I'm interested in hearing what people's advice is.

99.9% of my fishing throughout my 50+ years has been with a worm on a hook - mostly looking for panfish and yellow perch. I usually had a smallish hook with a clamp on weight 8-10 inches above it, and then I used a bobber to watch for bites. I HATE when they swallow the hook before I can set it!!!

On one trip somewhere - as a kid - we were using plastic worms to fish for Northern Pike - with some success. They were fun to catch but the panfish were much better to eat.

For a while in high school I lived along the Grand River in Michigan (goes across the state), and fished for carp - just for the fun of it. I used worms with a very heavy weight that was allowed to run free up and down the line (with a match or similar tied above the hook to keep the weight from crunching it. The carp would grab the hook and run like crazy. They were really big!! We didn't eat them, and the law prohibits throwing them back, so they ended up in my neighbor's garden.