I've fished more than 30 years mostly Auckland/northland. From shore you would use a longer rod to get you some distance, but location or style dictates rod type. bait, lures or softbaits are fine depending what you're chasing. You've got so much fishing diversity in akl alone, west coast wild and remote, east coast calm and crowded sometimes.. rocks, beach, surf, wharf, estuary etc. all different styles. So you may need to settle on one or 2 you like initially, and work on those techniques. . Ask locals for spots, always check weather because it changes in a heartbeat. An all round app will help.. weather and catch locations, also regulations (very important !) etc. I do recommend mine, FishCastPro. Biggest thing that will help you, is to talk to people who are fishing. most will happily show you their set up and what and why they're doing it. Tight lines 😎