lookincalifornia Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 hey guys, anybody use a LH baitcaster? i use my left hand to reel all my spinning rods. i prefer to have the rod in my dominant hand for sensitivity and control. yet i cast and switch with my baitcasters. i am looking to upgrade all my equipment this year, and am curious about a left handed baitcaster. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassNspear Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I have always used right handed. I am right handed, and by having the reel in my right hand, i feel that i am in control alot more. I have tried the left handed reels, just didnt feel confortable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookincalifornia Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 so do you cast with your left? i too am a righty. i always feel alittle funny casting with my right then switching the pole to my left. then all is find from that point. yet if i reel with my right on a spinning reel, i freak out and have to change it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delmuts Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 i tried baitcasters with the handle on the left side, but just wasn't comfortable with it. ( yes i hold my spinning rod in my right thou!) i have been learning to cast with my left hand, so no switching, and or i can change to the right and give my arm a break. try one and see how you like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deitz Dittrich Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I too reel with my left hand for spinning and then I use my RIght hand for baitcasters.. I thought I would make the switch, so I bought a few left hand baitcasters. I felt just weird.. and couldnt get used to it. I gave tham an entire years try and ended up selling them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyR Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 All my baitcasters are left hand models.I'm right handed, cast with the right hand and don't like to change hands to reel. I fished for many years with only spinning reels, cast right, reel left and it felt strange to me any other way..I like it that way, works great for me.You have to be comfortable with your equipment, there is no "right" or "wrong" way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwinkle Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I also use the spinning left handed and baitcaster right handed. I too tried to use a left handed baitcaster and just couldn't get used to it. Why??? I have no idea but it just doesn't feel right cranking the baitcaster left handed. Maybe it's because my first few baitcasters were right handed and once you get used to it you just can't go back. Sounds like most people have the same opinion on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduty Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I'm righthanded and use exclusively left hand retrieve baitcasters and spinning reels. Besides simply wasting effort/motion by switching hands all day, I absolutly promise you are missing fish in flipping/pitching situations by passing the rod from one hand to the other. Pretty hard to detect a strike and set the hook when the rod is halfway through a move from one hand to the other. My advice is to either learn to cast or learn to reel with the left hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawgMan Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I'm right handed and have always used left handled reels. There's been many times when the lure has just hit the water and the fish exploded on it,if I were switching hands,it would've been lost. Besides,it does'nt make a whole lot of sense to be right handed with more of a dominant right arm than left,as to use your left arm to fight the fish with your less dominant arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookincalifornia Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 wow! thanks for all the great responses. i think i'm gonna give the left hand crank a try. i'll start with one, and add more if i like it. thanks again everybody. i am really looking to update and stock up on all my gear this year. i haven't fished bass exclusivly since i was in high school, so my stuff is quite out dated. i'll likely be hitting you guys up for advice on other gear. it seems to me that you guys know what you are talking about, at least as much as one can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwinkle Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Quote: Besides,it does'nt make a whole lot of sense to be right handed with more of a dominant right arm than left,as to use your left arm to fight the fish with your less dominant arm. Good thought but I guess if I can't win a fight with a 6lb. bucketmouth with my non-dominant hand I better grab a chess board and learn to play. Better yet join a gym and start curling those hefty 2lb barbells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertELee Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 I tried to make the switch when I broke my left arm a couple years ago, it felt really weird, went back to right handed when I could hold onto a rod again. What can I say, a true fisherman never quits... he just buys more equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stmichael Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 I have been given a lot of grief by friends, the only thing I can say is. I cast right handed I reel right handed. Have any of you ever tried throwing a ball with your left hand?..(or opposite hand for that matter) It is not pretty. I am uncoordinted in my left arm for reeling, when I sit here and try to pretend I am reeling in a fish, my left hand does more of a straight line motion, my right hand does a nice circle... Does this mean I am left handed when it comes to fishing? Everything else I do is right handed, batting, throwing, writing... The way I see it, my right hand does all the mentioned above better, am I messed up? Are my shortcomings from using the ol' snoopy pole coming to haunt me? If I remember correctly there is not a left and right hand kids rods... I personally have never missed a fish switching from right hand to left. When using a bait caster, I sometimes use both hands to cast, this depends on what I am throwing, in this scenario both hands are already on the reel, once the lure hits the water, and, (I do not have a backlash), I am ready to reel. (if I do have a backlash, my reel is already in my left hand, and, I am trying to fix my reel with....again my right hand). So, switching for me is not a big deal. I will continue to do so. When pitching, I will more often than not be using my right hand on the reel as well, but, I will try and use my left hand, if you are anywhere close to me...sorry about the hook. Another thought, when I do use two hands to cast, my right hand is in control, my left hand is there for support...behind the right hand. Just like grabbing a golf club...without the grasping of the thumb. There are too many scenarios to keep with one thought....Okay here is the last one for now... Let's say you cast right, reel left (assuming you are right handed), what do you do when it comes time to land the fish? Do you pick the fish up with your left hand or right hand? Since I am right handed and I feel that I can get a better hold of the net/fish with my right hand I am going to use my right hand...now since "I" already have my rod in my left hand I can easily reach down and pick up the fish, or the net. I would not want to be switching hands at this point, you have a 6 lb. bass on the line I would surely hate to lose it switching hands. I am not looking for answers, I am trying to figure out if it is worth trying to make the switch. Force myself to learn a different way, thinking I maybe missing something to doing it my way. When I am drinking I find myself to be holding the beverage in my right hand most of the time, however, the left hand will step up to the plate, during 2 fers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delmuts Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 looking; by trying one. you'll know for yourself. if one is concerned about switching hands , then learning to cast with the other hand isn't that hard, just takes some time, and patience! ( i still fight with the back hand roll/flip cast left handed, but gaining!) i also use both hands some times.once you get one. go out in the back yard and practice.( just ignore that strange looks your nieghbors give you! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookincalifornia Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 thanks del, but i live in california, there are no back yards here if i get a lefty this year, i'll let you guys know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassNspear Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Never hurts to try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Bass Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 I to am right handed but reel left handed. It was just natural for me to reel left handed when I started going to bait casters. I think it is an advantage also not to be switching hands. When I fish with my friends I do fire off more casts and my lure spends more time in the water. Not lots but when making short casts working a dock or tree it is an advantage. Shopping for LH reels is sometimes a problem as they don't seem to display the LH nearly as much as the RH reels. I am amidextrious but have settled in to the cast right and reel left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delmuts Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 ooops! i never thought about that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fever Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I myself am right handed. I shoot right, bat right, golf right, write right, pretty much everything right... Except fish. I cast with my left and reel with my right. It seems to feel very natural to me to set the hook left and reel right. This holds very true when back reeling to walleyes. Not that I boat a ton because I bass fish more often than anything but I don't think I could back reel the other way. I personally can cast both ways right and left but taught myself to do it left handed so I could cut back on the switching from right to left. I don't know of very many anglers that cast spinning set ups left handed. All my buddys fish the other way... I don't understand how people can reel with their right when using a bait casting reel then switch over to their left when they grab a spinning reel. That seems very weird to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delmuts Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 fever! we're just adapable!! as long as you feel comfortable that way, you're good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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