Left vs. right handed and reels

[Slyster]

Hey.. question... I have a friend who just bought a nice spinning rod and real setup and he moved the crank to the right side because he is left handed. Is this what all left handeds do? Or are more 'serious' anglers using the left side crank no matter what?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Sly- I think its just a matter of what feel good to you. I have quite a few right hand friends who reel on the right side with spinning. I learned to reel left hand reel.. but then on baitcasters I reel with my right. Its I whois messed up probablynot your friend.

[ptkane]

I am a righty who has to reel with my right hand. Some people say it is backwards...but I don't get it...aren't baitcasting reels set up in the right side for rightys?

[TonkaBass]

When I first started baitcasting I bought right hand reels. I wanted to be able to reel with my left so I wouldn't have to switch hands after I made a cast. Now I own all left hand reels. It worked out good though because I can go either way now. Except on spinning reels, I can only go left on those.

[tuffyboone]

Being a lefty I have all spinning reels setup to reel with the right hand and love that all baitcasters are made that way. It just boils down to preference though.

[Slyster]

cool thanks. I just thought there might be some unwritten 'law' on left for spinning, right for baitcasters etc.

[jwhjr]

I'm looking at picking up a baitcaster now, and there are far more choices for right than left that's for sure. I'm a righty who reels with the left, and I want to keep it that way for the baitcaster as well.

[Craig Plummer]

I am left-handed with everything I do but I reel both spinning and baitcasters with my right hand

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I can switch reel on spinning setups but prefer left handed and I am a righty on baitcaster.

[Hula_Grub]

I'm a righty who casts lefty. I always retrieve with my right hand, whether spinner or casting. For extra power or control I put my right hand on the end of the rod, but as soon as I place my right hand near the reel on a cast I'm a total spazz.

[bassNspear]

its all about whats the best fit for you. I run all left handed, becuase i like to control the rod with my right hand/arm. Again, do what you think fits best.

[YUM]

yup what BNS said, I like to control the rod with my dominate arm, thus I reel left-handed with both spinning and baitcasting.

[Slyster]

I myself use left hand only.. but then again I only own spinning rods.. 9 of them! I would like to try a baitcaster sometime.. I know they have more PULL when cranking in.

[Superduty]

I think it is much more efficient to reel with the left hand if you cast with the right or reel with the right hand if you cast left handed. If you make 300 casts per day and switch hands after each cast, that's a lot of wasted effort. Plus, it adds up to a lot of time when you couldn't possibly set the hook if a fish bit during the hand switch.

[RiverBassGuy]

I run a tiller boat, and all you back troller guys will agree that being able to set the hook with your right hand makes life much easier. Thus the reel is on the left side. Backtrolling I'm usually using a spinning combo with a live bait rig, but for pulling spinner rigs I like to use a baitcaster with the flippin switch. I still reel with my left in this instance. Bass/muskie casting is a different story, I have no idea why, but it just feels more natural to cast right and reel right. It's stupid, believe me I agree

[slipperybob]

easy answer: you use your strong hand for

cranking, with a baitcasting reel

finesse jig dancing, with a spinning rod

you use your other hand for the no as important secondary actions

holding the rod, on a trigger finger rod

reeling, with a spinning reel set up

[katoguy]

Most people can easily learn to crank a reel with either hand. (It is a pretty easy task - spin the reel handle.)

Most people cannot easily learn to cast/flip/pitch accurately with their non-dominant hand/arm. My advice is to cast with the dominant and reel with the other (no changing hands). This is especially important pitching and flipping in shallow water where a lot of bites occur quickly after the bait hits the water. Taking the the time to switch hands will inevitably have you miss some bites (perhaps not many, but little things like this are big while tourney fishing).

[Deitz Dittrich]

kato- Dude, I tried, really tried to teach myself to reel with my left hand on a baitcaster, just didn't work for me. Someday I may have to try again, but for now, I'll keep buying right hand models.

[turn_in_poachers]

 Originally Posted By: Bass N Spear

its all about whats the best fit for you. I run all left handed, becuase i like to control the rod with my right hand/arm. Again, do what you think fits best.

My buddies think Im weird because of this. Theyre all righties, Im the only lefty.

[Fever]

I personally cast righthanded but when situations call for a lefthanded cast I'll do it. I feel much more comfortable reeling righthanded with a bait caster and a spinning reel. I've noticed that I am in the minority here as most people I see that are right handed reel with their left hand. I just feel stronger and more stable setting the hook with my left and cranking with my right. This is especially true if back reeling. NO way I could do that left handed.

[slipperybob]

LOL's

"Most people cannot easily learn to cast/flip/pitch accurately " PERIOD.

I still stand 15-20 feet away from these folks and they still managed to cross cast over me...

Anyway what about a two handed method? I'm right handed so my left hand naturally grips lower my right hand. That makes perfect sense for a spinning reel outfit. Oddly when I use my round bait caster, it's the same. When I use the low profile, it doesn't work at all that way. Problem is that I feel like palming the low profile baitcasting reel. That makes casting all tripped out for me.

[grab the net]

If I recall correctly, the whole cast right, reel left in BC became the rage when one of the BASS guys said it enabled him to become more efficient in number of cast made over the course of a day. Not having to change hands, from casting right handed to the left hand to reel. For power fishing, covering water, it probably makes sense if you were fishing for a living. For the vast majority of us, go with what feels right. I'm with Dietz on this one, I tried, decided it was not worth the frustration and the couple grand it would cost me to switch all my reels out. If I ever go "PRO" I guess I would have no choice but to make the switch and become a better manager of my time on the water. For now, I will relegate myself to being a weekend warrior and cast right, reel right with BC, cast right, reel left with spinning.