How Many Rightys Fish Lefty?

[fstr385]

All my childhood I used spinners, rod in right, reel left. When I just began bass fishing again doing research seen baitcasters were a popular reel for bass fishing, so I got one. I felt a few at the store and never felt comfortable using a right hand rod, even though Im right handed. Having been used to always holding the rod in my right hand and reeling with the left I got a lefty reel, and just got my 4th one tonight since fall of last year lol. Just made me wonder how many others do that, since I never see it on tv or hear about it because they arent around often as I would think because o situations like this outside of regularly left handed people.

[gripnrip]

My spinning reels are lefty.  I have 2 flipping reels that are lefty.  All the rest are right.  The flipping reels are lefty because it just feels weird to even try using my left to pitch and flip.  

[Southfork]

My handles always have and always will be on the left side, no matter what kind of reel.

 

I'm just not comfortable with anything else.

[BassinB]

Spinning reels- handle on the left

Casting reels- handle on the right

[georgeyew]

Both my spinning and casting reels have the handles on the left. I like to keep things simple and standardized.

[Jig Meister]

Learned on lefties, still use them today. I am right handed. 

 

I like having my dominate hand work the bait with the rod, plus, I am faster with my dominate hand when it comes to setting a hook once I feel the bite. I think it is more important to have you dominate hand on the rod, but I also learned this way. I think I am in the minority with that mindset, it probably doesnt matter anyway

[fstr385]

Yea makes sense. I dont know how some of you guys do both, but Im sure it has some advantage. I cant underhand roll to my right well.. only straight to left. Im sure having the ability to do both has some advantage, but its like writing or hitting a baseball to me trying to cast or thumb a right hand caster. At least its not as uncommon as I thought.

[moguy1973]

I cast right reel left. Always felt more natural for me like that. Makes it so I don't have to swap hands after I cast too.

[SudburyBasser]

I was kind of thinking about this the other day now that I bought a few right-handed baitcasters. I cast and reel with my right hand...which means I'll have to cast, thumb and then move the reel to my left hand so that I can start reeling in with my right. I see plenty of people do it but I almost wish I had bought left-handed reels.

 

Of course, I do that with spinning gear now so....

[Felix77]

Another rightey using all lefty reels. I also golf, and throw lefty. Go figure!

[prjavelin]

its a mess in my opinion. I set up my spinning tackle to be righty my baitcaster is the usual right handed hence my desire to change my spinning reels. I learned to use lefties since I was a kid. Im trying to switch completely to using the rod  on my left and the handles on my right. It sucks because I cant cast very well with my left hand. I sometimes do the cast right switch rod from hand to hand.

[Bluebasser86]

I cast right handed with everything except close quarters with casting gear, then I'll cast left handed. I reel left handed with spinning gear and right handed with casting gear and can not interchange the two. 

[Tkramer22]

Thats the way I am. I have to throw it out there with my right hand or it just feels awkward. I'm right handed so I think it makes more since to cast right handed than to reel right handed. 

[TiNuts]

Fortunately for me, I'm ambidextrous, which is "both handed" for anyone who doesn't know. I naturally want to cast left handed and crank right handed. Works out well for me fishing. Not so much for baseball though.

[rippin-lips]

Cast right - reel left 90% of the time. I can cast left when needed. Like everyone said learning like that with spinning gear it just feels right to me. Also as someone mention with dominant hand. Why wouldn't you want the hand you're used to using for everything working the bait. To me it makes sense. It however cuts down on some reel choices I make. No team Lews in LH

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Im weird.  I cast and reel both with my right hand.  So I cast right, switch my rod to my left hand, and then reel right.  Ive tried casting/reeling with my left to eliminate the need to switch hands but it just feels weird.  Can't get used to it.

[islandbass]

Just remember that a right-handed reel is not designated to mean it is for a right-handed person, or more accurately, a person with right hand dominance.

 

In actuality, rightly and accurately so, reel makers designate them right-handed reels because, regardless of the angler's hand dominance, when the reel is in use, the angler's right hand is going to be on the handle. So unless you turn your a baitcast with its handle on the right side of the reel, your right hand is going to turn the handle... unless of course, you turn you rig upside down, lol.

 

I can relate as I initially thought the same thing. My first baitcaster as a result was a right hand model and it sure felt awkward.

 

When given the option, I strongly prefer LH retrieve for both spinning and casting, but I have since programmed myself to fish either way. I will not buy another RH reel unless it's too good of a deal to pass up.

[Ima Bass Ninja]

I'm left handed and both spinning and bait casting I reel from the right side. Luckily for me when I got into bait casting I didn't know about left retrieve and the right just felt more natural. Plus I like having control of the rod with my dominate hand regardless of outfit type.

[roadwarrior]

George Welcome:

 

Let's get technical, as there are in fact reasons, not just some lame holdover from days past that put the handles where they are. 

What will move the fish during retrieval is placed to the strong hand!

A baitcast is designed to be used as a winch, so it is the reel that retrieves the fish. Hence if you are right handed the handle is in your right hand. 

A spinning reel is designed to pick up unloaded or loose line, not retrieve the fish. Hence it is the rod that does the retrieval, so it is the rod that is in your strong hand. If you are right handed then the pole goes to the right hand.

[Megastink]

I always had right retrieve baitcasters, yet my spinning reels were always lefty retrieve. I bough half a dozen new Gen3 STX's this year, and I got all lefty retrieve reels, because I cast with my right hand, and now I dont have to switch hands pre and post cast. I think over the course of a day, I get my bait in the water a few more times

[slowpoke274]

im a lefty and fish all right handed reels feel more comfortable controlling rod and bait with left hand and as stated above you dont need to switch hands before and after the cast so you get a few more presentations in during the course of a day

[Shane J]

I'm right handed, and reel both casting and spinning with my left.

[jhoffman]

I fish lefty. I remember my first baitcaster before lefties came out and it was a nightmare. Of course, back then I was a whopping 15 years old and had no idea they even had brakes. Did they have brakes 17 years ago? I dont really remember. I bought a good one and then promptly sold it because I couldnt do anything with it. Now, I absolutely love baitcasters. When I bought my first boat they had lefties out and I committed myself to learning how to run it right. Most of my buddies still cant fish them.

 

Fly fishing I control my rod with my right hand so it came natural there also. When I played hockey, I was a lefty, because you control the stick with your dominate hand.

[Oregon Native]

From what I understand originally the lefty thing stared mainly on the west coast many years ago.  I have been doing this for probably over 30 years back when the selection was not so good.  Now I could be wrong on this but when I was working retail for a couple sporting good stores this is what I was told by manufacturers a number of times.

Never made sense to me to switch hands after a cast anyway.

[South FLA]

Right handed for almost all applications other than pitching and flipping where the rod sweep/set-up needs to be in the "strong hand" immediately, e.g. when the jig is hit immediately on a pitch or flip.