I used to fish a pond identical to what ur describing. used to drive me crazy. Like Oregon and Sam mentioned the fish are spooking b/c ur lure is casting a bald eagle like shadow. And these bass are most likely in very shallow water compared to the rest of the pond (the 'coves' are more shallow and harder to fish). Even the shadow of a weightless finesse worm would spook my fish. The best lure I found was a Mepps spinner or rooster tail but I had to up size the treble hook b/c the bass in the pond were chunkers. The shiny blade not only didn't bother them but some days they seemed mesmerized by it. The bass weren't near as skittish in the deep sections so def try to find the deepest water possible. I could easily cast senkos, jigs, frogs, swimbaits etc in the deep water.
I'd also use the lily pads to my advantage (to hide behind, casting to their shady sides, cast 10" worms at points, land lures on top of...wait 1 min and slowly drag off into water). I'd also use Sam's suggestion of letting a lure settle before retrieving. I'd cast a 10" worm, spook the fish off but wait a few mins for them to return. The ones that fled to deep water will work their way shallow again. And the ones that bolted left or right will slowly fill the gap again. Use an ultra slow, bottom contact drag retrieve and they will quickly take interest.
Standing 10 ft back from shore works at all my lakes but not this pond. The pond was part of a private nature preserve so the shore line was crowded with some of the most brilliant colored sunfish I've ever seen. Casting within the first 10 ft of shore only landed you bluegills. I'd use spinning gear and accept break offs in the shallow areas. Or use a casting rod and patiently wait for spooked fish to return to a weightless worm.
