[Fisherwoman]

Hi Clamdigger,
What you will need is just the basics to get started, don't go crazy right away. if you are a spin fisherman which I am as I don't have time for backlashes when the fish are going nuts.
I use a 7 ft medium heavy 1 piece rod, the one I have is a Penn Power Graph, I love this rod, I have a couple of them, they will hold up to 10-17lb test line and will throw up to 1 oz lure. For schoolie fishing this is a great rod, and not crazy expensive. The reels I use are the Shimano Spirex 4000, this makes a perfect balanced set up for light tackle fishing, we also have 4, 7ft custom 1 piece rods basically built the same way, set up with Diawa 4000 Zia reels. For a baitcasting set up, Baitcaster uses a 8 ft St croix Tidemaster rod, rated to 3/4 oz with a Shimano Calcutta 400. He loves it also.
The other rods we use alot are our 9ft custom built spinning rods, made by Rod Builders Workshop down in Plymouth, he builds a beautiful rod, nice and light, fast tip, will throw up to 2 -3 oz. The reels we have on those are the Diawa 4000 Sia. Great balance and you can throw this all day, also use it for eels.

As for the bigger rods we each have custom made 11' rods for pluggin the big water, set up with Shimano 4500 Baitrunner on mine and baitcaster has on old spiros reel on his.

As for line, I strickly use 14lb fireline on my 7' rod, I have used it for about 4 years now and will not go back to mono. I do use mono on my 9' and 11'. Baitcaster only uses mono, doesn't like the other lines yet!!! Mono's that we use, Berkley Big Game "green", or Silver thread.

Lures, there are so many to choose from, but there are only a few that you might want to pick up to start with, some of our most productive lures are, Chrome creek chub 3/4 oz, this one is leathal. Yo-Zuri Mag popper 1 oz "sardine patern". Gag's grabber Poppers, and rattling bunker. Gibbs pencil poppers 1oz
"red head-white body", or black for night time. The gibbs small Polaris Popper in white or yellow is also very good. I use 3/8 oz jig heads and all pearl with blue fleck shads, the ones we use are called queen cocichos, they are hard to find but berkley makes them, they call theirs the power mullet and they do make them in pearl. As for metal, the "shorty Hopkins" the small one. These work great on a really sunny morning. As for swimmers, the Gag's mambo, in either the herring pattern or the olive is great for dusk and dawn, the black is excellent on a dark night.

Always remember no matter what setup you have balanced tackle is key to great casting and fighting of the fish, no matter how much or how little you spend on it, and never throw a lure which is weighted heavier than what the rod is rated for, unless you know you can get away with it, otherwise all you will end up doing most of the time is snapping it off and having to by a new one.

I will be glad to go around with you at the show and give you a hand, just stop buy our booth and I will take a little break. If you are looking for some great deals the show is the place to get them. Hope this wasn't to confusing Clamdigger, and I hope it helped, see you at the show.