First off, welcome to the States and the site. I have only been on this site a short while, but i can say it is one of the best. As for your questions, we could sit for hours and discuss what and where, but your best bet is to just jump right in. Go to your local tackle dealer and they can get you started in the right direction. As for places to fish, N J has a lot of great fishing opportunities. Below is the link the the Fish and game site, which can answer a lot of your questions about Licenses, places to fish, seasons, etc. Hope this will get you started, and we hope to see posts from you soon. Good fishing !!!!!
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/fishing.htm