I use 14' rods & 10' rods & try and keep the bait out towards the outer perimeter of the light .... even if that means using slip floats.

Normally, the Crappie are going to be holding a little ways out from the circling Shad & towards the edge of the light's penetration ... looking to pick off a single Shad that wanders too far from the circle. That's why I don't fish close to the light. I just remember sitting at the bow of a flat bottom wooden rowboat, my Grandma sitting in the middle, and Grandpa sitting at the transom end ... with a Coleman gas lantern hanging off the side of the boat, right in front of my Grandma ... and Grandpa & me getting most all of the bites.

If I'm tied up to something, I'll use plain hook/sinker rigs. I use a floating headlight (white light) hanging down beside the boat to draw in the Shad, and the white lights of my "blacklight" units to illuminate the rods/line/floats. The "blacklights" run off the 29series TM battery, and the floating headlight runs off another 29series battery that I take along just for night fishing.

I don't do it often enough to warrant a lot of specific equipment, so I just use what I have and make do with it.