Left hand or right hand?????

[Roe Bag]

Never owned a baitcast reel. I'm gonna take the plunge. When I fish my spinning reels or my centre pins, I cast with my right and retrieve with my left. Years ago when I fished spin cast outfits I cast with my right, switched the rod over to my left hand and retrieved with my right. I notice that several pro bass fishermen switch hands when using a baitcaster. Cast with the right. Switch hands and reel with the right. Yet if they pick up a spinning outfit, they cast with their right and retrieve with their left.

Which way do you find more comfortable?

[DaveMc]

Never owned a baitcast reel. I'm gonna take the plunge. When I fish my spinning reels or my centre pins, I cast with my right and retrieve with my left. Years ago when I fished spin cast outfits I cast with my right, switched the rod over to my left hand and retrieved with my right. I notice that several pro bass fishermen switch hands when using a baitcaster. Cast with the right. Switch hands and reel with the right. Yet if they pick up a spinning outfit, they cast with their right and retrieve with their left.

Which way do you find more comfortable?

 

I started out casting with my right hand and switching to reel, but soon switched to left hand retrieve. i am the sam as your self, spinning i reel left. i found it more natural reeling with my left hand on a bait caster.

 

this being your first time using a baitcaster, expect some very nasty birds nests until you get the feel of them. the more you get out there and cast the quicker you will get the feel for it.

Edited March 3, 2012 by DaveMc

[Roy]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Winternet is over! This is the last topic of the winternet series. Get what you're comfortable with. If you're used to reeling with your left hand, get a lefty. I use lefty reels but I have some right handed reels because that was the only flavour they came in. It's not a big deal as they're trolling reels. Good luck to you and thank you!

[boombap]

I cast with my right, retrieve with my left with baitcasters and spinning reels.

 

I'm right handed, but when I play pool I hold the cue with my left and use my right hand to balance it.

 

Im weird

[dave524]

I cast with my right, retrieve with my left with baitcasters and spinning reels.

 

I'm right handed, but when I play pool I hold the cue with my left and use my right hand to balance it.

 

Im weird

 

 

I bet you'll find your left eye is your master or dominant eye, my dad was like that, right handed for everything but when it came to shooting he had to shoot off his left shoulder because of the master eye. Not sure how he shot pool?

[Joeytier]

I'm right handed, and find right hand retrieve baitcasters, and the idea of switching hands between casting/reeling to be very strange. Left hand retrieve all the way.

[boombap]

I bet you'll find your left eye is your master or dominant eye, my dad was like that, right handed for everything but when it came to shooting he had to shoot off his left shoulder because of the master eye. Not sure how he shot pool?

 

Actually.. my left eye is worse. My right eye is 20/20.

[BillM]

Righty for baitcasters, lefty for spinning reels.

 

No issues with 'the switch' when using a baitcaster. It happens so fast that I don't even think about it.

[EC1]

Switching hands...Well if KVD does it, I'm sure there's not a problem with it. I'm actually really proud to be able to cast and pitch with my left and use RH reels.

 

Find a few friends with both LH and RH reels and try it first. No point in dishing out money to find that you need to switch the handle side.

 

Here's a couple of articles that I think might help others in learning to cast with your left.

 

Part1

Part2

Edited March 3, 2012 by EC1

[dave524]

Actually.. my left eye is worse. My right eye is 20/20.

 

Actually, master eye is not about what eye has the best vision, it is more about how the brain is wired to process what you see.

 

On the original thread at almost 62 I learned on baitcasters in the late 50's when switching was the norm, do it without even thinking. In the 60's it was common to see oldtimers with the new on the market open face spinning reels, cast with the right hand, switch and reel in with the reel ON TOP CRANKIN BACKWARDS it was strange to them to reel with the left hand

[mercman]

Righty for baitcasters, lefty for spinning reels.

 

No issues with 'the switch' when using a baitcaster. It happens so fast that I don't even think about it.

