I use a 6.6ft Fenwick rod, medium action with med soft tip, 6lb Fireline, either plain spreader or my own crappie style rig probably something like Wakina style. 3/4 oz lead on the bottom, and always use Mustad snell #28 hooks.
A good medium to high quality rod with a lite braid line and a soft tip. A lite rod and soft tip helps with the lite bites so the perch dont detect any resistance from the boat.