What I love about surf fishing is that you don't need a lotta flies (but you know I did tie more than I will ever need) and the drive to my nearest beach is around 30 min and there's never traffic, I have caught some fish out of luck I guess.
Don't worry, by the time we meet to fish I'll know a bit more. I'm meeting with a very knowledgeable fly angler this Sunday, he's going to teach me about the timing and the waves and all. I have a 9' single hand rod, you don't really have to cast far to catch fish in the surf.
I'll post pix when I get to fish this weekend. Nice to hear from you again.