I disagree, luck has alot to do with it. Maybe not luck, but fate. Fronts, temperatures, lighting, water movement and depth, etc. All of these things have an effect on your fishing, and none of it even gets into what you can do or not.
Of course, luck can be superceded by skill, and confidence in what you're doing boosts skills immensely.
I saw in a previous post you're "just north of Philadelphia." Come spring time, if you want to take a drive up to the Lehigh Valley, I'll take you out to somewhere and help put you onto areas where there's fish, and then you can work on the skill and minimize the luck.
Until then, don't worry about catching.. Jdaddy (downer) got it right, just practice. Hell, its cold and the fish don't want to be bothered wasting precious energy stored on chasing food. So, with the thought of minimized catch in your mind, go out there and practice on laying down a decent cast w/o splashing into the water, picking it back up without ripping it off, accuracy, and how long you can drift it. You can do that even from shore, and not worry about freezing in the water or wasting precious time donning waders.
For casting, a member, OldLefty, gave me a huge tip... Don't just practice long casts...Pick a point on the grass or the water, and then cast to put your fly there. Anyone can huck a line for distance, but can you put it down into a saucer at 30'?
One skill impresses passersby, one skill will help you immensely.
As for time? I have twin 3yos.. I understand. When you come up for your spring trip, you can leave your wife and kid at the Promenade Mall for window shopping. I'll take you from there.