I got to cast two of the prototypes and it may well be the best compromise in terms of length available. I also love the grip material they use, if that is still in use. The price/value of the rod has to be one of the best as well. I have laid out anywhere from $300 to $750 so far for my rods and if forced to choose one rod forever, it would be either the 700H or the OTI heavy--just like Snagged said.
Oh, but I would not make it a conventional, because I am incompetent trying to cast one!
Russ