Tips for Distance?

[BillM]

I got my first fly rod&reel to the beach yesterday after practicing in a soccer field all afternoon. I had some good coaching from some fishermen on the shore. Now I'm wondering if there are any good tactics for getting better distance.
I have a 9ft 8wt. St. Croix with a 3.5"Konic reel. The line is 9wt cold weather salt water line ( intermeadiate )with a 16lb tapered leader. I was using mostly a Clouser I tied with barbell eyes. Also about a foot of coated steel leader, about 12lb test.
I noticed the line would shoot good but the fly seemed to be floating in all directions, usually hitting the water after the line.
does anyone have a good tip for setting up leaders? I want to keep it tough in case of Bluefish.