Friend of mine is in the market for an all around setup, not an avid fisherman, but likes to get out maybe 3-4 times a month during the summer. More fair weather fishing than any, light bottom species w/blues and stripers mixed in occasionally. I have given him my recommendation but would like to hear what others have to offer. Again, he is not particular to all the absurd/crazy things we all worry about so an intermediate level set up with the versatility to do all is what I would like to advise to him.
The constraints are as follows:
Budget: $250.00
Option A
Type: Party Boat Fishing
Target Species: Inshore (Fluke, Sea Bass

, Blues, Stripers)
Rod: Off the shelf non custom (please specify taper and length)
Reel: Conventional (Mono or Braid capable)
Fisherman: Right Handed Retrieve (I'm a backward lefty)
To make a few changes to spice things up I would be interested to see what people would change given the above would read as follows:
Type: Private Boat/Charter
Rod: Custom ONLY
Hope to see some interesting replies....