 

 

Yup, me too.I'm usually switched before the lure hits the water. I wonder why we do that

I have used a buddy's LH retrieve baitcaster, and it just feels weird, but a RH retrieve Spinning reel feels weird too.

I just don't know.

[Roe Bag]

I have some right handed reels because that was the only flavour they came in. It's not a big deal as they're trolling reels. Good luck to you and thank you!

 

"the only flavour they came in">

I think that was the case when I used spincast outfits. There were a few that were ambidextrous but most were right hand retrieve. I had a Johnson Century that could be swapped over but by the time I happened on one of them I was comfortable with the "switch".

 

I think I'll heed the advice here and borrow a couple and take them out for a test drive before I commit.

Thanks guys.

[lew]

 

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Winternet is over! This is the last topic of the winternet series.

 

 

Dang Roy, I darned near choked on my cheeseburger when I read that :lol:

[Muskieman]

Left / Left always have reeled in with the left hand ...

Swing a Bat ,Tennis/Badminton on the right , Golf club ,hockey stick with the left ...I throw a Frisbee with either but a Baseball with the right. I can write with either hand ...

 

Consider me ambidextrous .

 

Randy

Edited March 3, 2012 by Randy from Sturgeon

[John]

Baitcasters same as spinning reels all the way left handed...yet my trolling reels are right hand retrieve as they only came that way! Can't see the reason for switching hands myself after casting but have lots of friends who do and wouldn't dream of left hand retrieve.

 

Personal preference............ go with what's comfortable to you.

[fishindevil]

left hand all the way just like joeytier said i find it really strange as to why people cats then switch hands to rell in ??? left hand you never have to switch hands and its more user freindly and for trolling with a tiller its the only way !!!

[Dabluz]

There are many reasons why many baitcasters have the handle on the right side. It started long ago with level wind reels.

 

A level wind reel with the handle on the right means that the main bearing that supports the spool is on the left side. When casting in the old days, we always have a casting motion like pitching a baseball and most fishermen were right handed. At the end of the cast, the reel ended up with the handles on top and the spool would pivot on the main bearing. Bearings in those days were mostly hard semi-precious gems on which the spool would pivot. Just like the jewel movements in a watch. Since most fishermen were right handed, many more reels were made for them. There were some companies who made level wind reels for lefties but as you can imagine, the cost of making them was increased to.

 

Level wind reels evolved over time and the main bearing actually became a roller ball bearing. When the button was pushed to disengage the spool so that casting could be accomplished, the same casting motion was used (like pitching a baseball) and the handle of the reel would end up on top with the spool vertical and spinning on the main bearing. If the handle was on the left side, the rod which is in the right hand could not be easily twisted so that the handles on the reel were on top and the spool was vertical. The side without the handle allowed easy access for cleaning and lubricating the bearing.

 

I see lots of baitcasters casting and not many of them twist their wrist a little bit to let the spool spin on the main bearing. For these anglers, the weight of the spool is on both bearings (left and right side) because the spool is horizontal. If these fishermen would turn the reel so that the spool was vertical, they would suddenly realize that casting distance will increase quite a bit.

 

Yes, modern reels now have great bearings on each end of the spool and the gearing mechanism that cranks the spool now disengages completely in mode (free spooling), there is still the fact that 2 bearings create more friction than 1 bearing.

 

Another reason why the handle is more often on the right hand side of the reel and the reel is called a right handed reel is due to the fact that a right handed person can turn the handle of a reel much faster with his right hand than with his left hand. For a pro, this means that his lure can come back to the boat much faster and therefore he can accomplish a few more casts by the end of the day.

 

Casting with one hand means that you have to hold the rod on the handle behind the reel. After the cast, you have to move your hand further up the rod to get to the balance point where the tip of the rod and the end of the handle are about the same weight. The reel is now in the palm of the hand and you can feel every little tic at the end of the line. If a fish bites, you can immediately yank back hard with the handle under your arm or stuck in the pit of your stomach. You can even add your reeling hand to strike even harder. If you hand is on the handle behind the reel, you lose a bit of power in your strike.

