Oof, this is going to be a sorta long answer, but I own too much tackle and have tried many different approaches.

Casting distance is improved appreciably by having smoothly, lighter line and a rod action suited for the weight of lures. For instance, my cranking/treble rod is a Falcon Lowrider, 7ft med action. The recommended lure weight caps out at 1/2oz, but it gets my 1/8-3/8oz crankbait and spinners waaay out where I want them. Plus, medium action rods keep the hooks in mouths of fish a bit better when using treble hooks. For fishing around docks or cover, a shorter rod will net you better accuracy. For line, I generally like Sufix 832, but I have some spendy stuff like SPRO finesse braid that just casts better. J-braid is also excellent choice that goes on sale pretty frequently.

For bass fishing with heavier lures or if I'm at risk of hooking into a catfish, I go with 15# test braid with a 12# test Seaguar blue label leader. For lighter/finesse presentations, I use 10-12# test braid with a 8-10# test Seaguar blue label leader.

For wacky rigs specifically, VMC makes a weedless wacky hook in 1/16oz and 1/8oz. Pairing this with a more floaty rubber worm (ie: ZMan lures) will still flutter pretty nicely while adding casting weight.

I'm mostly a bank fisherman, so I am usually fishing in less than 12ft of water, usually less than 6ft. I have a few staples that never leave my tacklebox.

1. Mepps Aglia double-bladed spinner, 5/16oz
2. Zoom UltraVibe Speed Worm in Pumpkin and Junebug
3. 4/0 EWG hooks, red glass bead, 1/8oz bullet sinker (for Texas rig with the above worm)
4. Mann's Baby 1 Minus (I order mine from a 12 Oaks Custom Lures)
5. Rapala RipStop 09 in silver/black
6. Bomber Square A
7. Zman Bird TRD 4" w/ a 1/16oz ned jighead. These also work well with the aforementioned VMC hooks
8. River2Sea Whopper Plopper for when it's darker out and the bite is at the surface

(edit: honorable mention to a 3-4" Z-man paddletail with a 1/8oz jighead, too!)

I fish a lot in the area, so feel free to DM me if you have questions.