Hey mitch here.
i am still very green when it comes to saltwater. i am from minnesota and make it down to florida once a year at best. freshwater fishing is fun but saltwater is an absolute blast. I can catch whiting, ladyfish,sheepshead and the occasional pompano without too much trouble, but i am very interested in catching something that will strip drag in the surf. from what i hear amberjacks are a blast. I'm just looking for some insight on how to do this near the tampa bay area. what bait do i use, what rigs and maybe what time of day.
No Disrespect, But If You Want Amberjack You Wont Catch Them From The Shore, They Are A Deep Water Structure Fish And Extrimely Tuff, The Best Set Up For Them Is A Modified Grouper Set Up With A Lively Bait In Season. They Pull Hard And Are Quite A Fight. If You Have The Oppurtinuty Go On Some Of The Local Drift Boats And Take A Trip Out 
sure, like i said I'm very new to this, good to know not to waste my time.
Not To Say That Its Never Been Done, I Just Never Heard Of A Amberjack Caught In The Surf 
You may be thinking of jack crevalles you can catch some good size ones from the beach. I have caught big ones in the surf with a spoon, Zara spook, and live mullet or finger mullet etc!!!!
i would have never guessed to use a zara spook, but they work huh?
As Jacks Are Voracious Feeders They Will Strike Anything, They Are Ambush Feeders And Strike jigs, Spoons, Plugs, etc.
Yea I've had them blast a Zara spook. But yea they usually hit a variety of jigs and plugs!!
Yeah, Im pretty sure he's referring to Crevelle. I catch alot of em in Tampa Bay, nearly from every seawall, dock, or pier. They school up and tear up schools of baitfish like maniac's and eat anything you throw at em in the bay. Just gotta follow the school or keep heading them off so they come to you and you can catch them ALL DAY LONG (boat, canoe, kayak). They pass by the seawalls, docks and piers in the bay frequently because theyre always on the move following baitfish schools. If you're looking for Jacks just for fun and/or Sharkbait youll likely love Ladyfish as well 
Theyre a blast on light tackle too and do the same things as jacks and sometimes the schools intermingle and terrorize bait. They jump repeatedly and do flips and spit out lures in midair like a long shiny skinny bass on meth and speed combined ! When are you in the Tampa Bay area? And where abouts? I just fished the grassflats of T Bay this morn. Bunch of trout and ladyfish all over the flats right now.
Spanish mack are fun to catch in the surf and fairly easy to catch
Snapper are fun also on light tackle.
Just use some live shrimp.
You might need to be around some rocks or a pier,bridge, or mangroves
Well if your looking for something to pull drag in the surf try going for
Blacktips. Pull drag, sharks so added cool factor, easy to hook, and plentiful in the right season.
Hmmm... Surf fish that pull drag?? First thing that comes to mind is sharks! on surf casting gear, Blacktips, Sandbars can be really fun. As for others that come to mind would be... Snook, Jacks, Rays, Cobia,Tarpon, and Kings any one of those with some size on them will burn some drag.