A nine foot 6 weight is probably the best all round rod you can possess. Although for most of my still water fishing on the larger lakes I tend to use a 91/2 foot 7 weight for floating line work with a WF line and a 91/2 foot 8 weight for chucking real distance with an intermediate of sinking shooting head.
If the weather gets hot, you sometimes have to get down deep, and to that means long casting, especially from a boat.
I have taken several big trout this year by counting down a clear intermediate shooting head and fishing a lure such as a black and lime green woolly bugger or a Viva with a roly poly retrieve. Not pretty, and not my favourite way but it works make no mistake.
The counting down technique is quite simple. Count ten and retrieve, count 15 and retrieve, count 20 and retrieve. If you get a fish, count down the same timje and retrieve. Fish are often found at the same depth.