Never fished Florida, but I fish South Carolina surf every fall. Basic spinning gear like a bass or catfish rod/reel will work. I start with a top/bottom rig with 2 hooks and pyramid sinker on bottom. I will post a link to show how to tie them. Super easy. No less than 15 pound test line, as most fish you catch will be toothy.
For bait, sand fleas you dig up on the beach are awesome. You can also use fresh/frozen shrimp, crab, squid, or mullet. Mullet is the bait fish of choice for ocean fish. The frozen stuff works well. Just fillet it and leave the meat side facing out. Make sure no scales cover the barb of the hook. My favorite and most effective bait is FishBites. It a powerbait type product that has a mesh tape type substance in it that holds it on your hook. It’s AMAZING. It outfishes most live bait from my experience. My favorites are the bloodworm and shrimp flavors, but they have it available in almost every flavor.
Any more questions feel free to pm me. I love surf fishing. Been doing it almost 20 years now
3 Levels of Fishing Rigs Tying! Bottom Fishing/ High-Low rig - YouTube
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