Best to go cast a bunch (if that's possible for you). As I'm sure you know, what works for one may not be the best for someone else... I use Winston rods and had 5 wt, 6 wt, 8 wt & 10 wt BIIIx rods (which are medium fast action rods) in my quiver. While my wife and I were taking a casting lesson with Linda McLennan (to improve our casts for a salt trip to the Corn Islands in Nicaragua) she noticed that they were too soft for my casting stroke... So I purchased Winston Plus rods for me (which are fast action rods) and now cast much further, smoother and more accurately. Thankfully the BIIIx rods worked well for my wife.