Whether you're a novice or seasoned angler, chances are you've passed by a body of water and thought, "I'd like to make a cast here." In this guide, we'll walk you through everything from planning your trip, selecting gear, understanding the water and fish, to effective presentations—all to help you fish successfully from the bank. 

What to Know Before Making Your First Cast

Before making your first cast, it's important to have a basic understanding of what species live in the water you're about to fish. Most states have a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or a Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that provides detailed information on local waters, including species presence, maps, and applicable fishing regulations.

This information is readily available with a simple Google search. Once you've gathered it, you're ready to rig your gear for bass, catfish, panfish, trout—or whatever species are available.

Gear Considerations and Rigging Up from the Bank

For this example, we'll focus on largemouth bass in a public pond you might encounter during your daily travels. One end of the pond contains cattails and lily pads, extending roughly 25 yards from the shoreline into open water.

Fishing Lily Pads and Heavy Cover

To fish these lily pads effectively, a medium-heavy to heavy power, fast-action rod paired with 15–20 lb. test line and a weedless topwater lure is ideal. Swim jigs, swimbaits, or weedless-rigged stick worms can also be productive options.

Lily pad fields are often most productive under bright, sunny conditions, as bass use the shade created by the pads to ambush passing prey.

Fishing Open Shoreline Water

Along other sections of the shoreline, you may find open water extending all the way to a small dock or structure. These areas are well suited for topwater plugs, shallow-diving crankbaits, or spinnerbaits.

A medium-heavy, fast-action rod is an excellent choice for presenting these lures. Weedless stick worms or Texas-rigged worms are also highly effective here, allowing you to cast out and count the bait down to determine water depth—a critical skill in bank fishing that we’ll build on next.

Shore Fishing Presentations and Casting Strategy

As you walk and cast along the bank, keep in mind that fish can detect the vibrations caused by your footsteps. A smart presentation starts with topwater lures, casting near the shoreline and progressively farther out in front of you.

Begin casting at the 1 o'clock position, then work methodically back to the 6 o'clock position behind you. This approach allows you to target fish near shore before they are spooked, while also covering water you’ve already walked past.

Once you've worked an area with topwater lures, follow up by casting a Texas-rigged worm through the same zone.

Reading Depth and Bottom Composition

The Texas-rigged worm serves two important purposes. First, it sinks to the bottom on the cast. By counting it down on a semi-tight line, you can estimate depth using a general rule of thumb: approximately one foot per second.

Second, it transmits information about the bottom. As you hop or drag the worm, you'll feel resistance from weeds or notice the weight tapping against a hard, rocky bottom.

Matching Lures to Bottom Type

• Weedy bottom: Avoid deep-diving crankbaits, which are likely to snag. Spinnerbaits are a better choice for covering submerged vegetation.

• Rocky bottom: Deep-diving plugs that deflect off rocks or football jigs dragged along the bottom can be highly effective.

Covering Water Efficiently from the Bank

When fishing from shore, stealth is an advantage, and covering as much water as possible before moving is key. It’s common to make multiple presentations from a single spot—starting with a topwater lure, followed by a Texas-rigged worm, and then a crankbait or spinnerbait based on bottom composition.

After working an area thoroughly, move down the shoreline to within two meters of your longest cast. This method ensures overlapping casts and helps you effectively cover all fish-holding water along the bank.

Putting it all Together

From knowing what fish live in the water you selected, to selecting the right gear, to presenting your bait effectively—it all comes together. The most important thing is having the right equipment on hand when you need it. KastKing offers outstanding products at an affordable price point while meeting the needs of anglers on the go. From tackle bags and terminal tackle packs to rods, reels, line, accessories, and apparel—you'll find everything you need in one convenient place.

Tackle Packs/Bags

No matter how you travel, walk, bike, bus, ride a train or drive an automobile, KastKing has a tackle bag to meet your needs. In this installment we'll focus on their mid-size offerings, tackle bags you carry over the shoulder or toss in the back seat of the car.  

The BaitSpace Fishing Sling Bag holds two size 3600 tackle packs. It can be worn like a backpack or slung over the shoulder. It’s lightweight, with plenty of room for lures, a water bottle, pliers, and an external rod holder. You can swap out one of the 3600s for a terminal tackle pack (sold separately) to suit nearly any situation on the water.

Best Travel Fishing Rod

KastKing offers several travel rods in spinning, and casting models. Spinning rods are rated from medium light to heavy power with moderate to fast action, casting rods rated medium to medium heavy in fast action. Both spinning and casting rods are four-piece designs, making them compact and easy to transport.

Reels & Line

The Spartacus II spinning reel in size 2000 or 3000 matches up well with the travel spinning rods, while the Spartacus II casting reel or the Royale Legend II casting reel pairs nicely with either travel casting rod. Spool these reels with mono, fluorocarbon or braided line depending on what species you intend to target.  

Fishing Tools & Kits

KastKing offers several fishing tool kits that easily fit inside or attach to their BaitSpace Fishing Sling Bag. Here are couple to consider, Steelstream Fishing Kit and Fieldlite Fishing Set.

Apparel & Accessories

It's important to always protect your skin from sun exposure and your eyes from UV Rays that reflect off the water. KastKing offers some excellent products for that. Plenty of polarized sunglasses along with hats, gloves and shirts all designed to protect you and enhance your on-the-water experience.  Be sure to carry a small bottle of sunscreen of at least SPF 50 to put on your face and any exposed skin when fishing in direct sunlight.  

About the Author

Captain Burnie Haney is owner/operator of New York Fishing Adventures, Army veteran and retired Sergeant Major with a 38-year military career. A tournament bass angler since 1992, he has won five Angler of the Year titles, set the NYTBF five-fish weight record, and qualified for two National Championships. Burnie holds two International Game Fish Association (IGFA) New York State line class records (walleye and smallmouth bass) and the IGFA All Tackle Length World Record for Chain Pickerel.

He is a lifetime member of B.A.S.S. and member of the New York State Outdoor Writers' Association. Haney was inducted into the New York State Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame in 2017. Today, Burnie focuses on multi-species seasonal fishing adventures.