Right hand for baitcasters?

[JohnF]

Why have so many of the baitcasters got a right hand retrieve? So far I've only used spinning reels and I do that on the left side (although I'm right handed). Yet by far the majority of the baitcasters I look at are right hand retrieve. What's up with that? I was told by a tournament bass guy to hold the reel with my index finger above the rod and in front of the reel, and that feels good to me. But I'm uncomfortable doing that with my left hand on the rod. Have I been given bad advice in re the grip or am I just uncoordinated?

 

JF

[bigfish1965]

now you've done it...

For quite some time they were only available right hand retrieve so many guys just got used to it. I like the left hand retreive cause it is the same as the spinning reels. To each his own.

[JohnF]

now you've done it...

For quite some time they were only available right hand retrieve so many guys just got used to it. I like the left hand retreive cause it is the same as the spinning reels. To each his own.

 

So yer saying it's all those right hand winders who have it wrong?

 

JF

[Beats]

Without having used one it all seems kinda backwards to have to switch hand positions to cast and then switch back to reel in... but it really does feel "right" to reel with the right and hold the rod with the left hand on the reel after only using a spin rod in the opposite layout. It's like some people have said on here before, it's all preference. Most people that shoot a hockey stick left will golf right. I originally thought I'd get a left hand baitcaster but went with the right handed based on the fact that 90% of people use the right hand to reel in... and it really does feel right in my hands with that configuration. You have to really get your hands on one to get a feel for it. Though as stated above some ppl still do prefer a lefty.

Edited November 17, 2007 by Beats

[mepps]

I used to think that there were not many left hand retrive reels out there -until I did some searching online, almost every model has a left hand equivelant these days usually the name has a 1 or L at the end. for example the right hand model of a Shimano calcutta may be a 250, and the left hand would be 251.

 

Im a right hander and only use left hand retrive now.

[camillj]

Yep ... here we go again

 

I am a lefty and absolutely wouldnt consider using a 'left hand' retrieve unless it was that or no fishin... IMHO it would just be backwards ... I write with my left hand, hold a raquet with my left hand, I cast with my left hand, throw with my left hand play a fish with my left hand ... BECAUSE I am left handed ... reeling with my right hand makes the most sense since all the 'feel' of fighting a fish or control while casting is managed in my left hand/arm and would force me to switch up every cast / hit if I used a 'left hand' retrieve.

 

BTW I golf right, shoot right in Hockey, bat right .... In my opinion that should be called LEFT ... because its the most natural way for a left handed person to shoot/golf/bat ... all my life people have been trying to get me to 'shoot left' because I am left handed .... honestly as a sports guy I can say ALL the really good 'Lefties' seem to have been people who were actually right handed

[Beats]

I think alot of people put a lot more thought into which hand is turning the reel and don't think too much about which hand is holding the rod. To me it would make sense to reel with my left and hold the rod with my right like with my spinning gear. But for me it just feels weird to hold/cup a baitcasting reel with my right hand. I pay more attention to which hand/arm feels better holding the rod than to which would be easier to reel with. I feel I have a lot more strength and coordination with my left hand palming the reel than my right. That's just me.

Edited November 17, 2007 by Beats

[danc]

It just comes natural. Whatever feels best. I'm right handed. I crank a spinning reel with my left hand and a bait caster with my right. It's not something that you should have to think about. There's no right or wrong way.

[Weeds]

DanC's response really surprises me. I think you must be in a real minority with using one hand for spinning retrieves and the other when working a baitcaster. Interesting.

[Garry2Rs]

The real reason that baitcasters wind on the side of your strong hand goes back to before "free spool" was invented. It those days the reels were direct drive and the crankhandle spun backward as the line went out. It made sense to keep the crank away from your cloths and body.

Some people , myself included feel this is still the best way to avoid bumping or fouling the crank in mid-cast and accidently dropping the reel into gear.

However, feel free to do whatever you want.

Garry2Rs

[Dabluz]

To continue in garry2rs steps I will explaine why.

 

The first baitcaster that came out had very primitive gears and bearings. This lasted for many many years. The main bearing for baitcasters is the one that the spool spins on. For a long time, this bearing was only a hard smooth object...usually a type of hard rock or jewel. Since it could not be installed on the side where the handle and the gears were installed...it had to be installed on the opposite end of the spool. When casting, the rod and reel had to be held so that the spool revolved vertically on this bearing. Since most of the fishermen were right handed and cast with their right arm, it was easy for them to cast then twist the rod so the handle was up at the end of the cast and the spool was revolving vertically on the bushing.

