How do you deal with this feeling?

Hey everyone,

I’m writing this because something happened on my last fishing trip that I had never experienced before.

A little background: I grew up fishing with my dad from the bank when I was around 9 or 10 until I was about 15. I used to look forward to the weekends so much, and sometimes we even went after school. I’d spend hours watching fishing videos just for fun.

Now I’m 25. I took a long break from fishing—about 8 or 9 years—and I feel like I lost a lot of what I knew.

A year ago, I decided to get back into it and started fishing again. I almost became obsessed, watching tons of YouTube videos to relearn everything I had forgotten. This last winter, I did pretty well—I didn’t get skunked once.

But on my last trip, about two weeks ago, I had a weird experience. I was fishing from the bank, casting my baits, but suddenly, I started feeling overwhelmed. I kept thinking, Why would the bass even be in this spot? I struggled to keep my bait in the water. I’d cast, work it for 30 seconds to a minute, then reel it all the way back in because I wasn’t confident in my spot.

So, my question is: How do you guys deal with this aspect of bank fishing? Without electronics or any way to know if there are fish in the area, how do you stay patient and work your bait slowly? Do you move fast until you find fish? Do you try multiple baits before moving on?

Just for context, I usually fish big lakes from the bank because, in my area (southern Spain), small ponds like the ones I see in U.S. YouTube videos aren’t common. Plus, boats and kayaks are often not allowed where I fish, which makes it even tougher.

Looking forward to your advice—any tips or encouragement would be really appreciated!

Thanks, guys!

TL;DR: How do you handle bank fishing when you have no clue if there are fish in your area? Do you move quickly until you find them, or do you try different baits first?

Edit: Thank you very much for the tips guys, I think I will change my approach when going fishing to focus on fan cast with a “fast” and then a slow lure and if nothing bites I will move on. I think it is the Best approach for bank fishing