Occasionally fish will school up and feed very actively right in the surf. This is especially true of bluefish, striped bass, or Spanish mackerel, particularly early and late in the day. Lures need to be cast out and retrieved, and when retrieved, look like a harried bait fish swimming away from the predator. If you have to pick one or two lures, choose something that is shiny and heavy enough to cast. When you buy one, buy a spare.
Some handy accessories are a knife, a pair of pliers, and a rag.
If I am walking over to the beach and not driving, I carry a five gallon plastic bucket. Hook your rigs and lures around the top, put your knife, bait, a few pieces of ice and a cold drink or two in the bottom, and use it to carry off your fish. One other item you don't want to be without is a sand spike, a piece of PVC pipe that is shoved down into the sand. The butt of your fishing rod is inserted into the pipe. Never lay the rod and reel down in the sand.