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Random Quote: My idea of a perfect "10" is a 2 and 8 beers.
I have a fishing boat but no fishing gear. I would like to try fishing for dolphin out of Port Canaveral. What kind of rods/reels should I be looking at? Can you do any good with just a couple of rods?
If you're going to troll, yeah, a few rods will be fine to start with and figure out if it's something you like doing... Shimanos are great (TLD20's or 25's). Boater's World also runs a lot of specials on the Penn GTi 330's and Penn 4/0 (113h) combos with a penn boat rod for 99 bucks... That's a hard deal to beat for dolphin trolling. The GTi's are level wind reels. They're all very reliable and very economical... If you're just trolling for dolphin, you don't need anything serious. 4/0 sized reels on rods with regular line guides will work fine.... You'll always want to have a few extra combos on the boat just in case, but if you're trolling, start by pulling two lines with some rigged ballyhoo or rigged squid and you'll catch fish...
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2011 Contender 21 Open w/ Yamaha F250B
Keep it simple with a Penn 4/0 HSP and Ugly Stick with rollers.......50lb line and a 20 ft of FC 80lb leader.
FWIW - the most important think I know about mahi fishing is sharpening the hooks (I learned this here on THT last year - outstanding results will result).
Tireless posted a thread about"how to catch the runaway mahi", that got alot of really great feedback. Try a search, and the info will take a few years off the learning curve.
Keep it simple with a Penn 4/0 HSP and Ugly Stick with rollers.......50lb line and a 20 ft of FC 80lb leader.
FWIW - the most important think I know about mahi fishing is sharpening the hooks (I learned this here on THT last year - outstanding results will result).
If you get a 40+ lb. dolphin, which isn't uncommon, hitting a spinning reel when you're traveling 7 to 8 mph the opposite way, you're in for a run. As far as live baiting or drifting or dead baiting, even, spinners are great, but I'd never troll with one... That being said, I've seen people do it, so I guess it's possible.
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2011 Contender 21 Open w/ Yamaha F250B
Get two of those Boater's World specials...Penn 330GTi's w/the Penn Boat Rod...excellent starting gear...spool'em w/30# Ande mono...drag rigged 'hooskirted with Billy Bait "Master Hooker with Rattles" in Blue/Fushcia at 4-8 kts. Good for dolphin, wahoo, kings, bonita, etc. Ice'em down, clean'em, grill'em, and eat'em!!
Then get cool, drop one rig down deeper with a 24 oz. trolling weight...
Be careful using level winds for pelagics like 'hoos and dolphins, I might be over-cautios but when dealing with such species I prefer not having to worry about the risk of one of those reels blowing up on me just because I didn't feel like leveling.
Also, if you're targetting these species spefically, bring a couple of medium spinner outfitters, there's alot of fun to be had in pulling a 20lbs dolphin or a 'hoo from under some flotsom.
4 tld 25's and 2 baitrunner 4500's for pitching to dolphin would be fine to 45 lb fish. 20 lb Mono back and 50 lb power pro the 4500's, 40 lb straight mono for the tld's. Medium heavy rods all the way around.
I agree with dssmith's setup above, but I would vary a little by running a pair of TLD20s loaded with 20# mono and another pair of TLD25s with 30#. 6' or 6-1/2' glass rods with a roller tip, maybe all rollers. That's a solid trolling setup for South Florida. 50# line is too heavy, not needed and counterproductive. Add a pair of 20# spinners on 6-1/2 or 7' rods so you can toss a bait when you hit a school of dolphin.
TLDs are perfect for South Florida trolling, they will last forever and are quite smooth with an excellent drag. Daiwa BG or Penn spinners are the best bang for the buck and will also last forever.
The dolphin in Florida aren't as big as the Bahamas or mahi in Hawaii, schoolies averaging under 10 lbs but up to 30 lbs not uncommon. Anything over 40 is pretty rare and worthy of bragging rights.
go see my friend Cap't Jack at CJ's rod and reel repair (not Cap't Jack shop) on Mullet drive he'll make you what ever you need. Even put your name on it with a pretty little dolphin picture Tell him Malcolm sent ya.
Rods/Reels for dolphin fishing 
As far as live baiting or drifting or dead baiting, even, spinners are great, but I'd never troll with one... That being said, I've seen people do it, so I guess it's possible. 
