I use a 9ft 6-10kg (35-70 gram cast weight) FWA Extreme matched with a 5000 Spheros for throwing lures at salmon & tailor. Superb combo for the job & very capable of handling bigger fish. I've use the same rod matched with a 5000 Stradic & that was also brilliant. The rod costs about $200 & the reel around $220.

I used to use a 9ft Starlo Classix by Shimano for the task which is 5-10kg but only has a cast weight of 15-35 grams from memory. Match that up with something like a 4000 Sienna & you will have a capable combo for around the $150 mark.

 Nothing fancy needed for tailor/salmon. Technically though casting lures and bait casting mulies are two different aspects and require two different rods. The reason is that mulies are soft and using a fast taper for them will tend to tear them away from the hooks. Practically we use the same rod for lures and mulies. You haven't mentioned what max lure weight you're likely to use and this will affect your choices. It seems like up to 35gm for most off the shelf and after that the rod starts to be a little heavier. One thing I've noted is that the max range of casting weights on the rods are not for comfort. An easy rough guide as to the sweet casting weight is to take the difference in the range, divide by 2 and add result to the lowest weight.  Shimka uses 9ft but that doesn't work for me as I have a small frame and need 10ft to achieve the distance. The FWA rod has  a good casting weight range but is too short for me. I'm not a big fan of Shimano as their lower range stuff tends to be poorer in quality than Daiwa but, hey, that's my opinion. 

The Nitro Viper you mentioned is only 7ft and costs $330. You may mean Nitro Sniper or Rockstar. Is this within your budget? If so, then you have a lot of choices. Daiwa, NS Blackhole, Majorcraft all have good models. To be able to advise you further you need to decide the max casting weight although the Starlo Classix maxes out at 45 gm not 35gm. I had one and sold it after only one use. Reason is because of the crappy guides starting to rust after only one session. In contrast the brands I mentioned above use Fuji which are a better quality even in their budget range. If you can afford a custom rod, find the appropriate blank and use Fuji Torzite guides. This will be beyond most due to the cost but it'll be for the rest of your life kinda rod. Even if you are going to use 40 gm lures the Starlo feels as though it'll break. basically, I feel that the sweet casting weight for the Starlo is about 30gm. 

As far as reel, assuming you also are looking for one, again depends on your budget. I'm using Daiwa Catalina 4000h. For its size, light, waterproof and same guts as the Saltiga for 40%+ less cost. Still it's $649 although cheaper overseas. Not that it's needed for tailor but it's a pleasure to use. If you can afford it, why not. Then you have a combo that you can use at Steep Point, Quobba, Exmouth etc. as well. Shimano has its CI reels but they tend to be the smaller sizes. Difficult to match with 10ft rod let alone 9ft. Why is because the outfit becomes unbalanced. Where you tend to hold the rod most of the time after casting should be your fulcrum. This way you tire less quickly. Anyway, there's a lot more but it'll do for now. Good luck in your search

 Earlier in the year I picked up a Shimano Catana NanoXG 10' rod from Compleat in Nedlands, less than $150 and I have been really happy with it.

It's mainly been used for throwing plugs, stickbaits and metals and does so brilliantly but I have also put out baits with it. So far it has accounted for a heap of tailor, a 70+cm Mully and just today the first lot of metro salmon for the season. I have it matched up to a biomaster 5000 and it balances real well.

can't recommend it highly enough for a lower cost rod.

 To answer the question about casting weights, I am guessing I wont be needing to cast anything over 40-45g. Yes kknlk I made a mistake with the rod, it was indeed a Nitro Sniper that was recomended to me and the more I read up on this rod the more I think I want to stretch my budget to accomodate this purchase. Having said that, I would consider any other recomendations thanks. With regard to reels, the Daiwa Catalina 4000h is probably out of my price range, any other recomendations around the $300-$400 would be much appreciated. Thanks again guys.

Shimano Sustain, Saragosa, Spheros or Stradic are all available for $200-$320 & are more than capable. You might want to consider a 5000 size reel so you get faster line retrieve for lure fishing. Put the reels on the rod you choose if you can so you can feel what is the best balance for you.

Clearly I'm not a Daiwa fan but I know many of the Daiwa fans rate the Saltist highly & that it is about $300 for the 4500.