Hey Justin, welcome aboard. Before you go & invest in something you might not be satisfied with, I'd suggest hopping aboard a charter boat once or twice or even going out with some of the other fishermen on this site. A lot of us would be willing to show you the ropes. There's a section on the site here titled Open Seats/Trade a Trip. When you get to Ft. Drum, post a thread in there & I'm sure you'll get more than one invite (myself included). In the meantime, browse thru the various sub-forums and try to glean as much info as you can. When you get on the water with one of us it will come together and make sense on how & why we do things a certain way. Except when it comes to buying gear, & that's just an addiction
So from a fellow vet, welcome again & enjoy your stay here. Thanks for your service to our great United States of America.