I might have known

I was mildly excited as I drove down to Westward Ho! this morning. Was my optimism not already in a pre-existing state of crushedness after months of not catching anything, I might even have been very excited. It was, after all, a beautiful morning, sunny and mild. Low tide was at 8ish. I was thinking of getting there for then, but made it by 10... needed my lie in.
So I got down there, put my new rod together, tied on one of my new lures and began casting. It took me a few casts to get used to the new rod and technique, but before long I was able to push the lure out a decent distance.
But I might as well not have bothered. Two hours I was there, and not a bleeding bite. So what am I doing wrong? Can anybody help me with some sugestions? Does anybody read this or am I simply venting my frustration to an empty worldwide web? Is there anybody out there? Please leave a comment, especially if you're any good at fishing. No reasonable offer of help refused....
A small boy joined me this morning. He didn't say much, just sat about six feet behind my right shoulder. Fortunate really that I didn't accidentally hook his glassses and hurl them out to sea while casting. Even that seemed beyond me.