Aaron_H

Definitely would be overkill for bass, unless you wanted to do heavy punching or throw some medium-sized swimbaits exclusively. For the 2500 reel, I'd say take a look at the Daiwa BG (as another user mentioned), it's the best inshore spinning reel at its price point IMO. I see you're located in Georgia, so at that size reel, I'd look at medium to medium heavy rods since you could cover a wide range of techniques for bass, speckled trout, and redfish. With a max budget of $150, the Shimano SLX, Shimano Clarus, Dobyns Fury, St. Croix Mojo Bass, and St. Croix Bass X would the the models I would look at, they all come in lengths and powers/actions that would do well for you on a kayak targeting those species.

Yeah, won't someone think of the poor multi-billion dollar corporation?? How dare he pay the price they labeled it for! ??

I've waded out waist deep to get a "lucky" crankbait back a few times, but I don't think I'd go swimming for one.

Florida is definitely on another level along with Texas and California. Looking forward to seeing your PB grow.

Rage Craw would be my overall pick, but honorable mentions to the Rage Bug when I want a bulkier presentation and the Sweet Beaver when I want less action.

If you're bank fishing, try looking into smaller bodies of water (IE ponds and canals). I'm a bit north of you so I can't point you to any specific spots, but the area from WPB down to Ft Lauderdale is absolutely littered with ponds. Just hop on Google Maps and work your way through them figuring out which are legal to fish and then which ones have quality fisheries. You can use Google Earth Pro to look at past satellite imagery for the area to get an idea of when the pond was formed and if/how the structure/vegetation changes throughout the year. This will help you weed out the ponds that will be a waste of time (no fish or only small fish). Try and fish ponds that have been around 10+ years, they'll be your best bet. You can absolutely break your current PB pond hopping here in FL. Even small ponds can have hold some big ones, so don't think you have to fish lakes or huge ponds. I've got a buddy that fishes a little rinky dink pond that's just a hair over 3/4 of an acre, but he caught two 6lb bass in one day from it.

I've thrown 1/2 oz chatterbaits with various trailers on a 7'2" MH SLX that's rated 1/4-3/4 oz and the rod has never felt like it's being overloaded. I don't like the rod for bladed jigs as it's and XF but it handles casting/retrieving the lure just fine. Conversely, I have another MH rod (7'1" MH/F) that is rated up to 1oz which is overpowered by that same 1/2 oz chatterbait/trailer (but handles a 1/2 oz spinnerbait like a champ). I think you'll be fine, but it sounds like you've got the right idea to just try different sizes and see what feels best on the rod.

They're everywhere down here. Good fight when they're aggressive enough to strike a lure, though. This past December I got a 7lb 13oz and an 8lb 10oz on a lipless crank, talk about ripping drag.... Hard to target with artificials most of the year but when they start spawning they get very fired up. I've caught them on plastics, crankbaits, even a chatterbait last spring....