Oh Yea on the Skipper 9 rigs, I personally use an Ultra Light Ugly Stick lite rod with a decent reel and I use power pro 15 lb braid. For the reel I just find a better then average one that I like, I think it is less important then the rod, rig and line.

Some people do better with mono though, you definitely feel every little bite with the braid but you can also jerk too soon with it. It may take you a little but I find getting a feel for a slight delay in the hooking department and the braid combo is deadly. Some people cannot get use to that and the slight stretch in the mono may be a better fit.