John,
Welcome to the sport! Where do you plan on fishing? (San Diego or Mission Bays,La Jolla, or freshwater) I got started by fishing the bays. You can use your freshwater bass gear and catch a bunch of fish. A 6 lb spinning outfit for working small plastics and a 10 lb medium heavy baitcasting rig for throwing spinnerbaits and working jigs is also a good rig to have. I like to fish the bays early in the day. Especially in the Summer! Too much boat traffic and wind later in the day. I see that you live in Fallbrook. I live in San Marcos. My friends and I go fishing most every weekend. You are welcome to join us anytime. Shoot me a private message and we will set something up.
Robert