Right handed but use a left handed reel

kuyatwo · Post by **kuyatwo** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:25 pm

Went shopping for bait casting reel and seems every store has more right side retrievals and barely any left side retrievals

For myself throwing over my right shoulder and one handed casts feels more comfortable with right hand on the reel and controlling the rod.

Why would a right handed person want to use a right sided retrieval? Is there a benefit to having the right hand on the reel handle than on the rod?

MVRider · Post by **MVRider** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:59 pm

kuyatwo wrote:Went shopping for bait casting reel and seems every store has more right side retrievals and barely any left side retrievals

For myself throwing over my right shoulder and one handed casts feels more comfortable with right hand on the reel and controlling the rod.

Why would a right handed person want to use a left sided retrieval? Is there a benefit to having the right hand on the reel handle than on the rod?

I'm left handed and will only use a LH retrieval system. Even on spinning reels I use LH retrieval. Holding the rod with right hand just feels right for me.

maskale · Post by **maskale** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 4:36 pm

its what you are comfortable with, reeling with your non casting hand is more efficient.

im right handed, cast with right, swap the rod to my left and reel with right.

spinning reels though for some reason I cast right and reel left.

kuyatwo · Post by **kuyatwo** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 7:20 pm

maskale wrote:its what you are comfortable with, reeling with your non casting hand is more efficient.

im right handed, cast with right, swap the rod to my left and reel with right.

spinning reels though for some reason I cast right and reel left.

Maybe that is why i went with cast right reel left. As I have been using spinning reels for 35yrs and this is my first year using bait cast reel

maskale · Post by **maskale** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 7:45 pm

I keep wanting to get a me left hand caster and try it out. But I'm afraid I'll waste the money on the reel or like it so much that I'll want to swap all my reels.

Most people are right handed. And they make more reels right handed. So that tells you how people are fishing.

Thinwater skinner · Post by **Thinwater skinner** » Thu Sep 25, 2014 7:55 am

Yep, I am mostly left handed and cast left and reel right handed. Just the way I like to fish.

DPT · Post by **DPT** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:30 pm

I have reels with handles on either side and enjoy fishing both ways while casting right handed. It is more efficient to cast right handed and reel left handed but I find after a while my right hand becomes stiff from holding the rod handle so long. With the handle is on the right I am switching hands all the time which keeps my left hand limber. I am in my 50s so a younger person may not have the problem with a stiff hand.

cliftonio · Post by **cliftonio** » Tue Nov 11, 2014 5:22 pm

maskale wrote:its what you are comfortable with, reeling with your non casting hand is more efficient.

im right handed, cast with right, swap the rod to my left and reel with right.

spinning reels though for some reason I cast right and reel left.

Same here.

DumpTruck · Post by **DumpTruck** » Tue Nov 11, 2014 8:32 pm

For what it's worth, I'm right handed and thought a left hand retrieve bait caster would work better for me too, so I bought one. My spinning reels are all left hand retrieve and I thought the LH baitcaster just made sense. I thought it would be better by allowing me to immediately start cranking when the lure hit the water. For me, it just didn't work out. The reason being was the way I hold the rod/reel different for casting or cranking. So after I cast I still was having to do a slight juggling act to move my right hand from casting position to reeling position. Hope that makes sense. It just wasn't a natural motion for me, where a simple "hand off" from right to left is.

The one style of fishing where it's almost worth it is flipping or pitching because you can click off the free spool as soon as the lure hits the water. There's been more than a few times for me that I had to thumb the spool on a RH baitcaster to set the hook because Mr. Bucketmouth hits before the "hand off."

Makzym0s · Post by **Makzym0s** » Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:08 am

recently made a switch to left-handed baitcasters myself.
Mind you I just started fishing about two years ago and it was about that time I taught myself to throw a baitcaster. I figured teaching myself to cast right and retrieve with my left hand would not set me that far back. Now (about weeks later) I am using my lefty Revo S and new Curado without issue. Switching to Lefty was something I always considered doing as a bass angler for flipping and pitching reasons and now after seeing the advantages of not switching hands after casting I will continue to keep it Lefty.