 

Even when the first ball bearings were introduced to baitcasters, the only place where it was possible to place them were at the end of the spool opposite the handle. Over time, other bearings were installed to smooth things out. Even the handle and the gears would disengage to increase the speed of the spool but the bearing at the end where the handle is installed could never be really disengaged. To get the maximum speed and length of turning time, the best way is still to only let the spool turn on one bearing. Even today, very few spools are really free spinning. In any event, I still prefer for my spool to spin on only one bearing instead of 2 bearings, so when I cast, I twist my wrist at the last second so that the spool spins on only the main bearing. It's like throwing a baseball. And it does make the lure go further. I have left handed baitcasters too. On a pistol grip rod and using light lures and jigs, I often use the left hand baitcaster so that I do not have to switch the rod to my left hand in order to reel. However, I found that my right wrist does get tired from all the work.

 

For really fast cranking....my right hand is faster than my left hand even though I have been using spinning reels for over 40 years. If you are equally good at masturbating with either hand....I guess that cranking a reel handle real fast is not a problem for you.

 

In my case, I prefer using a baitcaster with the handle on the right most of the time and to me it's a good idea to have both types of baitcasters.

Edited November 17, 2007 by Dabluz

[lew]

But I'm uncomfortable doing that with my left hand on the rod.

 

 

There's no right or wrong way.

 

 

This question probably gets asked around here more than any other and it's a legitimate one for folks trying a baitcaster for the 1st time, and Dan gave you the correct answer.

 

Whatever the heck feels best to you is the one you should be using. If it feels awkward or uncomfortable in your left hand, then just get yourself a right hander and try that one out. You'll know yourself when you find the proper one.

 

If anyone tells you your doing it wrong, that just indicates that person has NO clue what their talking about. It's like telling someone which shoe their sposed to put on 1st, or whether they should use their left or right hand to remove their hat.

 

When I started fishing in the 50's, baitcaster's were all we had and they were all righthanders, so it was just normal to fish that way, then when I got my 1st spinning reel in the late 60's......a Mitchell 300 like everyone in the world ......the handle was on the left side, so that's the way it was fished and it never felt awkward.

 

And DON'T be intimidated by baitcasters, their only another tool in your fish'n gear, and not nearly as hard to learn as many folks make them out to be. Just start out slow at 1st and don't try casting a mile till you get the feel of it and gradually work your way up, and you'll have no problems whatsoever.

 

They've come a long ways since the early days and those ones 2rr's is talking about were dinosaurs compared to what we have today, and if we could fish with those ancient relics with no problems, nobody should have troubles today

 

Good luck and if you have a problem, don't be afraid to ask.

[ricksed]

John, I am right handed and cranking with my right hand just feels more natural but when trolling with a tiller steering a left hand crank works better for me because I don't have to switch hands on the rod when I get a strike and risk having slack line to the fish.

[Rich Clemens]

Good post JohnF. I only use the open-faced spinning reels and have been considering the move to a baitcaster. I tried one for the first time at Lakair this year and made a mess of my first cast. Wish I would have had Lew's advice first, but after a while, I got the hang of it. My wife throws right and retrieves right - switching hands after the cast. May be unusual, but that is what she is comfortable doing. Lew's point is very well taken ... do what you feel comfortable with and is most effective for you. It's an individual thing.

 

Great post and info folks.

Edited November 17, 2007 by Rich Clemens

[OhioFisherman]

I learned back in the 50`s also, weren`t many spinning reels around, dad had langley baitcasters that was what we used. You didn`t see left hand retrieve baitcasters back then, at least I never did.

 

My Uncle was in the navy around 1957, he got to take a cruise to France and brought home some Mitchell 300`s for my dad. That was my first shot at them, just seem more comfortable casting with the right hand and reeling with the left.

 

My first left hand retrieve baitcaster was an Abu 5001c great reels but a slow retrieve, like 3.5 to 1, a lot of smallies were jumping out of the water before I could catch up to them. I ran into the Shimano`s in a little tackle store in Canton Ohio back in the later 70`s.

 

I had never seen them before, was leary of a product from Japan, but seemed like a nice tight little reel and better fit and finish than most Japanese products of the era. I bought 2 251 magnums, still got them, a little beat up but still work well, much more comfortable to me than the bigger round reels of the time and cured me of being afraid to by Japanese reels.

