5 minutes ago, Wizzlebiz said:

The moment I find a place near me like that I will be there lol

A call to your local fish and game could head you in the right direction 

24 minutes ago, NHBull said:

A call to your local fish and game could head you in the right direction 

Thats valuable.... I didnt even think to think of it. 

 

I will call tomorrow morning thank you. 

 

5 hours ago, Wizzlebiz said:

The moment I find a place near me like that I will be there lol

It might be helpful if you grab some bait holder hooks and a pack of nightcrawlers and hit the bluegill, they are about the easiest thing ever to catch, will help you learn what a bite feels like, and there's usually no shortage of them in a given body of water they are present in, it may not be a bass, but for some parts of this sport fishing is fishing, regardless of the target species...crappie are another good one to target if your local waters are tough to find bass in. Lots of good advice here, as to the whole not casting to the middle of the pond thing I usually agree, but if you are in a slow period and want a bit of an educational break from trying to locate fish rig up something weedless, like a Texas rig, and slowly work it back, see if you can begin to tell the difference in the bottom composition between you and your lure, definitely helpful to be able to use that knowledge when beating a bank to figure out what/when/where to throw a lure.

I don’t have any advice that is better than what was already said. The only thing I’ll say is if they are blowing up your frogs, keep throwing the frogs!!!

After years and years of bank fishing the tidbits I have gleaned:

 

1. You need to be hella accurate with your casts.  I think it's more important than when you are in a boat honestly and at times a lot harder because of the added obstructions.  Practice casting at home.  Practice casting sidearmed,underhand, 3/4 hand, 1/2 casts, pitches, etc.  Get a bucket and try and land a spinnerbait into it.  Don't practice with a casting weight because that will not give you much in the way of realistic conditions.  You really need to be accurate from all angles and approaches.

2.  Make that first cast really count to any location on small bodies of water.  On small heavily pressured ponds these fish are used to seeing lures go by...if your first cast lands in a bunch of gunk and you reel it in to clean it off, those fish are now spooked and wary.  

3.  Make that cast that may only provide 5 or 6 feet of a possible strike.  If it looks like it would hold a fish, cast to it.  You would be surprised.  

4.  If the bank is too overgrown, wade into the water.  Odds on, most people don't hit that spot and there could be a few fish there.

5.  Don't be afraid to cast to a location where you may lose a lure or snag on something - fish like cover.

6.  Sometimes a short rod is just what the doctor ordered to make accurate casts with overgrowth.  Sometimes a longer rod helps you reach out and cast parallel to the bank.

7.  Look at what others are throwing.  If they are throwing a buzz bait and not catching anything- try something else.  A lot of times it is best to be different when it comes to lures...things the fish haven't seen.

8.  Learn to drop your lure into the water quietly on the cast.  This is something that takes a lot of practice but it can indeed help you hook into some bigger fish.  

9.  As others said - be quiet and blend into the background. 

10.  Wear polarized sunglasses so you can see the fish and structure.  

27 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

I don’t have any advice that is better than what was already said. The only thing I’ll say is if they are blowing up your frogs, keep throwing the frogs!!!

Thats kinda how I felt about it. But I went with a popper and caught my 1st fish. 

 

Im not giving up on the frog. It seems like a fun way to fish. And yea if they are blowing up on it im doing something right! Right? Lol

Seem like you got strike only on top water so far. I don’t want to add another frog but this might be easier frog for you, Boo yah toad runner. Remember frog fishing is a little bit different due to big/strut hook, you will need to set hook hard and stop the fish running under weed. Big line good drag is very important, and also good quality gears. 

Now if keep using topwater lure, would you learn anything, maybe not since topwater is visual strike but hey at least you catch fish.

also seem like your lake/pond is full of weed another reason topwater work well for you. But you can learn how to fish thru weed with other lures to be even more productive. 

1 wacky senko no weight is good for working the weed, need pack of 3-4” senko and weedlass wacky hook #1 or 1/0.

link to our own Glenn bass resource video.

2 Fluke, is also perfect with weed, you can work top water, right on top of the weed  or let it sink down and work thru the weed, need zoom super salt Fluke 5” and 4/0 EWG hook.

3 weightless worm, this is another type lure that work pretty good on weed type structures, might be a little bit hard to cast with bait caster, work slow on top of the weed, if you see any pocket hole, let it sink all the way then pop it up thru weed. Bass will find your lures from vibration when weed move from your lure, work it slow and soft. need zoom trick worm, roboworm rebarb hook 1/0 or regular worm hook 2/0.

Im not sure if anyone say it “ work slow”

special way to rig trick worm video

 

 

 

I was gonna also add dropshot rig but this required you to find a pocket holes between weed or weed line. It is a little bit more work but very productive. Might not be for you yet but worth to look it up.

Look for anything that's slightly different from the rest of the bank. A small change in the edge of the bank, a single blowdown, or even a different type of weed growth. Cast parallel to these areas and bring your baits slowly into the cover. This is why I recommend Texas/ weedless worms and soft plastics. You can cast them past these areas and work into them, with little if any hang ups

heres some good basic tips:

Most beginners want to cast out to the middle, or to open water, but i would start by parallelling or quarter casting the bank. 

-especially do this if the water is stained or muddy. Clear water could be the exception.

- if the bank is steep (45° or more) fish right next to or close to the bank, if its flat then rolls off out deeper, fish cover on that breakline. 

- the golden rule in bassin is GRASS=BASS (lily pads,hydrilla, pondered, milfoil). Another cardinal rule is that ROCKS=BASS. You can have a large lake 75% full of silt and smelly muck, like one i grew up by and you will catch every single bass over any place that has some kind of gravel, sand, fossil rocks, lava rocks, chunky limestones, etc. Not to say you won't catch some bass with mud on thier bellies, but in general the stinky muck that smells if you walk on it wont hold much.