Something to keep in mind about gear... there are plenty of records that have been taken on barbie reels. While nice gear is nice, you CAN catch on a piece of line tied to a finger, stick, etc. One piece of advice, avoid fly fishing until you have a sense of fishing, and can find someone or a good resource to help teach you. (It's also the MOST expensive version of fishing available in fresh water.)
You need a license for freshwater. Things have gotten funky for saltwater - next year you need a federal license (if I remember correctly it will be $10), but this year you need to register via a phone hotline for free.
Some stuff you'll find: Tons of panfish - bluegill, pumpskinseed, etc. Largemouth bass - surprises me to find them this far north, but I've found small ones in most everything.
Where are you located? I'm not going to burn any spots, but I will say good practice can be found around cat rock park in newton (beware the angry deer) and the south end of hardy pond has a lot of field space for casting practice, and there is a good population of largemouth to cut your teeth on. The place is trashed though, and the mechanic shop near the pond has been cited before for dumping waste into the pond, don't drink the water.
Figure out what you want to learn to fish, realize you are going to get cut, hooked, spiked, finned, and just do it.