Find a nice 6 1/2 to 7ft spinning rod and reel. Get familiar with a slip-bobber set up. Take a bucket of minners and some #2 gold hooks and a small split shot and work the water where you fish at different depths. Hook the minnow just below the dorsal fin in the back so the minnow can swim under the float. The end of dams at lakes are good because usually there is a big transition from deep to shallow at those points. Smaller waters such as ditches, rivers, or canals can be good also. Bridges are good because they have some good man made structure, the pilings, that will usually be holding some type of fish. Bank fishing should be picking up as the water warms.