As already stated, observation is the most likely way, especially if the water is somewhat clear. Look for where the bottom "drops off" away from the bank if such a condition occurs. 

 

Another would be to purchase one of those castable depthfinder deals, which might be worth the investment if you fish this place a lot.

 

Beyond that, many ponds when first built have no depth breaklines, but over time will develop them. This is due to constant wind and wave action against the shoreline that ends up creating a shallow flat within a few feet of the shore that then drops off into the depths at the original angle.

 

The last idea would be to fancast with a dropping lure and count down various spots around the lake and out from the shore looking for holes or shallower areas that might clue you in to possible depth breaks.

 

Outside of depth breaklines, if you don't see weeds but pull them up on casts, it is very possible they have both an inside and outside weedline, a form of breakline. Also, as mentioned above, bottom composition breaklines where the rocky bottom ends and switches to some different soil type would be another likely breakline to explore.

 

Lastly, it was Rich Zaleski that I first saw write about and propose that the shoreline is the most significant breakline in many bodies of water. I still ponder that one myself, but one of the biggest mistakes I see bank anglers make is not throwing at the bank, instead always throwing out into the lake.

 

Take all these replies with a grain of salt. As you have probably seen, there is little agreement on terminology, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions and often resulting in more confusion than help.

9 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 one of the biggest mistakes I see bank anglers make is not throwing at the bank, instead always throwing out into the lake.

 

 

17 hours ago, Team9nine said:

 

Since the OP gave no specific reference to the article, I have no context to base an answer upon, and would only be guessing at what the author was alluding to. I don't even know if what he (the author) was referring to, I would even agree to being a "breakline" (hence my point). That might lead to even more confusion for the OP.

 

Plenty of examples in the replies above as to various types of breaklines that might be applicable to the OP's situation regardless of exact definition though. 'Catt' and 'deep' covered  a good many of them.

You apparently didn't read my reply.

Tom

I have no idea why the above reply posted twice?

We all started bass fishing without much knowledge and gained whatever we have learned by trail and error before or after reading one thing or another. With bass fishing experience is the best teacher, reading and learning form someone else's research only works when we go out and fish.

Pond bass are bass but thier ecosystems are very small and adult bass have learned every inch of thier home waters. My observations with pond bass is they roam around the parimeter hunting shoreline pray because that is where the majority of the prey source is located. Down wind or wind blown shoreline areas tend to have active feeding bass. Inlet and outlet stream, if the pond is stream fed, nearly always have a few active bass. Aeration systems and if there is a bluegill feeders they have active bass nearby. Breaks or edges, most ponds will have a predominate aquatic vegetation source the creates a wall, sometimes it's an inside edge a few feet from the bank and a outside edge wher the light can't penetrate in deeper water. Pond bass live in and around the weeds or stay near any type of structure, a culvert pipe, a rock pile, a single stump can be home to the biggest bass in the pond.

My method of bass fishing from shore is using a fan casting making 180 degree 1/2 circle casting pattern and walking forward and repeteing this pattern. If you do this all the way around a pond you will know everything about that pond and where the bass are located.

Tom

2 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Even Mr. Perry leaves it some of it to interpretation; "definite" tried to rein it in...but "either sudden or gradual" sent it back over the edge.

 

@Buffdaddy54, if you aren't worried about disclosing a honey hole, perhaps give us the coordinates from google map....just so we can all talk about the same body of water and try to apply our thoughts to it

Here is a pic of what it looks like. Definitely no honey hole. Highly pressured but close and convenient. I know there are decent fish in here, I just can't seem to catch them?

Its the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Pond off of Johns Hopkins road.

1/2 of the shoreline is rip rap broken rock and other 1/2 is grass cover dirt bank. Crawdads will be hiding in the rip rap rocks. You have 4 rock to soil transition vertical breaks and a 2 paralell breaks where the rocks end on the ponds bottom. There may also be a rock pile of left over rip rap. As stated above I would fan cast a soft plastic T-rigged black grape-blue neon 6" worm during day light. If night fishing is allowed I would do the same except go to a 7 1/2" ribbon tail worm and also cast a brown rat paralell to the bank about 2' to 5' out. I would start at 1 of the vertical rock to soil edges and work all around that small pond.

Tom

PS, are you positive that pond has a bass population? I don't see a water source or areation system.