Baitcasters- Rh... Spinning- Lh...why?

[Billington9]

I have a dumb question but one I've been wondering about for years.  Why do standard bait cast reels have the lever on the right side of reel? Most anglers are right handed- wouldn't it make more sense to hold /cast the rod in your dominant hand and not have to switch after casting ?

 

For example with spinning reels as a RH angler you simply have to cast, set the bail and start the retrieve without switching hands.

 

I am RH and use LH reels while my brother is LH but uses RH reels- the rod never leaves our dominant hand.  As a youth I had a hard time transitioning from LH spinning to a RH bait cast.

 

Again just curious why LH reels aren't standard and /or more popular with RH anglers(?)

[Preytorien]

I've wondered that for some time. I'm not really sure the answer, but I know for me, a right-handed person, I like a lefthand reel. I think it's because I like the feel of the rod in my right hand, which needs to have more power, which my right arm seems to be more powerful than my left. Add to that the fact that I don't have to switch hands or anything after I've made my cast.....all things you've pointed out.

 

I dunno.....just a guess. Haha. I just like lefthand reels better for my own personal use. I'm sure we'll see some interesting answers, which I'm curious about because I've often wondered the same thing.

[Dwight Hottle]

Because we are stupid. We are told to use a spinning rod in our right hand & reel with our left if we are right handed. Since your right arm is dominate it makes perfect sense to cast with your right arm & immediate reel with your left without any transfer. This happens because a spinning reel sits under the rod instead of above unless you are a nerd. 

Then the manufactures of baitcasters determined that right handed people will want to reel with our right hands. That is a flawed premise. We want to cast with our dominant arm. Then we have to transfer the rod to our left hand so we can reel with our right. I as well as most others bought into that stupidity & also because there are more offerings in right handed baitcast reels than left handed. 

Ideally a right handed person would cast with their right hand & reel with their left. That is much more efficient that having to make the transfer from right hand to left with the rod after casting.

 

The bait casting manufacturers have done us wrong.

[AK-Jax86]

Ha I'm glad you posted this idk if you used the "search feature" lol if this has been brought up before but I have wondered this as well just never asked the question... curious to see some responses

[Grantman83]

I actually think it comes down to the fact that you have to palm and hold a baitcaster as well as thumbing the spool. I cast both spinning and casting rods from my right side because I am right handed. I can use a spinning setup from either side since I don't have to hold the reel in any ways.

However, it just feels more comfortable to me with how I palm a reel, to hold it in my left and and reel with my right. My body is just more in synch this way. I can twitch the rod while reeling in a smooth fashion while using a right handed reel. My friend Jordon is right handed but uses left handed reels exclusively. I tried using them and just couldn't get in synch.

Furthermore, since my right hand is my stronger hand, I have more awareness when thumbing the spool as compared to my left which is totally off.

[georgeyew]

This has been brought up many times in the past. If you start off learning to reel with your right, then that becomes natural to you. I started off with a spinning and always reeled with my left. So naturally for me when I bought a baitcasting reel, it was a lefty.

[roadwarrior]

#16 George Welcome (IP: 67.35.112.245)

George Welcome

I love bass fishing!

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Posted August 22 2007 - 10:37 AM

 

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.

[Jigs 4 Pigs]

Im right handed, my baitcasters and spinning setups are righty. Retrieving with my left hand feels wrong after so many years reeling with my right hand.

Tried to go lefty, couldn't do it.

[Mike2841]

I'm not sure about anyone else, but when using a heavy saltwater setup I feel more comfortable reeling with my right hand (I use lh bass fishing). Maybe manufacturers made large conventional reels right handed, then when making smaller freshwater versions they just downsized what they had.

I think it makes sense that with a baitcaster the reel is the winch and as most people are right dominant the handle is on the right side. However since bass fishing is done on such light tackle people would rather work the rod with their dominant hand and retrieve with the other.

[MarkH024]

Im right handed, my baitcasters and spinning setups are righty. Retrieving with my left hand feels wrong after so many years reeling with my right hand.

Tried to go lefty, couldn't do it.

I do the same and have tried to convert. It's more or less controlling the rod and the actions in my left hand is more comfortable.  Don't fix what isn't broken I suppose.

