My go to rod for king salmon is a 1096 RPLxi, with a Ross BG 5 reel. The important part of the 10 weight is its lifting power. I have been guiding clients into king salmon on the fly for the past 10 yrs, at Alaska West on the Kanektok river in A.K.. we see a large range of fish sizes, from jacks to 15lbs to adults at more than 50. The problem with the lite rods 9 weight or less is that they lack the lifting power to move these massive fish close enough to the boat, resulting in over exhausted fish. With big king salmon on a fly you have to bring the fight to them, In this case the question is, Would you bring a knife to a gun fight?