Steve, check out the Lami 1081m blank if you are looking for a sweet 9' stick to throw pretty much anything. That is my go-to rod when tossing McKenna style (

) slug-gos. I wrapped one as a spinner a couple seasons back and liked it so much I did up a conventional version and bought a back up blank just in case. The rod has great range and I have bested bass to the upper 30's on it from CT to RI to Cutty.