You are correct..the 7 foot worm rig has to come..that will be your most productive..It also depends on the pressure that these ponds have gotten..Other than a worm my most productive lure is the 3 /8 th ounce WHITE Rooster Tail spinnier on a 6 1/2 foot medium rod with high speed open faced spinning reel. This is a great set up for schooling fish..learning the ponds depths and structure..for catching bottom, top or suspended fish..I have about 250 .00 worth of top notch lures in my box...I try them all BUT I always end up being the most productive with the Red Shad 6 inch Gambler worm and Warden's 3/8 ounce White Rooster Tail..

Some will tell you that the Rooster only catches small fish..that is thier lossI've lost count of the amount of 5 pound plus bass I've boated on them..

ONE MORE thing..I would highly reccomend you using the 15 pound Power Pro braid...It cast great..bumps a worm wonderful and does great on spinning and baitcasting..When our big bass make that initial run..it feels like a freight train has your lure..I'm being serious. I've been pulled into the lake before off the shore..they are incredibley strong if they catch you off guard..
God bless and enjoy God's creation,
Chuck7

PS...I seldom use a bullet sinker..I use a round { Not clinch} type BB split shot to get a slower sinking worm..I also don't dead stick the rear pegged worm....Since I'm in a boat the rear rod is bumping and swimming better than I could fish it myself..NICE and SLOW..The rod on my bare knee is a highly sensirive Team Diawa..I can feel the slightest pick up..This rig CAN NOT be used in tournaments..It is deadly..for many reasons..

A...It would take great patience to fish this worm this slow..and even in our highly weedy lakes the rig is 99% weedless..

B, The worm stays in the water..where the fish are.

C. In our weedy lakes..the worm slowly swimming above the bottom is most effective..

D,I'vetried many colors..I've experimented with 3 rods many times side by side drifting like this..the Red Shad always wins the contest..followed by black and blue ..