St. Simons - Shore / Pier fishing

First time SSI fishing trip coming up the end of July. Looking to take the kids fishing off the pier and maybe do some crabbing.
What equipment do I need for the fishing? I have (3) 7ft med/Heavy action Ugly Sticks with Shimano 4000 reels and (1) 11ft Heavy action with a Daiwa 5000. Will this work for fishing at the pier? What tackle and line do I need? What bait?
What can we expect to catch?

SSI pier can be a rather frustrating pier to fish at times due to the local shark fishermen who seem to think they own the pier. My wife and I have fished it several times and every time, these people have just moved on top of us and virtually taken over the area we were fishing. As they outnumbered us 4:1 there was little we could do or say; our only option was to pack up and leave. This will only be a problem if you desire to fish the deep water at the end of the pier.
There are other areas around SSI we have tried such as Gould's inlet (not impressed with bank fishing there, at all), several bridges (can be good at times during the lower tide swings), the pier at the north end of Sidney Lanier Bridge (never fished it myself), Jekyll Island North beach near the pier (have had good luck there), Jekyll Pier (good for sharks, the occasional Red, whiting at times, flounder, and trout), Jekyll Island south beach (mostly pup sharks, occasional larger ones and whiting).
Crabbing is good at any of these locations.
Rixen Pond on Jekyll (a saltwater pond by the boat ramp) is good at times for spots, croaker, flounder, and trout. There are crabs there also but to catch many of them would require renting a canoe or kayak from the tidelands center there. The pond has a lot of "sea weed" in it which can make it a bit frustrating. I have caught bull reds there, but they are rare. It "says" they stock it with reds, but I don't believe they have done so in many years, typical of government run facilities.
The main beaches on SSI and JI are extremely shallow and I have no experience with fishing them and cannot advise you there. If you can afford it, hiring a guide would be the better route for a more rewarding fishing experience, there are many in the area, not sure of the cost though.
Boats can be rented at the marina just before you get to SSI. Never done so, no idea of the cost. If you're not familiar with the area and have no maps, might not be a good idea due to the many shallow areas in the region.
Hope this information is helpful. Good luck.

Thanks for the information, we are considering hiring a guide for an inland trip.