New to fishing ?'s

[surffisher]

Hey everyone,
So some of the questions might seem stupid to some, but, please bare with me as I'm trying to learn.
I haven't fished in about 20 years (fished with my grandfather) and now that I have a son I want to learn how to fish before he's old enough for us to fish together. I know that I really enjoy eating Striped Bass, and flounder (the two main fish I'd like to fish for). I would mainly be fishing from the beach Or from inlets and rivers, my questions are as follows.
1 - which set up would you recommend for that type of fishing. Pole, line, hooks, bait, lures, etc? I didn't want to go out and spend money on something since I'm a novice without asking first.
2 - can you recommend techniques to fish those type of fish? I.e. Sinker needed for flounder and slowly reeling in for bass?
3 - do I need a license for recreational fishing?
4 - can I catch both those types of fish from those areas?
5 - lastly, the do's and dont's of fishing?
Again, these might seem trivial to some, but, insight goes a long way to getting someone on their feet. Thank you