Rod & reel setup for a noob?

[taggermike]

I don't know if I'm a pro but I have been at this for a while. Your question might be broader than you know. There are many styles of local kayak fishing. Live bait, heavy and light irons, and plastic are some. some techniques require specialized equipment. There are also plenty of fish species to target locally as well. There isn't one out fit that will do every thing perfectly. Eventually if you continue ocean yak fishing you will need a few more out fits, but to start out you might want to concider a 7' rod rated for 20-30 lb line and a conventional reel to match it. A basic Penn stroker or power rod with a Penn 500 reel will get you started and you can catch about every thing you can hook locally with it. If your budget is higher there are loads of great rods and reels available in the same line ratings. For summer/fall fishing most of my better fish, yellow tail are my usual target, have been caught slow trolling live bait with a rod the size of the one I recomended. It would be a bit heavy for throwing plastic baits and too light and short for surface irons but it will work for most bait fishing and trolling. That's a start. Mike