I'm going to go try a bank fishing from a few small ponds around me tomorrow. water surface temp on the bigger lake was hovering around 50 on sunday so i assume the ponds will be somewhere around 55. its been rainy/windy the past few days so the visibility is probably around 3 feet. any suggestions on what I should use?

Jerkbait jerkbait jerkbait also a wacky rigged senko is great this time a year.

Spinnerbaits always work for me in the spring

Rat-L-Trap!

Jerkbaits and soft plastics like a senko work well for me. I still throw a spiinerbait hoping for a strike though. Also REALLY slowing down my presentation helps.

Start off with a search bait like a spinnerbait. Especially if the wind is kicking up. If that doesn't work, slow down a bit and try a Chatterbait type jig with a fluke trailer (white & white works wonders this time of the year). Swim jigs work, but I find the added vibes of a Chatterbait very productive. If nothing still hits that, then slow WAY DOWN. A wacky rigged Senko is probably your last hope. Good Luck!

Start off with a rat-l-trap, spinnerbait, or if you are fishing shallow a 1-minus.  I like to keep a rain suit close by this time of year.  You never know when the weather will take a turn for the worse.

Your not saying where you are?

Here it's still cold temps at night and maybe 60's in the daytime with lots of wind. I would suggest staying home.

But if I had no wind I'd go out to check all my rod setups in the daytime for night fishing in the dark. At this time I'd practice my presentations. Throwing my crankbaits.

Watermelon/red flake lizard with tail dipped in chartreuse. My #1 spring lure.

I'm not too far south of you, and I have been fishing ponds very extensively for the past month or so. The fish have been hit or miss, the only way to catch them has been with crankbaits, until today and yesterday. They FINALLY started eating plastics. I just texas rigged a U-tale worm with a 1/16oz weight and hopped it along the bottom, caught 8 in 2 hours this evening and should have caught way more, they aren't really eating the whole bait though, and I was missing a lot of fish even after giving them 30 seconds after the strike. All of my fish were in 3 feet of water and less, holding either close to the bank or on brush (I sunk my own brush piles this winter haha). If the fish are still not feeding much where you are, use an ultralight and throw rebel floaters (2.5") or rebel teeny wee-rs...For some reason the way those baits run absolutely ticks off pre spawn bass in ponds, I have tried many other brands but I keep coming back to the rebels (walmart has a sale on them right now too, 1.50 each). If you see the bass sunning themselves, fish for something else haha