How Do You Hold Your Rod/reel?

[tomustang]

Baitcaster and Spinning

You would think there's only one way but gripping is different. I mainly hold at the trigger, sometimes I'll double finger the trigger. I don't palm a baitcaster but then again I've seen different palm techniques used.

Spinning, there's different ways where you can grip the reel, and even not at all, when I cast ill grip with the pinky/ring then switch over to the ring/middle for better hold.

[SirSnookalot]

Over the course of years without thinking about it my hand moved from holding a spinning reel between my index and middle finger to having my entire hand in front of the reel, pinky resting on the reel foot. Since all of my rods have a good size fore grip I find this very comfortable, I feel my hand is in position for better leverage on a larger fish. Going back to a more traditional grip is now uncomfortable for me.

[outdoorsman110]

I double finger the trigger and palm the left side of the reel. My index finger always touches the wormshaft gear screw.

[iabass8]

Casting gear i one or two finger the trigger most of the time and palm when throwing jerks. More relaxed feeling. Spinning i hold the foregrip above the reel on the cork. Feel a lot more this way.

[J Francho]

Never really thought about it. I guess I palm a caster, and 2 or 3 fingers in front on a spinner.

[j.bruno]

I palm my bait casters

Hold the spinners under the reel or sometimes the reel seat

[ww2farmer]

Never really thought about it. I guess I palm a caster, and 2 or 3 fingers in front on a spinner.

Same..................I think.

[jkarol24]

I palm the baitcaster as well, 2 fingers above the trigger while casting and 3 above while retrieving (i switch hands...). For the spinning rod, it depends on the technique. For instance, if im dropshotting or using a shakeyhead and have to impart movement, i hold the reel stem between the pinky and ring finger, and hold it at about wait level. For dead sticking, the reel stem is between my index and middle, or middle and ring.

[fadetoblack21]

Over the course of years without thinking about it my hand moved from holding a spinning reel between my index and middle finger to having my entire hand in front of the reel, pinky resting on the reel foot. Since all of my rods have a good size fore grip I find this very comfortable, I feel my hand is in position for better leverage on a larger fish. Going back to a more traditional grip is now uncomfortable for me.

I fish all spinning gear right now and this is exactly how I hold my rods. I grip just in front of the reel with my pinky against the reel seat. I find that the rod is balanced better and I have more leverage when fighting fish. I switched from having the reel between any fingers to holding in front of the reel mostly because the reel was starting to hurt my fingers on long days of fishing.

[Mike L]

On a bc, 3 fingers behind trigger, index in it to cast.

3 in front when reeling, palmed.t

On spinning reel 3 in front with thumb on top, casting and reeling.

Index finger under the line when working soft baits.

Mike

[BrianSnat]

I only have spinning reels. I hold it with two fingers on either side of the stem. Every one of my reels is a Shimano with the Quickfire feature and that puts my forefinger in the perfect position to use it.

I remember when one of my wife's friends went fishing with us once. She told us she had been fishing since she was a child. She gets in the boat and proceeds to hold her spinning rod upside down with the reel on top like a bait caster and her entire hand behind the reel. She said it was the way her father taught her to fish and she's done it that way her entire life. She's in her late 50's so she's been doing it some for some time. It hurt me to watch but she was having fun so who am I to say that she was doing it wrong?

[deep]

Spinning: Index finger on the blank, middle finger in front, two in the back for rods with no foregrips. Two fingers on either side for rods with foregrips..

Baitcasters: One or two fingers behind the trigger, and thumb always on the spool..

That's for regular bass fishing...

[Jake P]

Usually with my hands....

[logan9209]

It's funny, I essentially hold spincast, baitcast, and spinning the same way. With b/c and s/c I palm the reel with forefinger and middle finger in front of the reel while my ring finger and pinky finger grips the rod underneath resting on the trigger. On spinning, my hand basically splits the reel. F/f and m/f in front underneath the handle and r/f and p/f in the rear underneath. My thumb sits on top in line with the rod.

I am right handed, but could never get used to casting with my right and reeling with left. I cast with right hand and reel with same hand. Some say that you lose valuable time that way, but I actually switch hands fairly quickly and have never lost a fish due to the switch. Also, despite being right handed, I have more power setting the hook and controlling the fish with my left hand/ arm. Makes no sense I know, still.

[hatrix]

Like snook I now hold all spinning rods by the front grip. I find I have better control and it is more comfortable then splitting the reel like I use to. As for casting it depends on the lure but it is either all my fingers or just 3 in front of the trigger.

[new2BC4bass]

Usually with my hands....

My answer was "with one hand although I will sometimes use two to cast." Sorry Tom!

[tomustang]

As long as you guys don't have other people holding your own rods its okay

[SirSnookalot]

Like snook I now hold all spinning rods by the front grip. I find I have better control and it is more comfortable then splitting the reel like I use to. As for casting it depends on the lure but it is either all my fingers or just 3 in front of the trigger.

Quite honestly it wasn't always the way I fished. Started fishing saltwater every morning for nearly 9 years, my hand just moved without ever planning, It just made handling the fish so much more efficient. I bass fish almost every afternoon ( in the cooler months), so I'm used to holding my rods like I do in saltwater. No question for me, as I've seen the results, saltwater fishing has greatly improved my bass fishing. One has to fish the way they are most comfortable, what works for me may not work for someone else.

[hatrix]

Quite honestly it wasn't always the way I fished. Started fishing saltwater every morning for nearly 9 years, my hand just moved without ever planning, It just made handling the fish so much more efficient. I bass fish almost every afternoon ( in the cooler months), so I'm used to holding my rods like I do in saltwater. No question for me, as I've seen the results, saltwater fishing has greatly improved my bass fishing. One has to fish the way they are most comfortable, what works for me may not work for someone else.

That was not the way I fished either with spinning. It just kind of evolved into that and now it is natural for me to instantly grab the front cork. I think a lot of it has to do with the weight and how it balances when I hold a rod like that. If i split the reel it seems weird to me and i can feel the weight of the reel in front of where I am holding it. If I grab the front grip it balances it and your hand is more on center mass of the rod like palming a casting reel.

[tholmes]

Three fingers in front of the trigger on baitcasters, and three fingers in front of the reel stem on a spinning reel.

Tom