This is a topic that interests me greatly and still presents a lot of confusion in my mind.
I've caught the same fish on the same bait more than once in a single hour. But, I've also been skunked a lot on ponds where we may have been over-fishing them.
I've also wondered about the effect of putting in a boat. In some ponds, I think we catch more from fishing from the bank than we do after we put in a boat. Of course, a lot of those ponds are very hard to fish from the banks due to all the trees and bushes along the shore line that limits your casting.
I try to use techniques taught to me by my avid trout fishing buddies when I fish banks. Walking very softly and changing my positions by moving away from the shoreline and being mindful of where I might be casting (different kind of casting) a shadow on the water. Also, I try to wear some "cammo" kind of clothing but I don't think that helps if the fish can see you and you're moving your arms around.
When the bite is really slow, I'll sometimes switch to live bait fished under a bobber or drop-shot rigged.
Having said all of that, you can refer to my posts about my own pond "issues" elsewhere in this forum. But, I fish a lot of ponds - not just my own.
My "confidence bait" for ponds remains a weightless Senko because I agree that a natural fall rate is generally more effective.
Best of luck to you!
