I’ve on,y recently started learning dots. I started because I joined the same educational trust music group my kids attend. They are grade 5 and 3 on various woodwinds and within those grades can sight read anything.
So when I was given sheet music I was pretty much lost. Now I’m not. Now I don’t feel like an idiot anymore.
However it has also opened up a massive new world for me - now I can simply look for sheet music for anything I want to play and not rely on crap web tabs. It’s not just bass music either - anything written on the bass clef is now doable. Sometimes I get tuba and piano parts instead if that is what the trust has. Tuba and piano parts don’t usually have chord boxes or similar information.
i can now read rhythm as well - tab does not give rhythmic information.
ive been dabbling for about 4 years, and seriously doing it for 1. My playing has improved and I’m more confident.
I started using Double bass sight reading tests and just practicing 5 or 10 minutes a day. Doesn’t need any more to really make progress. 2 hours in one sitting is a crap idea - brains don’t work like that. Little and often is far more efficient.
Ive also signed up for the Jeff Berlin course. It’s pretty good but it’s really just an extension of the double bass stuff I’m practising.
Go go for it - my feeling is that I used to be allowed in the library but I couldn’t understand the books. Now I can read them, even if I’m really not that much further into the shelves than the hungry caterpillar!