I'm wondering, what is a good set up for an ultra light. Not worried about cash spent, but I plan on having an artificial lure rod (hate fishing with worms) and a reel to match. Also, would like some info on line, and what lb test would make these things feel like these green trash fish I target! Thanks guys in advance.

Welcome to the show! The best rods for jigs and soft plastics IMO are the BPS Micro Lite Graphite rods. They are ultra sensitive and have enough strengh and backbone to land 4lb bass or 5lb bass with the longer (7'+) models. The fast action of the rod and tip make for a quick and sure hookset when you feel the bite. I noticed that I didn't miss near as many bites as I had with graphite/glass composites. The hook up ratio went way up. I've landed some nice size cats on these rods also. My all around fav is the 1 piece 6' Light model.

For micro cranks, topwaters and other hardbaits, the BPS Micro Lite Glass rods are best. The fast tip on the graphites models tend to rip hardbaits with trebles away from fish ,especially sunfish which have small mouths and not a lot of lip for trebles to get a hold of. The slow, soft action of the glass rods give the fish plenty of time to get a mouthful of theose hooks and gives just enough during the fight to make sure the fish can't shake out the trebles once hooked. Kinda like those big rubber bands on the Looney Tunes cartoons. You might think you're getting away, but you're not. I like a 7'6" UL rod in this model for most of my fishing. Most of the time I'm fan casting cranks and topwaters to find fish with this rod so I need a rod that can cast a light bait a long ways. With most glass rods, you're not really casting the weight of the lure. You're using the lenght and action of the rod to make your cast; you're actually using the weight of the tip of the rod to cast the lure out. I do have a 6' glass model for close quarters, but it doesn't cast nearly as far so if I have room, I'll use the big stick.

I started off using size 25 Pflueger Trions. They are great reels, but they will break down after a couple years of the type of creek prowling I do. A lot of dips into the water, sand and gravel along with a few bumps and bruises along the way. I've found that Pfueger President XTs in size 25 are the reel for me. They are extremely tough, light and smooth. The Trions retail for $40 and the XTs retail for $80, but I get all my XTs on ebay and amazon for $50-$65 with most in the $50-$55 range. That graphite hybrid body and frame and sealed carbon drag make all the difference in the world for the type of abuse I put them through.

I've tried a lot of lines for my UL and panfishing and Triline XL is the best I have used by far. It's more dependable and manageable than any other line I've used in the 4lb and 6lb test range. 4lb and 6lb test Triline XL is almost exclusively what I use for my UL and bream fishing now. I'll use braid for situations with tons of cover (wood and brush, thick weedbeds, excessively snaggy rock piles, wood and rock outcroppings, etc). When I reach for braid, I reach for Power Pro. It doesn't bend my hooks as easy on hooksets, but still has enough strenght to slowly bend the hook when i get snagged up.

Hope this helps you out 210. There'll be others who have more and better experience with other tackle. If you can fish with other folks tackle, that's the best way to tell what might be best for you. I tried a bunch of combos and lines before I found the right one for me.

Uhm.... what jagg said.

Dude you can always give my stuff a try if you want - you know I bring along a 7' and a 5.5' for the reasons jagg stated, and you're welcome to give them a try if you would like. It will be strange the first few times you catch some decent sunfish with them as it will translate in your brain as a decent size bass, and when you hook an actual decent size bass you'll think you've got a lunker. The more you use it, though, the more you'll get used to the sensitivity and the way those hits translate in the rod.

I knew I'd get ya fishing for sunnies!!!! *cue evil laugh*

I guess I'll have to try out that big ol' yellow rod you got Ms Sunny. Thanks for the info jagg, I'm going to look into rods and reel set ups on BassPro, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

You've seen my ultra light set up. It's a Pinnacle Tiny Deadbolt (DUL 20) and Academy has them for 19.99. I like my Eagle Fenwick GT's and they were 39.00 bucks from some vendor on Ebay, but shipping was 16. I think Sportsman's Warehouse might have them, and I think it's where I bought my first two.
For line, I use 10lb braid from Fireline in Flame Green. I don't have to worry about any memory on it. That's my favorite rig. I have some Quantum Xtra Light's on some Falcon UL rods and those are cool too. I just need to line those up with the braid as well.
Steven

how am i supposed to get post counts up if people keep asking questions that i need answers to myself? (frantically searching internet for these suggestions)