Hi Fresh,
Your timing could not be any better. The season is getting ready to bust wide open soon and now is a good time to do your homework so to speak.
As far as where to go I would have to know what area you would be targeting. I fish mostly between the two inlets here in Ocean County. Ortley Beach would be the easiest to get to as they have a parking lot on 3rd Ave. and easy access to the beach.
But my favorite place is Island Beach State park. Harder to read but still a great place to go especially if you bring the family.
Your 8' rod is just right for a beginner off the beach. What reel and what type of line will you be using. You might want to think about switching to a braided type of line in the 30# range which will give you better casting range if you need it. Most of the time though fish are caught no further out than 20 yards or closer.
When I fly fish this is always the case. I usually look for schools of bait fish chased in by larger fish and use them to target either blues or striper's.
If you can get to the beach during the low tide especially today or tomorrow you will be amazed to see everything I wrote about, as the water will be pushed way out by the wind action. The beach will probably look nasty bet still a good learning situation. I take these observations and store them away for further use, remember though the surf is constantly moving and shifting but you will learn a lot if you put the time in, and I do not mean fishing.
I would love to get together to show you further how to read the beach all we have to do is pick a time and place. My favorite beach to show people how to read the beach again would be Ortley Beach, because it has so many different situations in one spot.
Give me an idea of your time table and I am sure I will be able to come up with something.
As far as tying teasers and other flies that would be interesting. I have never been asked to do that before thank you. My method is KISS, keep it simple silly. I do not go in for these elaborate patterns all I want to do is match the hatch and get as close to the bait in the wash as possible.
I try to tie as many different patterns as possible during the winter and spring to get ready for summer, but I have been thinking of bringing a limited amount of tying stuff to the beach and tie right on the spot. I'll see what happens this year.
You can PM me if you like or check out the contacts page for my phone number.
Again thank you for your interest In my strategies.
Happy Catching
Paul
