Sounds like a 7' MHF would cover what you'd like to do. You can do a little bit of everything with it. I'm a big fan of St. Croix and hear nothing but good things about the new Mojo Bass rod.
Always some good deals going on in the flea market for reels too. Something 6:3:1 would probably be best. I've only used Shimano but there are a bunch of other quality reels out there too.