If you worried about the stripers or largemouths breaking the rod..just make sure your drag on your reel is set light enough..if you worried that a light action rod won't work with crappie as well as an UL, you might be surprised..I do most of my crappie fishing now with a LIGHT actioned rod. I seem to be able to toss the very lightest jigs farther with one. Alot of UL rods are just too whippy,too much line slap as the lure rockets forward and pulls the line from the reel,the line is slapping along the length of the rod. I would stay with 4-8lb. test line..especially the really small diameter stuff i.e. Trilene XL. If you are fishing in alot of brush you would want to stick with the 8lb.Just my two cents worth,hope it helps some. :grin: