Have never been surf fishing. Priority is enjoying some mornings on the beach, where I used to spend a lot of time.
Any advice to get me started would be greatly appreciated. Buy gear, or rent some? Suggestions on any books to read would be great, websites to look at? My experience has all been freshwater. Realize I'm not giving much in the way of specifics, just need some pointing in the right direction, if you'd be so kind. Thanks.

If you're going surf fishing in NC in March don't get your hopes up too high. Usually water temps are pretty low and things are pretty slow. Not to say you can't catch anything, but things will pick up a bit in April, usually. May can still be a crapshoot. Start looking for some fishing reports from that area. Try a google search for tackle shops southport nc and see if you can find any with daily fishing reports which you can monitor between now and when you go to get an idea of how things are going. Also, you can probably find a facebook surf fishing group from that area to get an idea of what's going on. There's a SC surf fishing group I joined and it keeps me up to date with what's going on down here. Once you begin to get an idea of what species you can reasonably target in the location and during the time period you'll be there, you will have a better idea of what your tackle needs are. Then you can start shopping tackle or deciding to rent. Personally, I prefer to use my own stuff and I did even when I only got a chance to surf fish for one or two weeks a year. Good luck.

Thanks for your post, the advice and info seem spot on from what else I have been reading. Looks like I may have to bump the timing of the trip out a bit. I appreciate your help!