Charlie,
One more piece of advice, either go to a library or buy the following books:
"Stripers and Streamers" by Ray Bondorew
"Striper Moon" by Ken Abrames
"Inshore Fly Fishing" by Lou Tabory
"Saltwater Naturals" by George Roberts
"Striper Surf" by Frank Daignault
The info contained in these books will allow you to develop a SYSTEM which
will work. You will get a variety of opinions concerning just about every
facet of the sport from various posters. Extraneous bits of advise taken
out of context of the SYSTEM used can cause frustation and confusion. One
man's pet is often another man's poison, when it comes to tackle and
techniques used for SW FFing.
These books, particularly the first will give you a SYSTEM of line, leader,
fly, and techniques; which will work.
As you gain experience, you can develop your own SYSTEM. If you digress and
screw things up you can use the SYTEMs detailed in the books as baselines to
get you back on track.
Using the knowledge and experience of the above authors is the quickest way
to success.
Have fun and good reading.