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Notaro, if I could echo what John said about making a plan, I would also suggest creating a file system for yourself. I in no way consider myself an expert in any specific branch of saltwater fishing, and that's why when I see a new topic that interests me, that I might want to try, I grab a manilla folder and I start filling it with everything I can find on that topic. For example, a couple of years ago I was asked to go on a tuna charter. I had never done this before, but what little I knew about it excited me. It was an overnight trip, it wasn't cheap and I wasn't going to go and be embarrassed because I didn't have a clue, so I started researching everything I could find on the terminal tackle, rods, reels, line, techniques, species, what I needed to bring with me, the boat, the captain, etc. I went out and bought a lot of stuff including a new rod and reel. The day the trip came I was confident, but reserved (being the newbie). With a little advice from some seasoned veterans on the trip out I got some more advice on knots, how to disguise a circle hook in a butterfish, practice what to do if I hooked up, that I should put on my transderm scop patch before I felt seasick, etc. Well needless to say it's been three trips and still no tuna, but I keep trying and adding to that file when I find something, and before my next trip I'll pour over that file again and gather together what I need for that type fishing. I keep files for cod, stripers, flounder, weakfish, as well as spots I've been to, spots I've heard of, some miscellaneous stuff, etc., and I buy books that seem appropriate, too. This all has a sort of nerdy twist to it, but until I can do it by rote like some of the knowledgeable and esteemed peers here, that's how I have to do it. Exhaust the Internet, Notaro. Alot of it is right there at your fingertips, the rest you just have to experience and learn first hand, which you can do if you've prepared ahead of time.
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