Excellent point!!!
As said many times already, slow down. Moving your rod tip only a few inches moves your bait much further. If slack or slow current, feel what your bait is doing on the bottom. If something feels different, set the hook, hook sets are free!
Location- saying I've heard and found to be true, 95% of the fish are in 5% of the water. Know what your target species generally does in high/low water, stained/clear water, seasonally.
When you catch a fish, take note of what happened. Fast/slow retrieve, deep/shallow, fast/slow water, near bank or out in the water how many feet, near wood, sunny/cloudy, depth.
I fish rivers 99% of the time. Learn to read the water. Don't just beat the bank to death. Look for things that can impact current and hide bait. Could be rocks or grass beds out in the middle of the river, islands, ledges, etc. Sometimes the fish are at the head of an eddie pool, sometimes at the tail out. Fish an area thoroughly before moving on. If you catch one fish, chances are there are more there. If you miss one, throw back or throw a different bait.
Don't throw your bait in the center of your spot. Throw beyond or upstream and let your bait enter the target area naturally. Learn to let your bait enter the water with minimal disturbance or you might as well be throwing rocks
