Pennsive Angling

I didn't post last month. I didn't catch any fish, either, though I did go fishing, once. The lack of activity is due partly to general busyness, but also to a nagging rotator cuff injury. Even though I hurt myself on dry land, the whole affair has made me re-examine my fishing style. Shoulder injuries are becoming more commonly recognized among fly anglers. It appears that the repetitive high arm casting motion makes us prone to pinching tendons.
I am a confident fly caster in freshwater, with small flies and casts up to about thirty feet but when it comes to salt water fly fishing, especially here in Hawaii, the flies are heavy, the wind can be fierce and distance does matter. Moreover, a strategy of longer and more frequent casts greatly increase the odds of catching fish. For a mediocre caster like myself, this is a perfect recipe for shoulder injury.
I have always believed that spinning reels are the ideal tool for long, repetitive casting and so I wondered: can I replicate that style of salt water fly fishing using conventional spinning tackle? The answer seems to be yes. The major difficulty lies in casting a very small lure as far as possible. The best way to accomplish this is by using a very light line on a very good reel. I knew that a braided line would be very lightweight yet still strong enough to handle even big saltwater gamefish, but what reel to put it on? My friend Kirk, who swears by Penn reels, referred me the site of spinning reel aficionado, Alan Hawk. From his lists of "best general use saltwater reels" I selected the sturdy Penn Battle BTL4000 and loaded it up with some 15lb test TUFLINE.
Now it's time to go catch some fish...