casting rods

I am in the market for a casting rod, now that the fishing is starting to move from the strait to estuaries and rivers here, my salmon trolling rod won't do. Any suggestions in terms of make and length?
BTW--I would be going after mostly salmon, perhaps some steelhead.
T2

That is almost like asking "What is the best kind of music to listen to" since Soooo much of it depends on personal taste, casting technique .....   

One of my favorites is the Shimano Convergence in regards to bang for the buck.   Their CVCL106M2B at 10' 6"  is a medium power, slow action rod rated for 12 - 20 lbs line mono.     I find that length allows the rod to easily load up and cast effortlessly for typical weights while bouncing corkies along the bottom of our local rivers.   
It can be picked up for around $80 which is a real value.    I have a pretty good collection of Lamiglas, G.loomis,
St. Croix and other upper end rods and think the Convergence holds it's own in comparison despite costing a great deal less.   
I think it is impossible to know exactly what another angler will like / prefer but feel the Convergence should be on the list of those to look at.   

http://www.tackledirect.com/shimano-cvcl106m2b-convergence-salmon-steelhead-casting-rod.html

   

I am rather partial to the Berkley Air IM8 type rods.  They are not too expensive (~$80), yet they seem to perform well.  I tend to the 8'6" or 9' extra heavy versions. 

  I don't own any but my wife has a couple of Ugly Sticks that are pretty bullet proof and not at all spendy.A lot of folks swear by them as being a good value.And they come in purtnear any size a guy could want.

Thanks for the replies--I know it's a general question--I'm just trying to get a feel for what people use for casting from a yak.
T2

  I don't own any but my wife has a couple of Ugly Sticks that are pretty bullet proof and not at all spendy.A lot of folks swear by them as being a good value.And they come in purtnear any size a guy could want.

Yes!  Them Ultra lite Ugly sticks give your bait a sweet casting ride.       I have two of them, and they have a nice soft tip which is great for feeling the bite.  A 5.5' or 6' are great sizes for using off of the yak.

Thanks for the replies--I know it's a general question--I'm just trying to get a feel for what people use for casting from a yak.
T2

I may need to take back my suggestion of the Shimano with it's 10' 6" length as I was picturing stand up casting from banks where you kayak into. 
This summer has been my first experience fishing from a kayak and I have only tried to use something that long from my kayak once, being a light action 11' rod when the pinks where in the sound.   First fish and I could not get the fish within my short handled net range and had to have a friend net it for me.  Talk about quickly loosing points on the man card....
 Quickly switched to a 7' rod and trolled which, along with jigging is what I have done 95% of the time from the Kayak.