I have not fished the surf on the east coast, but have on the west coast. Not sure if you should expect much difference.

On the California coast, the standard set up is a 7wt rod with a 250 or 300 gr integrated sink tip line. You want your flies on the bottom and a relatively heavy sink tip line works well to keep them there. I like a floating running line so I can mend it over the waves as needed. Cast it as far as you can in the trough between the waves and let the fly get rolled around in the surf. Strip slowly so you keep connected to the fly and can feel any strikes. Keep stripping in until just your leader and a couple feet of line is out of the rod tip and cast it out again. Repeat... I like to use a stripping basket if there is much surf, otherwise the line will get carried away by the surf and make your next cast difficult or will get wrapped around your feet making the next cast impossible.

The flies I have used in the surf are usually not very big, size 2-6, but they are weighted. They are meant to look like small minnows, surf candies, clousers, etc., or like crabs.

If you have stingrays in the area, make sure you take caution when wading.

Hope you have fun,
Ted