 

Imagine a whole day of casting with the right arm, holding the rod against the resistance of the lure with the right arm and then casting again. Your right arm gets tired....especially when their is more weight at the tip of the rod than at the end of the handle. If that is not a problem for you....then I see no reason for having the handles on the right. You can even palm the reel in your right hand and cast with 2 hands.

 

I can't do this anymore. My right elbow has taken too much punishment over the years. I now cast with both arms, I palm the reel in my left hand and reel with the right hand. I can reel much faster with my right hand. However for a spinning outfit, it's the reverse. For very deep saltwater ice fishing, I even had to switch the handle on my big spinning reel so that I could hold the rod with my left arm.

 

I have just as many baitcasters with handles on the left as those on the right. The left handed ones are getting almost no fishing time even though there was a time when I preferred them.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Dabluz

[danc]

Left / Left always have reeled in with the left hand ...

Swing a Bat ,Tennis/Badminton on the right , Golf club ,hockey stick with the left ...I throw a Frisbee with either but a Baseball with the right. I can write with either hand ...

 

Consider me ambidextrous .

 

Randy

 

But which hand do you use to hold the pliars with when you yank out a molar??

[rufus]

The first reel I ever bought when I was a kid decades ago was a Shakespeare bait casting reel with the handle on the right. The next was a spin cast with the handle on the right - that was the only way they came. When the time came to buy a spinning reel they all seemed to have the handle on the left - didn't seem right - so I ended up buying a Garcia Mitchell 301 with the handle on the right. Every reel I have bought since has had the handle on the right. I cast and switch hands and don't even think about it.

 

The funny thing is that I do many things left handed naturally as I am pretty much ambidextrous but reeling with the left hand feels foreign.

[Raf]

go with whatever's more comfortable. if there both equally comfortable, do yourself a favour and get used to right-hand retrieve as you will have many more options for reels.

 

says the left hand retrieve baitcaster.

[John Bacon]

I hold the rod in my left hand and reel with my right for both bait casting and spinning.

 

I actually use two hands to cast but I consider it casting left handed because my left hand always holds the rod in the same place while I only place my right hand on the rod for the cast.

 

Oddly, I used to use cast right handed and use a one handed cast; in my lates teens and early twenties I switched to a two handed left hand cast. I have always reeled with my right hand and used to hold spinning reels upside down and reel backwards.

 

I write left handed, through and curls right handed, and can do most other tasks with either hand.

[Sinker]

I cast and reel with my right. Switch hands every time. It just happens, and I know I can keep up with the "other guys" who cast left, reel right without the switch. I don't even know it happens.

 

S.

[Gregoire]

I agree with Raf. My first baitcaster was a righty but that seemed weird so I switched to a lefty retrieve. I wish I was a righty as a musky angler as it seems my choice in reels, especially for certain applications, are limited.

As far as being able to reel faster with your right vs your left I think that is bullocks. I know in the summer when salmon fishing I get very tired reeling in with my right and tire out fighting the fish quicker than I think I should. So much so that I have considered buying my own rods and reels to use on my buddies boat.

Edited March 4, 2012 by fishgreg

[hirk]

I agree with Raf. My first baitcaster was a righty but that seemed weird so I switched to a lefty retrieve. I wish I was a righty as a musky angler as it seems my choice in reels, especially for certain applications, are limited.

As far as being able to reel faster with your right vs your left I think that is bullocks. I know in the summer when salmon fishing I get very tired reeling in with my right and tire out fighting the fish quicker than I think I should. So much so that I have considered buying my own rods and reels to use on my buddies boat.

Dabluz is right,what he was trying to say was you can reel faster with good control with your dominate hand which is the best way to discover is you should buy a left or right. Put each one in your hand and crank fast, you will instantly know if your left or right because of the small turning radius, the hand with better fine motor control will feel better. He was also right about palming the reel Vs fishing behind it, huge difference in both comfort and control.

[Muskieman]

But which hand do you use to hold the pliars with when you yank out a molar??

 

 

The right...