- Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:51 am
#2299446
I am right handed and decided to purchase a couple of baitcaster reels. Which side of the baitcaster is your handle on?
Kayak fishing the Lone Star State...
Dandydon wrote:I think it's clever how the spinning reel manufacturers invented that left OR right retrieve system achieved in seconds by inserting & screwing down your handle. You can pick your weapon....
SteveRetrieve wrote:Right handed here.
I grew up throwing spinners so I’m used to throwing, working the lure and fighting the fish with my right hand, and winding with my left. Especially since your winding hand is really just to pick up the slack... it’s not like we’re winching in big bottom fish.
But with baitcasters I like the typical right hand wind. It’s nice, especially on the kayak after paddling a couple miles and throwing the spinner a few times, it gives my right wrist a rest. I still usually cast with my right hand, but switch over and hold the rod with my left to work it.
impulse wrote:Lefty.
Rod stays in my strong hand, and I never have to swap hands after the cast. That's fly rods, spinning rods, casting rods and a few trolling and surf rods.
I grew up on spinning reels where that was the operating theory, and never saw a good reason to change once lefty baitcasters became readily available. My first baitcasters were Shimano Bantam BMP251 SG's from the mid '80s.
Okuma makes some nice and reasonably priced lefty trolling reels (Magda line and others) some with line counters. Penn has made lefties up to 4/0 size for many decades now. I'm told Penn turned their Long Beach factory over to making lefties one day a year back when they made stuff in the USA. Sounds like an urban legend to me, but that's back when I worked in Long Beach in the '90s.
Planning first trip to West Bay tomorrow a.m. Ligh[…]