Website information gathering

Apologies if this has already been discussed, I'm new to this.

I'm new to kayak fishing and safety is definitely a priority for me.  I have my PFD, radio, whistle, etc. and practicing my self-rescue.
My question is:  when looking at sites such as NOAA, Tides4Fishing, or others (recommendations gladly welcomed!).  What are people generally looking at to make an educated decision on if going out is a good idea or not?  Or what general information are people gathering from these sites

Many thanks

For us kayakers, wind speed and direction are most important factors.  Next come the tidal , wave height and duration.

Windy app is what I usually use.  I find the GFS model seems to be more accurate for our area than the default ECMWF model.

Should have added that if wind gusts are greater than 15mph, I usually don't go out.  Usually we are fine before 11AM.

One of the best recommendations I have seen and quote whenever such a question arises comes from Adam (Fishunter)
"WTTM~~  i start with:
Swell size. = 6ft and under is prime. anything over that gets dicey.

Wind swell will make it bumpy = anything below 4ft is doable. If the wind swell is four feet, that usually means it's windy and not good for Yakfishing, but a 2-4ft wind swell is workable.

When you see pics of the ocean and it looks like a lake.The WX is usually something like: 3-4ft swell + 1-2ft windswell. When the wind swell is even or close to the swell size, it usually is crappy.Unless it is under 4 ft.

When the WX says the wind will drop below 5kts overnight, the swell is under 6ft and the windswell is below 3 and dropping, you should be dropping everything important, because it is time to fish the ocean.

another factor up your ways is a: Long Period South Swell. These usually happen in summer&fall. The long period means the swell is thicker, it says this: 4ft swell@16seconds= meaning it takes 16 seconds for the buoy to move up&down within that 4ft of swell, which translates into a THICK &HEAVY WAVE. When the radio calls for this type of swell, it usually comes in sets. Once those major lines of sets pass, it will be a while before another builds up.

There are many other factors, but this is how I plan my attack. Tides will be the next thing to plan for.
 Hope it helped and remember BUDDY UP and BE SAFE. "

Here is the link to the entire thread:
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=32677.msg347875#msg347875

Windy app is what I usually use.  I find the GFS model seems to be more accurate for our area than the default ECMWF model.

Second this. Windy works well. Also I hate to admit it but just googling "[local spot] wind" is often more accurate than a lot of apps. In the SF bay, most apps underestimate the wind. My rule of thumb is you want a window (usually early morning) with winds of <8mph.

I look at lots of sites - windy, weather.gov, wunderground, swellinfo, magic seaweed, and then kind of mentally average them, or if I really want to go fishing I pick the most favorable forecast. I like Crash's Law:

Roughly:

If swell in feet <= .5(period in seconds)

and

Swell  in feet + wind in kts <= 15

then

Fish

else

Drink beer

Apologies if this has already been discussed, I'm new to this.

I'm new to kayak fishing and safety is definitely a priority for me.  I have my PFD, radio, whistle, etc. and practicing my self-rescue.
My question is:  when looking at sites such as NOAA, Tides4Fishing, or others (recommendations gladly welcomed!).  What are people generally looking at to make an educated decision on if going out is a good idea or not?  Or what general information are people gathering from these sites

Many thanks

Start by going out in FAC (flat ass calm) conditions. Take note of all the variables. And work yourself up from there. Comfort in conditions is gained through experience and is also subjective.

Something that helped me define my own tolerance for wind was to use a cheap handheld anemometer and measure the wind during several trips. Now I know the actual winds speeds I'm comfortable with.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PXJWC7X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Something that helped me define my own tolerance for wind was to use a cheap handheld anemometer and measure the wind during several trips. Now I know the actual winds speeds I'm comfortable with.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PXJWC7X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's a great idea. But, for cheapskates, the Beaufort scale is surprisingly useful:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale

At about 10 knots you start to see whitecaps and for kayakers, things deteriorate pretty rapidly beyond that point.