I have fished St Pete / Clearwater from shore numerous times and you will catch a variety of fish, we caught a lot of salt water cats, sharks, sheepshead, snapper and whiting. The only fish we consumed was the sheepshead, I had negative connotations from it being a rough fish in Wisconsin but it was delicious. Look for cook and catch restaurants, you bring your fillets in and they cook your fish and you can just order sides.
Here’s my set up that I use for surf fishing in Florida and Caribbean, the Cabela’s Salt Striker rod and reel combos travel well in carry-on or checked luggage, I run a Kast King sling pack for wadding and a rod holder for surf fishing. The salt is brutal on equipment and I rinse everything in the shower or foot wash stations at the hotel. I usually buy a small cheap Styrofoam cooler to keep bait in and then throw it away when I’m done, the shore birds will steal all your bait if left unattended. If you pre-rig a Wolf River style rig with an Owner hook and use shrimp as bait you will catch a nice variety. Maybe sheepshead bite all year long in that area but if you fish the pier columns you should connect, I caught a lot of species on artificial spoons and inline spinners but I like the D.O.A. shrimp in a root beer color for those waters. Have a great time!