fishing pole shimano

So i live in the middle of no where, and i have some co workers that i work with that like to go fishing all the time. lets just say there religion is fishing... i told them that im new to this and i need some advice on what to invest in.... they told me to check out fishing pole shimano... i have no clue what that is, this is all new to me so tonight im going to do some research on it... i got interested in fishing from watching deadliest catch, and i know fishing in a lake is nothing like that but my other favirote show is about catching the biggest lake monsters and i find that to be intersting. to bad i dont live in africa or places like that with big giant monsters but anyways, im from cali and i know for a fact that we dont have anything like that. but i dont know.... but anyways, they said that this the shimano was a good brand and that i should look into it before i start going to walmart or any other sport place before i buy. im thinking about buying online off of ebay but will see... hopefully some day this thing will help me catch a 700 pound fish but will see... but anyways, i need advice on what kinda bait do i need, does it really matter one what kinda bait, how long should the rod be. is there any good books to read and things like that... my dream is to travel to different places in the next few years and go fishing and experiance different cultures. i love fish so i think its a good idea for me to check these things out. but anyways, im going to head out and do my research on fishing pole shimano... have a great day yall....