Vincent
I was using the long rod because that's what I got. I still don't have the "perfect" 8 footer I have been looking for although yesterday I did pick up a Yamamoto Mod VI XHeavy rod to use in tournaments. It's a 7-6 one piece and seems good but I haven't taken it on the water yet. If you are mostly shore fishing and not in tourneys I would check out the Calstar 900XL as a big wood rod. The difference is going to be casting distance and maybe a little more control over the fish but you are going to lose some accuracy with the long rod. Mike Shaw, who makes the MS Slammer and has been doing this a whole lot longer than I have uses only 8 foot rods. So those are some toughts and I think anything between 7-6 and 9 foot is going to work, it's mostly a matter of personal preference.

-Rob