Surfing Waves

this is my second season surfing. rode an 7-8foot longboard to get the feel for things all last summer and this summer i now have a 6'4" board. My height is 5'7" approx 155-160lbs. Ive been out almost every day this week and just looking for some more pointers. My main question is positioning on the board when catching the wave. my head is about a foot and a half away from the nose of the board, which has been doing ok for me, but i do miss a good amount of waves. ive tried moving up a little and noticing the board nosediving as soon as the wave catches me. other than that, i think i got the basics down pretty good. Im open for any suggestions that anyone has to offer whether about position or not. so please, feel free to mention anything

It really depends on the size of the waves. Typically you should be laying on the board so that the nose is just above the water level. On shorter boards it is harder to catch waves because you need to be paddling a lot harder.
If you are surfing on small 1-2ft waves then you should be laying a little bit more forward to catch the waves and when you have popped up, lean forward more.

thnx, that actually helped me out alot.

If you're not too sure if you have your position on the board right; scootch around a little. Paddle a few strokes, then move a little forward and paddle a little more, move a little backward and paddle a little more. When the nose keeps diving; you're too far forward. If you feel extra drag; you're too far back.

Use you're wave knowledge you've developed from riding the 7-8' board, so you can be in the right spot to catch the wave. You are going to need to be closer the break zone.

Use some extra strong strokes (really put in the effort) to catch the waves. Also, lift up your head and chest a little before the wave starts to pick you up.

Don't feel bad/discouraged by missing a good amount of waves; that's normal. You really need to concentrate just on catching the wave when you are on a shortboard.