Go home,return when conditions are right no sense a dead horse. Wasted too much time through the years waiting for them to turn on, which in most cases they don't, because conditions are not to there liking to feed. Knowing when to fish and when to quit comes with experience. Most newbies stay out sometimes for days end result Nada. Example if they feed beginning of a NE and stop they are not going to feed through it come back after it. If they are feeding on NW and stop they usually stop until next front comes through. Has a lot to do with the barometer, not the newbie mistake of water looks good. Many times they feed a particular stage of tide only period. They are like people they don't eat 24/7. When there is a slow pick IMO it's not a bite just an occasional fish eating no sense wasting 10 hours to catch 1 fish.
Keep a log and refer to it that's how 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish they are fishermen. Learning spots in an area and what spot produces in certain conditions will make you good. Riding up and down the coast chasing reports ,wastes time,learning and gas because by time you get there its over or hence the slow pick. Experienced fisherman just don't fish because the water looks good, I've caught more fish with out a pounding surf than with one. I average, hundreds of released bass a year for the past 7 yrs in a 6 mile area. Spending your time fishing and learning not scouting and chasing reports will make you good. Scout during the winter it passes the time and can be done with far less gas and time than you wasted during the season. Catching bass is not a CELL PHONE/INTERNET sport it just made allot of people so called bass fisherman. Take away the CELL PHONE/INTERNET and most are clueless. Remember even blind squirrels find an egg corn from time to time.


May not be what you want to read but been a fact of my life for over 45 years of bass fishing. Fish for the sport of it not for killing to support an ego, another lesson to learn. Use a camera to verify a catch it will fit in with most peoples cell phone /internet skills.