Why do we think bank fishing is so bad? Most of the boats I see on the water are throwing to the bank. lol Yet, we sit on a bank and throw out as far as possible. For me I just fish as much of the bank as possible. I also start with plastic worms or lizards. When nothing is biting at the bank, throw out farther and give the bait time to sink. Crankbaits and rattle traps work better for me farther out in the water, but I have noticed they get hit as soon as they hit the water just as often as they do pulling them across the middle or bottom of the water. Bottom line, practice as often as you can and start paying attention to what the fish do and like. Anything that can get around and down into fallen trees, etc, is going to get bit.