I use a bass pro shops micro light 5'6" rod with a shimano stradic 1000 size reel.
Have caught a zillion fish on this setup everything from sunfish to bass, catfish, carp, buffalo.
Makes catching any fish fun and if you catch a larger fish quite a fight.
shorter rod also helps when fishing around trees or in cramped conditions.
I love this setup and if I had to pick just one rod/reel, this would be it.
Light enough for the small stuff but also lets me bring in some larger fish when I hook into them.
This is a very versatile setup.

I love my older 6� BPS Graphite Microlite. It is my go to for creeks, small rivers and inhospitable banks. My St Croix Panfish Rods (6�9� ULF and 7� LXF) are the best panfish rods I�ve ever fished with and I�ve fished with a bunch for sure!

I don't know about best, but I've been using an Okuma Celilo UL. It's a trout rod, but I've really liked it. I'm using the 5'6", but they have other sizes that would work well if you needed to make longer casts. I paired it with an Okuma stratus reel and it does the trick. It's really sensitive but strong too. I got into a bunch of sandbass at the spillway and was pulling up two at a time from the water up and over the railing. I've also fought and landed a good sized buffalo fish that I foul hooked with the rod, that was pretty fun.