The Milky Way has it's own rotational cycle like the moon and isn't always visible. The program you NEED to use is Stellarium. The program takes a little bit to figure out, but once you do you can input your location and it will show you your night sky, constellations, Milky Way, and so much more. those two Milky Way shots were planned out months ahead of time because I could move through time and know when I would have no moon (or that it would be down soon enough) and exactly where in the night sky to find the Milky Way and at what hours.
The desktop/laptop version is free. There is a version for tablets, but that has a small cost. Best part, no internet is needed. So helpful to take the laptop with me when I'm in remote areas and not be hindered because I don't have internet.
Mid summer is our best time to shoot the Milky Way for our location on the planet. You can shoot it in the winter months, but it's just not as spectacular. I wanted to shoot it last night but the clouds rolled in and it was going over the horizon by like 8-9 pm. I wouldn't discourage you from trying at this time of the year so that you hone your skills for summer.
Here is the website:
Stellarium