Peter, welcome to the forum.
Recommending a rod as the best popping rod is something we shy away from here as the reality is there is no "best" rod. There are many producers out there making excellent rods. These includes manufacturers such as Carpenter, Fisherman, Smith, Seven Seas, Zenaq, Hots, Ripple Fisher, Valley Hill, Medusa Custom Works, Shimano, Daiwa etc. My personal preference has been Carpenter due to their range of very specialised rods but lately, I have been very taken by what I have seen from Ripple Fisher having had the opportunity to test some of their prototypes.
Many of these rods are very specialised these days and you can get everything from absolute stump pullers to rods which are actually quite forgiving to rods which are designed specifically for big cup faced poppers to rod which are made specifically for surface stickbaits.
The best analogy I can give you is it is no different to someone going onto a car forum and asking what is the best car. Well, without knowing where you live or the kind of roads you are driving on or even your driving capabilities, it is impossible to come up with a suggestion. As you can appreciate, you would get people recommending everything from a Ferrari to a Hummer!
if you give us some idea on the size of the GTs you are intending to chase, the terrain you are fishing, how strong you are, your casting capabilities, how much you want to spend etc, it will narrow down a recommendation.