Hello and welcome,
I am new to the site as well and if I cant give you feedback on what you should buy I can tell you what works for me.
I started with a 6.6 and a 7 foot rods medium/heavy,
Spincast or open face, I prefere a bait caster ( but they take lots of practice and can get quite expensive ) get a medium size open face reel if you get one too large you decrease the distance you can cast.
10 to 14 lb test fishing line works really well ( clear in color works good in most places for me )
A tackle box ( nothing really big ) and fill it with 3 to 6 inch plastic worms and lizzards, colors that work anywhere watermelon, pumpkin seed ,chartreuse work great, 3 to 5 inch suspending crank baits I like ones that have black on top and either gold or silver on the bottom.
I like 2/0 or 3/0 offset hooks with 1/4 to 1/2 oz bullet style weights.
You can get all of this stuff at your friendly local wal-mart for around 100 to 150 bucks !
But I cant express to you enough BE SAFE and take your time and you will have a lot of fun!!!!