Hi there,
Sorry you felt rushed - I'm not sure if you missed it in the tutorial, but the time only advances when you make a fishing attempt. So basically you can explore the entire lake as much as you like and only advance the clock when you try to catch a fish. This gives you a chance to talk to everyone, look for the rare fish etc.
In terms of having issues with catching junk, the trick is to stay back and draw the fish in closer enough, giving you a better chance to avoid junk and rush forward to catch it at the end.
Thanks for playing though, I appreciate you seeing it through to the end!