An old Jewish neighbor of mine had a favorite expression he’d pass on to me after watching me struggle with yet another project. He’d watch me for a while, he’d stroke his grizzled beard, and then he’d say, “Don’t work harder, my son, work smarter!”
And so it’s been like that through my life; when confronted with a job that seems to be more work than it should be; I’d figure out a way to do it more easily. Fishing is no different, if you can make it easier on yourself, go for it! Nowadays, with most people finding it harder to fit in any free time for the more important things in life (like fishing), it pays to maximize the experience while minimizing the time spent. This is sometimes referred to as “high percentage fishing” .
All the fish in San Francisco Bay respond one way or another to the ever changing tides and currents that run through the bay. By learning the best tides and currents to fish for your targeted species, you can plan the optimal days to fish months ahead of time, thereby freeing up all those non-productive days to get stuff done around the house (or the car, or the boat, or the office, or whatever).