In terms of rod power and ability to land fish, 9 foot rods rated for 8wt lines are often used and designed to be used for baby Tarpon and salt species up to 30lb so I see no reason why, in the hands of a competant angler, a stiff 8wt reservoir rod cannot be effectively used to humanely land a 15lb salmon.
Can i just quantify that...a saltwater #8 can be a world away from a freshwater #8..often being too stiff and unflexable for playing smaller fish (under say 10 pounds) hard. They can actually work against the angler in heavy currents, pulling hooks from the fish due to no give in the blank.
My 10 foot Norboron which is a 7/8 weight has landed Pike to 19lb and handled them suprisingly well. Although classed as a fast rod in its day, it actually has a very pleasing deeper playing action that subdues fish quickly.
I managed to land a fresh run 7 pound salmon on the Don on a 4 weight soft Daiwa rod and a size 16 dry and 3 pound tippet pretty quickly purely because I could clamp down and let the rod do the work. I think the fish took around 5 yards of line when I first struck and then the rest of the time i just let the rod bend and bend and adsorb the power of the fish.
Thats one thing i do notice, folk are scared to use the rod to play the fish...and some of that is due to folk thinking a fast rod is a better rod...not always..a slightly softer, more cushioning rod will land a fish faster and thus with less stress and therefore realeased quicker than a modern "casting" rod.
Just my 2 pence worth...
