I will be going down to Surf Side next week and staying at a beach house. I don't do alot of saltwater fishing so not real sure what my options are. Am I wasting my time shore fishing? I don't have a yak or anything to get my baits out far. I'm not looking to catch jaws but just want to catch fish.

Any tips/suggestions appreciated.

Most fish caught in the surf are caught within a stones throw from the sand. Its a common misconception to think that you have to go far out to get to the fish. Bring some live shrimp and fish in the 1st and second gut if the water is flat and you should be able to catch plenty of fish. If the water isn't flat cast some dead shrimp or cut mullet from the beach and you should be able to catch drum, whiting, and sharks

you can fish the jetty over there if you wanna fish further out. If the water is green and laid down take the above advice and use live shrimp about 3ft below a cork. Fishing bottom at the jetty can deplete ones tackle quickly.

Thanks for the tips! Any kind of lures work well or mostly live/dead bait?

I myself mainly use live shrimp. If its a calm clear surf I will throw a top dawg at em. And dragging tout tails slowly along bottom have been known to produce a flounder or 2. A guy I work with goes to surfside jetty often, very often and always seems to catch the [censored] out of specs. He only fishes the end though and if you are packing a lot of stuff out there it will be a killer walk unless you got a good cart to push or pull it in. I usually make it half way plus the end always gets crowded and all the hang ups with other lines just chaps my butt. Hope this helps. I am not a pro by any means.