There are two types of surface lure rod.
1. popper rod
2. stick bait rod
popper rods are normally shoter than stickbaits rods. usually 7ft to 8ft long. stiff tip action for swing big cup face poppers.
Stickbait rods are longer. usually 8ft3 to 9ft3 long. softer tip action compare to the popper rods. the reason is, the soft tip will the the lures more swimming action in the water.
lfet pic popper . right pic stickbait
both lure will need different rod to give the best action they needed. of caurse small cup face poppers can be used on stick bait rods as well.
many top end popper and stickbait rods will have their min and max casting weight. it is very inportant to look the rods casting weight when you pick up you lures or other way around

another thing to look for is some GT rods are not the best for king fish, becasue these two fish fight quite different. King fish like to go a bit deeper when it come close to the boat and it will put a lot of pressure to the fishman, if the rod is very fast action.

here is just my two cents from my limited experiance.