Why Do People Use Right Handed Reels?

[Basseditor]

Right hand retrieve for me because that was the only way my first Amabassduer 5000 came when I bought it new in 1963. I saved all my chores income to get it. I was 10 yrs old.

[Jeff H]

This subject always cracks me up.  You guys don't really waste time worrying about such a trivial matter, do you?  Who gives a hoot!  

 

There's this other popular sport we have in this country called baseball.  Some are right, some left, some can switch.  It doesn't matter as long as you can play the game.  When I played, I could switch hit and throw almost as good with my left as my right.  Glove stayed on my left hand but sometimes I'd switch hit just to throw a guy off.  In the end it didn't matter as long as I got my intended results.  

 

As close to ambidextrous as I am/was, I don't like reeling my baitcasters with my left nor do I like reeling my spinning rigs with my right.  That's how I do it, it works for me and I do as well as the next guy.  How or why somebody else handles their rods/reels the way they do never factors into my day.

[Tywithay]

If I were to cast with my left... Let's just say I might as well just throw my whole tackle box right into a tree and save myself a few dozen birds nests too.

It really does suck that every reel for sale is a righty though. Really steams my clams, man. Go look in the Flea Market- every single reel is righty. I have been looking for a Curado 51e for WEEKS- and I've seen literally a hundred 50e reels. Only two were 51s and as a result the price was WAAAAAAAAAAY higher. I've given up and even spent more than I should have just to get on with it.

I've found the opposite. Every time I find something I want, it's a lefty. Oh well...

[bigbill]

From being a car mechanic in my younger days and working under dash boards I had no choice to become amberdexterious. I use a left hand spinning reel but a right and left hand on my bait casters. 

[Grantman83]

If you watch the pros who switch hands, they always wait a second and hold the line before switching hands so as to make sure they don't miss a bite on the fall. I prefer to reel right handed and as such when I pitch out I just hold the line/rod for a few seconds before switching. No biggie to me. I keep my thumb on the spool if I have to set the hook. It may be more complicated, but I really don't like retrieving left handed with baitcasters

[flyfisher]

I use a left hand retrieve on everything i throw from bait casters, spinning and fly reels.

 

My thought was it never made sense to switch hands after casting so that is what i stuck with, pretty basic concept really but ultimately whatever works for you is what you should use.

[.ghoti.]

Uh, because I like it that way?

[aavery2]

I can use either hand to a degree for fishing and a few other things but ultimately my right hand is more dominant.  When I started buying baitcasting equipment for myself in the early 80's there was almost no selection at most retailers for left hand reels, it is better today, but there are still some major mfg's that are slow to produce or do not produce left hand reels in certain models.   My Brother and Son are both left handed, and I have watched both of them cast at length. the casting grip and retrieving grip are both different, and to switch from one to the other requires the off hand to be brought to the reel to support it while the hand is adjusted.   It happens so naturally I don't think a lot of people even realize that they do it, much like right handed people who switch hands after the cast, it is a natural motion and happens with not thinking required.   Ultimately fishing is about fun for most of us, you should do whatever creates the least amount of stress and offers the greatest amount of enjoyment, there are few rules in fishing, and even those can be broken.

[Choporoz]

I was also told another reason for this and it has to do with how you hold the rod. A righty using a spinning rod will usually cast with the right hand and then reel with the left, and your hand just stays in the same position on the rod the whole time. With a baitcaster, a righty will still usually cast with the right, but the grip you would use during retrieval is different than the grip you would use while casting, so it is easier to just transfer it to your left hand right into the correct grip and then reel with the right hand, rather than transfer it to the left and back to the right again to get the grip corrected.

I'd never heard this, but there could be something to it.  I'm a lefty and always used right-cranking spinning gear.  When I started baitcasting, I (naturally?) got a right cranking reel.  It took some time start palming the reel religiously on retrieve.  If I'd have been forced to switch hands after the cast, I'd have held it 'right' every time.

[sparky241]

It doesnt make sense to me to change hands really, i have 2right hand baitcasters and 2 left. I prefer the lefty

[Rich in Co]

I'm one of those wierd guy who is left handed I cast a BC with my left and reel with my right but switch hands with the spinning gear, its just how I have done it my whole life. I have tried going right with the spinning gear but it felt so awkward 

[Bruce424]

I am left handed so baitcasters are usually set up for lefties... why?? And there are right handed baitcasters soooo why dont pros use them. I see majority of them switch hands during cast or pitch?????? Why its probly such a simple answer but it still baffles me. Fishing with my dad I used to always switch handle sides. Maybe they are used to it but I dont know.

[Maico1]

My question is " What does it Matter" . If you are out on the water fishing and enjoying yourself does it matter what hand you use . At the end of the day what ever hand you use it what is right for you so is there really an issue here because there is no wrong answer.....

[Jrob78]

I can use either hand to a degree for fishing and a few other things but ultimately my right hand is more dominant.  When I started buying baitcasting equipment for myself in the early 80's there was almost no selection at most retailers for left hand reels, it is better today, but there are still some major mfg's that are slow to produce or do not produce left hand reels in certain models.   My Brother and Son are both left handed, and I have watched both of them cast at length. the casting grip and retrieving grip are both different, and to switch from one to the other requires the off hand to be brought to the reel to support it while the hand is adjusted.   It happens so naturally I don't think a lot of people even realize that they do it, much like right handed people who switch hands after the cast, it is a natural motion and happens with not thinking required.   Ultimately fishing is about fun for most of us, you should do whatever creates the least amount of stress and offers the greatest amount of enjoyment, there are few rules in fishing, and even those can be broken.

I agree with you.  I gave left handed reels a try and came to the same conclusion.  If you palm a baitcaster you still have to move from a casting grip to a reeling grip, even if you don't switch hands.   It's just as easy to switch hands as it is to adjust your grip and not switch hands.

[FrankW]

What works is correct.  For pitching with a bait caster I hold the reel with a palm hold that allows me to cast and set the hook if I get a on their noggin hit.  I cast both right and left handed according to what setup I pick up.  If I am casting for distance there is plenty of time to change hands and get ready if I pick up a right handed reel.  There are way too many Elite members who change hands while casting to say that one way or the other is wrong.  Each person needs to find their own way.  

 

Frank  

[lmbfisherman]

I'm left handed BUT!!

 

For baitcasters the handle is on the right.

For Spinning the handle is on the left.

 

Of course this isn't the only sport I do the opposite for my dominant hand.

 

Baseball - I can bat left and right - Make better contact right though.

Golf - I play on the right side

Badminton/Tennis..etc  - Right Side

[dam0007]

A lot of companies don't make certain gear ratios for lefties on certain models.