[Paulasaurus]

I'm right handed and I've fished my spinning reels right handed since I was a kid. Cast right handed then move the rod to the left hand for the retrieve. Last season I switched my spinning reels to my left hand to see how it felt since I was considering buying a casting reel. After a full season of left handed on the spinning reel I found that the rod felt much better in my right hand on the cast and retrieve. I felt more confident and noticed I actually had a slightly better hook up ratio along with what felt like a better feel with my lure. My left hand on the crank felt a bit clumsy at first but after a season I felt comfortable enough to buy my first casting reel. I found a Curado 201e7 locally and jumped on it. After fishing it for a couple months it felt great and have since added a second left handed casting reel to my collection. As well as keeping my spinning setups left handed.

 

Right or Left is always in the back of my mind and feel I could learn to fish well with either but for now keeping the rod in my right hand just feels right.

[iabass8]

i'm am extremely right hand dominant in most things that I do in life but for the life of me using a right hand baticaster feels like i'm trying to write cursive /w my left hand for the first time. left hand reels feel so much more natural when i cast /w my right arm.

[TC235 <*))))><]

So many reels i cant buy cause there RH only

[OkobojiEagle]

The first ones were built that way for whatever reasons the inventor had and subsequent versions followed suit.  I doubt there are any more sinister reasons that that.

 

 

oe

[Smokinal]

I buy all my reels in LH crank only. I like my dominant arm to work the bait and set the hook. I also have no transfer after the cast. But whatever you are used to is correct. If you catch fish fishing the weird way, more power to ya.

[The Rooster]

For me:

Baitcast - cast right handed, switch hands and reel right handed. However, I pitch left handed using my right handed reels. Seems easier this way, the handle isn't in my way as much.

Spinning - cast left handed, close bail and reel right handed. As I understand it, this is not the way most do it.

Over the years I've learned to cast both rods with both hands. I listed the ways I'm most comfortable doing it. I'm not as good with left handed baitcasting as I'd like but I can do it. Spinning I can go either way but since the bail spins the direction it does it just seems more natural to hold and cast it in my left hand. Line comes around right into my open finger for readying a cast.

[Missourifishin]

I'm probably an odd ball for doing this. But I cast with my right, quickly switch hands and then retrieve also with my right, whether it's spinning gear or casting.

[basshole8190]

Is it just me or does anyone else feel wierd reeling a bc with their lh? i bought one to try for flipping and pitching but it just feels wierd.

[Topwaterspook]

I'm right handed and  made a conscious decision when I got into BC reels to use left handed reels. Seemed perfectly reasonable to me. Thus started my long association with Shimano reels. Since I've had my right wrist fused and have lots of difficulty casting righty, I'm back to a transition phase. I think it's whatever works best for each of us.

[MIbassin]

I am a righty and I'm the opposite….it feels extremely awkward reeling with my right hand.. all of my reels are left handed.

[Surveyor]

I guess I am the only one here that really does it right.

Daddy taught me so I know its the way its supposed to be done.

I cast baitcaster with my left hand real with right.

Throw spinner with right hand real with left.

 

Daddy's reasoning---- "Son sometimes in order to catch em you just gotta throw it in their mouths. No time to switch hands."

Daddy has passed on and but he loved bass fishing especially with a topwater plug.

[CWB]

Is it just me or does anyone else feel wierd reeling a bc with their lh? i bought one to try for flipping and pitching but it just feels wierd.

Me too. Also the palming an comfortable feeling. R.W. quoted some very interesting points. I cast a baitcaster with my right arm and switch it over and am ready to reel by the time the bait hits the water so there is no "lost time". Just feels more natural. Spinning the rod never leaves my right arm. Like Rooster says be sure to flip the bail over manually to avoid loops and twist. I always extend my finger out to make sure there are no loops before starting to reel.

Hey Dwight. Who you calling a nerd. I thought thats how everyone does it.

[Waterlogged]

I HAVE to reel with my right hand regardless of it being a spinning or casting reel. I made myself learn to pitch and flip with the rod in my left hand due to a large percentage of my bites coming from the initial fall and the few seconds it takes to switch hands could cost you a stud!

[MacP]

The were initially made right handed retreive for fighting larger fish.  More people are RH dominant and stronger with their right arm.  Cranking big fish on your non-dominant hand can get tiring. 

 

I'll always crank lefty.  I think casting and then switching hands to retrieve is wasted energy.

[flyfisher]

I reel everything lefty which includes baitcsters, spinning and fly rods and i cast right handed as well.