TKFStubb · Post by **TKFStubb** » Wed Nov 12, 2014 6:25 am

this is an age-old dilemma. When most of us started, left hand retrieve (LHR) casting reels were either non existent or very, very, rare. So, we learned to throw with our right, switch hands mid toss, and retrieve right handed. I, too, grew up with spinning gear and it seemed very natural to throw right and reel left. My advice: if throwing right and reeling your caster left handed, by all means don't change! Its the best way for several reasons. I'm still trying to undo all those years of doing it wrong. But, I have over 15reels I will have to replace when that happens! )

Thinwater skinner · Post by **Thinwater skinner** » Wed Nov 12, 2014 6:52 am

TKFStubb wrote: I'm still trying to undo all those years of doing it wrong. But, I have over 15reels I will have to replace when that happens! )

Sell'em cheap here on this site and create more traffic?

cliftonio · Post by **cliftonio** » Wed Nov 12, 2014 10:55 am

I fished spinners until I started kayaking, then started with large conventionals for BTB and then always wanted to try a baitcaster.

I never found switching hands with a baitcaster to be that big of a deal. I cast single handed with my right hand and then switch to start reeling. No issues setting the hook with my non dominant hand (I think if you fish a popping cork a lot, this will train your left arm.

On a side note: .I thought I could cast well with my cheapo daiwa baitcasters.............well I dug out a brand new citica I had forgotten I own........HOLLY CRAP. That thing casts a mile! What else do I have hiding in my fishing gear?

Bottom line if it works don't sweat it, the fish don't care how you are reeling them in!

Wadefishing · Post by **Wadefishing** » Wed Nov 19, 2014 9:50 pm

cliftonio wrote:
maskale wrote:its what you are comfortable with, reeling with your non casting hand is more efficient.

im right handed, cast with right, swap the rod to my left and reel with right.

spinning reels though for some reason I cast right and reel left.
Same here.

Me too. I fished with spinning reel for years and then started using baitcasters and the reels I first bought had the reel handle on the right side so I got use to switching the rod to my left hand and reeling with the right hand.

bigred90gt · Post by **bigred90gt** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 10:06 am

kuyatwo wrote:Went shopping for bait casting reel and seems every store has more right side retrievals and barely any left side retrievals

For myself throwing over my right shoulder and one handed casts feels more comfortable with right hand on the reel and controlling the rod.

Why would a right handed person want to use a right sided retrieval? Is there a benefit to having the right hand on the reel handle than on the rod?

I've never understood that either. I'm left handed, and only have a spinning reel that has a right hand retrieval. I have seen righty's (my dad being one of them) who use left hand retrieval on a spinning reel and right hand on a bait casting reel. It seems illogical to me. After you cast, you have to reposition the rod in your hands, which is not the most efficient thing in my mind.

harv418 · Post by **harv418** » Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:51 am

I made the switch a few years ago. Like everyone else, I was trained to Cast Right handed, switch and reel with my right hand. The first year of Team Ocean Kayak, we were blessed to be on Purefishing's "Discount" Pro Program (Thank you Vincent for that work). I swapped all of my Right handed Curado's out for Left handed Abu Garcia Revo's. Retaught myself how to Walk the Dog, and have been left handed retrieve since then.

IT doesn't happen every cast, or every day, but prior to the switch, I would occasionally enough miss a fish during the rod swap from one hand to the next. OVer a year's time, I would loss around 5-10 fish this way. Not good for a tournament angler. That is why I made the switch. I am training my son now, with a left hand retrieve, so that he never has to make the swap.

roninrus1 · Post by **roninrus1** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 10:01 am

I am right-handed, can cast with either hand but normally cast left-handed and reel right-handed with casting reels.
I had a bike wreck in 1972 and messed my left wrist up. When working a Spook or Top-Dog type lure I cast right-handed and use a left-handed reel. If I don't my left wrist will hurt for days after a trip.
With spinning or fly rods/reels I cast right and reel left.
But then I've only been doing this for over 60 years. :dance:

5x5 · Post by **5x5** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:40 am

kuyatwo wrote:
maskale wrote:its what you are comfortable with, reeling with your non casting hand is more efficient.

im right handed, cast with right, swap the rod to my left and reel with right.

spinning reels though for some reason I cast right and reel left.
Maybe that is why i went with cast right reel left. As I have been using spinning reels for 35yrs and this is my first year using bait cast reel

This is what I do also. my spinning and fly rigs are left hand retrieve while bait casters are right.

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