Have pre made rigs On hand Sinkers, fish finders, swivels.

A tackle box stocked with the necessary tools?
A five-gallon bucket with a top for a seat is very useful.
Sharpen your hooks.
Use the bucket for gear and or bait, surf bag to hold your favorite tackle, leaders, plugs, lures etc
Travel light, you can cover good distances without dragging along excess baggage. Lunker lights, a Digital scale measuring tape, pliers, a knife, chair, camera, lantern, sand spikes and waders when needed, rain gear when raining,
Not to mention if your going to sit and bait fish , on a cold windy day, bring along a wind breaker,
Bring along something to munch on, water or cool drinks on a hot day , Suntan lotion and above all on a day when the wind is blowing west, bring along bug spray, a must.
Bring along an extra set of clothing in case you get wet on a cold day, and a beach towel.

If you plan to fish a beach that you can drive onto, then obviously you can bring more gear.

A board , a tire gauge & a tow strap, , shovel, I don'r mean a plastic one., some just by a plastic showl just for the pass, all these items are extremely important when driving on the beach ..
Check out the area you plan to fish in the daytime and at low tide. Look for structure and other things like piers, pilings, rocks, turbulence, Cuts , Troughs, bait in the water and feeding birds. Be prepared a head of time, the chances of catching the bigger fish you hear the other guys talk about will be much greater, put the time in to fishing.

Don't alway's depend on a fishing reports, let these reports be your guide
If your home and reading these reports of fish being caught in areas, it's likely by the time you get down to where the fish "WERE" being caught, more then likely the blitz has moved to another location.
One other thing, never shine a light of any kind on the water where other anglers are fishing, some do beleive this will indeed spook the fish.
Always help a fellow angler out when in need, what comes around goes around ..
Good Luck Fishing .