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Hmmmm...boy, did I get trolled up on this one.
"But I do sometimes ask a question like "I want to go to Fresh Pond Rocks tomorrow night, but it's low tide and the wind is out of the east. Should I bother?"
It's okay to ask, but if a guy who looks like he might know recommends that you become more familiar with yourself, consider yourself lucky. At least he spoke to ya.
As a newbie, regardless of when you started, you gotta pay your dues. That means finding out for yourself by going to see if your timing is right or not, and trying to figure out what went right or wrong depending. THAT is a large part of the game - self-reliance. It's okay to ask - better to tell someone you've done it 10 times in a row with no luck. They may take pity on ya then if they knew you at least tried on your own.
There's a work ethic in shore fishing that's sorta blue-collar in a way - and guys will respect those who work for what they know regardless of how much or how little it is. At least ya tried.
I RE-started surf-fishing later in life - lots later than you I'll bet - and worked pretty hard at it with little success for a long time - so I just kept at it, read a lot, went to seminars talked to guys I knew AFTER I tried everything else and was aware that any little tidbit was worth more than money - it represented hours out of a man's life spent in the quest for knowledge. And after a while a coupla guys took pity on me beating my brains out with a few pointers here and there. Can't tell ya how much that meant to me. And not just in terms of fish-catching.
Saltheart hit it dead on the nuts. If it's ONLY about catching for you, you're not gonna like it. It ain't just about fish for many. It's just that they occasionally get pinned to the end of your line through acquired skills or dumb-ass luck and it's pretty goddammed excitin'. It's the frosting on the cake.
Here endeth the sermon for today.
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