your set up should work fine. The biggest advantage to the long rod is I can use a light leader, in the 4-8lbs range depending on water clarity. I run 12lbs line as my main line. The rod helps when you get those 10-15lbs fish on with the lite leader. A lot of times the fish are line shy, that is why you run a leader. The center pin is basically a large fly reel, but no drag, you just palm it when fighting a fish. As for casting, it is more of a flip style, not really like fly fishing, as you have a bunch of split shot all down your line, so the weight would cause you problems. Google Wallis Cast and Float fishing and you will see a bunch of stuff on it. The advantage of float fishing over fly fishing is you get the bait in the strike zone for a much longer period of time.