Sounds like you had a great first time out.

I do have some fish come off when I grab the line, but since I fish c&R, I view that as an advantage.

Regarding your shoulder, when I first started, my arm got tired after a few hours of fishing the longer rods (13' +). I actually now prefer to fish an 11' or 12' rod. They almost seem weightless and I can fish all day with them.

Have you been extending your arm to try to get more range/reach? You may want to try to lengthen your line or leader to add a bit of range to you cast. Just a thought.