For florida fishing for a beginner, i don't think you could go wrong with a 6'6" or 7' Ugly stik spinning rod in a medium action, and a $50 range spinning reel (shimano is my choice) that will hold around 150 yards of 8lb test. Later on I would look into more specialized setups if you really like fishing. My favorite bass rig is a 7' Medium heavy baitcater made of high modulus graphite (IM8 is good) and a low profile $100 baitcaster. For panfish I like 7'6" light action spinning outfits best. For shore fishing my tackle arsenal includes rubber worms, flukes and tubes. Floating rapalas work good and assorted topwaters. The best times I have foung for fishing from shore are in the morning and in the evening. Hopefully that helps some. Carpmaster