I've not read the article by Lefty but I had a severe problem with shoulder pain about three years ago. I was casting mainly nine weight rods for LMB and trying to cast to Lake Okeechobee from the South Carolina boarder. I found that switching to a lighter rod helped immensely. I also backed off on the distance I was trying to achieve. To make a long story short, my shoulder got better in a couple of months. 8T