i fish the same 7 acre urban pond quite a bit, as a newbie basser... it's in the bay area, california, so a very mild climate - neither too hot, nor cold. in the warmer months of the year, i follow the shade. if i''m there in the morning, i'm on the east side of the pond. if i'm there in the evening, i'm on the west side.  i try to fish either of those two times.

 

i throw mainly texas rigged worms along the tops of the weed mats (and into any holes), which cover the edges of the pond, about 5 to 10' in width. i'll swim worms in open water, today with a 1/8 oz bullet. i'll throw swim jigs or chatterbaits into the deeper waters.

 

is following the shade a reasonable general strategy? it seems like there are plenty of places to explore fishing in the shade, while avoiding the sun.  i figure in the shallows, the bass would (definitely?) prefer shade. i also prefer shade... 

 

happy staying cool...

Without knowing water temp I’ll say this: in the really hot months here in Texas I fish the deepest I can in the shade. In the colder months I fish the shallow water in the sun. 
 

I’m bank bound so in hot months I do a lot of night fishing, but I still catch fish in the middle of a 100 degree bluebird sky day…mostly in the shade under trees and such. In winter, they’re kinda everywhere there is sun, usually shallow, in the warmer water. Especially with rocks as they absorb heat. 

Low light gives Bass the advantage over the prey they feed, they have big eyes for a reason.

Often wind direction is more important the a shade line. Add low light conditions with down location is ideal.

Waves break up the sunlight under water, structure breaks like rock has a shade, stump or lay down produce shade, obviously a dock or buoyed boat provides shade. Bass don’t need shade but it does break up their silhouette along with coloration make them nearly invisible to prey.  

Tom

Somebody was once telling me that fish can't adjust from light to dark quickly like humans can. Something about their pupils not dilating like humans. I have no idea if there's any truth in that, but if true, that offers some clues on how they react to light.

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Low light gives Bass the advantage over the prey they feed, they have big eyes for a reason.

Often wind direction is more important the a shade line. Add low light conditions with down location is ideal.

Waves break up the sunlight under water, structure breaks like rock has a shade, stump or lay down produce shade, obviously a dock or buoyed boat provides shade. Bass don’t need shade but it does break up their silhouette along with coloration make them nearly invisible to prey.  

Tom

thank you, tom... i wasn't really thinking of bass and their prey... i guess i was thinking of birds or other animals that might prey on bass.. ...  why is wind direction important? funny you mention wind, though. this morning the surface of the water was still as glass. is that good or bad for bass finding my worms appetizing?

Wind moves insects and plankton that prey fish feed on plus oxygenates the water, all good.

Tom