 

I like Abu reels, a tradition, but I have had more issues with some of their reels than I have had with the Shimanos. I used to be able to use either right or left fairly well, just losing the use of my left hand and arm now. It is nice to be able to use either, but it is a comfort thing, you reach for the one that feels right.

 

Just tools to do a job, nice to understand how to use them and to be able to.

[lew]

was leary of a product from Japan

 

Funny how things change, eh Paul ??

 

A few years back we wouldn't buy them on a dare, but today we pay big money for them and their some of the best on the market.

 

Same as the Shimano bicycle components, they make some of the best shifters and derailers on the market and come on most hi-end bikes.

[evster]

I just went with whatever felt right. I new I would need to switch hands after I cast but it just felt better. Also, what Lew said is right, they aren't as hard to learn as you think. Beginning this year I thought it would take me forever to get using it, but I was wrong. Just make sure you practice with something heavy enough (3/8 ounce and up I found worked best to learn). And like Lew said don't cast a mile. I set the spool tension so that the weight dropped smoothly and not fast and out of control. Then I put all the breaks on and the cast didn't go far, but thats ok. Once I got the hang of it I started lowering the amount of breaking tension I had on until I felt I couldn't control it. Within about a week I was fishing with it, mind you I did get some birdsnests the first couple of times. The last half dozen outings this year I didn't get a birdsnest at all.

 

Good luck! Once you get used to one you'll love it.

[JohnF]

Yep ... here we go again

 

I am a lefty and absolutely wouldnt consider using a 'left hand' retrieve unless it was that or no fishin... IMHO it would just be backwards ... I write with my left hand, hold a raquet with my left hand, I cast with my left hand, throw with my left hand play a fish with my left hand ... BECAUSE I am left handed ... reeling with my right hand makes the most sense since all the 'feel' of fighting a fish or control while casting is managed in my left hand/arm and would force me to switch up every cast / hit if I used a 'left hand' retrieve.

 

Thanks to everyone for the input. I'm just trying to avoid making a mistake in my choice for a first baitcaster.

 

The local dealer took the time to show me how to flip tubes with one in the shop. Holding the reel cupped in my right hand felt good. I'm naturally right handed so it stands to reason, at least in my mind, to use my right hand as the control hand for casting. To hook my index finger over the top of the rod in front of the reel would be problematic with a right hand winder. Cranking with my left hand feels good. I do most sports related things lefty - swing a bat, use a hockey stick, and now golf, so it's not like I'm locked into rightiness anyway.

 

All this discussion has solidified my thinking. I'm gonna go lefty on the baitcaster and damn the torpedoes.

 

Thanks again all

JF

Edited November 17, 2007 by JohnF

[Burtess]

It just comes natural. Whatever feels best. I'm right handed. I crank a spinning reel with my left hand and a bait caster with my right. It's not something that you should have to think about. There's no right or wrong way.

 

I am the same way, but I am left handed.

 

I crank a spinner with my left, baitcaster with my rigtht, and centerpin with my right. Don't know why, thats just how it is. Whatever feels most natural...

 

Burt

[Daplumma]

I use my right hand to reel on both bait casters and spinning outfits.I guess it goes back to the old Zebco 202 that I learned to fish with when I was a kid.There is no right or wrong way,just whatever feels right.

Joe

[OhioFisherman]

I haven`t looked at reels much in a while, just the info I got from the web was the new Curados have Aluminum gears? It might be an issue down the road, the old one had brass gears.

 

Ya Lew, like you a little older than some here, the early products from Japan had some issues. Almost everyone I fished with used Shimanos later on, the green curados when they became available, great reels.

 

Still only as good as the guy using it, one of the younger guys I fished with was the fishing manager of a Gander Mountain here. He bought all the old ones when the new ones came out.

Edited November 17, 2007 by OhioFisherman

[Tie Twist]

I am another spincast left / bait caster right guy. I remember buying my first bait caster and thinking it was odd that it felt better to reel with my right, and I spent 15 mnutes trying to decide which hand to pick. I assume it has something to do with the handle being above vs. below the rod maybe? I'm not sure why it feels natural on the other hand for a bait caster.

 

As far as switching hands after the cast, it takes a split second. It has zero effect in delaying any instant hook-sets or anything like that. Once you get used to it, it's very natural feeling.

 

To me, peeing with my left hand feels more awkward than holding a fishing rod with it. That could be a diameter issue, but that's another topic for another time.

[camillj]

Well ... I suppose ... a long as you get a good grip with one hand and crank with the other you'll be just fine .... same goes for your fishing rod