I think a 8wt is a good over all rod for salmon and bonefish. 8wt may be light for bigger kings but anything over a 8 is overkill (and not much fun) for bonefish. To add another wrinkle to your decision making process if your serious about salmon/SH fishing in rivers consider learning the spey rod. You can reach way more water and cast all day or week long and not feel like your casting arm is going to fall off. Either way a few $ spent on casting lessons will elevate much frustration river side, an instructor can also help you see the difference in rods.

I agree with the everyone's input on trying out a number of rods. While you dont need to spend $1k for a rod/reel you should buy something you can fish for a few years without tossing it in the river cause it sucks. I bought a cheap rod/reel combo when I started flyfishing and 6 months later needed to buy something that could perform 1/2 way better than a wet noodle. The original $250 I spent on the cheap set up was money down the drain.

I like Sage rods but lots of manufacturers make nice rods. For a beginner or intermediate caster I recommend a medium action rod. Fast action rods require tight timing, slower action rods let you slow your stroke down. It can be very frustrating to have a fast action rod and not be able to properly load/cast it because the acceleration and stopping of the rod is off by 1/2 a second.