If I Cast Right Hand Would I Need A Left Hand Retrieve Baitcasting Reel

[Morgen Wilder]

if I cast right hand would I need a right hand or left hand retrieve baitcasting reel??

[fishguy613]

that would be for you to decide, everyone has their own preferences

[hooah212002]

You only need whichever most comfortable. MOST people cast right and retrieve right (for casting reels), but that only due to the simple fact that left hand retrieve reels are a relatively new invention. It's up to you if you want to switch hands before you start reeling or if you want to not have to do that. There is no right or wrong way to do it for casting reels.

[tcbass]

I cast right and use a right handed baitcasrer.

However, I cast right and use a left handed spinning reel.

[roadwarrior]

Some guys prefer to reel with their weak hand, but most prefer their strong one.

Traditionally right-handed fishermen have baitcasting reels with the handle on the

right. For spinning tackle the handle is on the left. Here is a post from George Welcome,

a well known guiide from Stick Marsh/ Farm 13, Florida:

 

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.

[Raul]

I cast right all my reels no matter if they are bc or spinning have the handle on the RIGHT side.

 

The most complicated thing you can ask my left hand to do is to hold things and that´s it.

[mcgreggor57]

I'm a righty and have both my spinning and bc set up with the handles on the left.  It's just a preference I find comfortable.

[5fishlimit]

I'm a righty, and I use left hand baitcasting gear because I find it ridiculous to switch the rod from my right hand to my left hand after I release the lure, especially when pitching/flipping.

[Jaderose]

I cast right and use a right handed baitcasrer.

However, I cast right and use a left handed spinning reel.

 

 

This^^

[K_Mac]

RW's post quoting George Welcome is a great explanation of why the cranking of a baitcast reel traditionally is done with the strong hand. If I were fishing for marlin I may choose the traditional option, but for bass it is much easier for me to control the fish with the rod in my dominant hand. This is my preference after years of using both. Try both, and then decide.

[Smallmouth Hunter]

Left hand reels and don't look back

[tcbass]

Some guys prefer to reel with their weak hand, but most prefer their strong one.

Traditionally right-handed fishermen have baitcasting reels with the handle on the

right. For spinning tackle the handle is on the left. Here is a post from George Welcome,

a well known guiide from Stick Marsh/ Farm 13, Florida:

 

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.

 

 

 

Yep. This is a good explanation.

[new2BC4bass]

Welcome to the forum.  Lots of good information here.  Lots of articles as well.  Plenty of reading for the off season.  

 

Like others have already said...........use whichever hand is most comfortable for you.  Or learn to use both hands.  My b/c reels are divided almost equally between LH and RH reels.  I'll cast with either hand regardless of which side the handle is on.

 

One thing you might want to try is holding the rod at about a 45 degree angle, disengage the spool, and then feather the spool as the lure drops.  Try it with both hands.  I tried this in front of the TV after I bought my first b/c reel.  It was February so kind of hard to bass fish here,  LOL.  What I found was that I had much better control feathering the spool with my left thumb.  Unfortunately I am right handed, and so cast with that arm more often than the left because I am more accurate on that side.  However, whenever I get into a situation where I am over-running or backlashing on the right side, I switch sides.  Better to have a little less accuracy and be fishing than to be removing over-runs or backlashes and not fishing.  

 

[jignfule]

 

I'm a righty and have both my spinning and bc set up with the handles on the left.  It's just a preference I find comfortable.

 me too.

[SirSnookalot]

It's all about what is comfortable for each individual.  I don't buy that winch philosophy for a second, whether it's spinning or b/c.  The only real difference is the angle of the spools, spinning the spool is parallel to the rod so the line is wrapped around the spool and the b/c's spool is at a right angle so the line gets fed on straight.  The act of reeling in the fish is identical, the drag is set and the fish get's played.  It's a known fact that some bass fishermen using heavy braided with a locked down drag basically do winch that fish in.  I can lock down the drag on spinning reel and do the same thing, bass are not going to pull out 10-12# of drag.

 

It's one thing to move a bass with the rod, entirely different issue with other species.  Getting into even medium sized fish in the 40 or 50# range moving those fish with rod is remote, those fish are moving you, especially if they are peeling out 75 yards of line.  When a large fish is on the line your gonna have both hands on the rod, pulling up an reeling down is the way most are landed. 

[STPC]

Glad someone else asked this question.  I am right handed and feel that using my right hand to cast and thumb (being that is my dominant hand) is much more natural.  Also, I find it difficult to walk topwater baits w/my left hand working the rod; it just feels awkward.  So when given the chance I'll go w/a left handed bc.  I own both though, right and left handed.

[rawjuice]

I find it more comfortable for myself using left hand retrieve even though im right handed. Especially on baits that need movement like spooks or jerkbaits. 

[OroBass]

I agree with that. I caught a 44 inch sturgeon this year and that is a different fight than a bass. You actually get tired bringing in a fish like that!

[tcbass]

I think people are missing a huge factor:

 

Ambidextrousness

 

 

 

Some people are very well coordinated with both hands. Others, like me basically have their dominant hand and then a stick. lol. I have almost no coordination in my left hand. It works, but I can't write or do anything of detail with it. Some folks can write with either hand.

 

 

My right hand is my dominant hand, strong hand, and coordinated hand. I use my left hand for pulling the rod on a baitcaster and right hand to reel. With a spinning reel I use my right hand to pull and control the rod and my left hand to reel. I notice when using a spinning rod I move the rod a lot more that I do with a baitcaster. A baitcaster tends to be stuck more in the center and barely moved from there while the spinning rod gets moved away from the body more. Because of that movement I need my dominant, strong hand and the strength that goes with it.

 

 

 

.

[hooah212002]

There's only one wrong way to reel: spinning reel on top. Everything else is just preference and person comfort.

[jason41987]

ill add my $0.02.. last year i made the jump from spinning reels to baitcasters, i casted right, reeled left with the spinning reels.. on the casting reels i went with a right hand retrieve.. what i found is that i actually prefer the right hand retrieve.. why?.. well i dont want the hand i hold the reel with to be so far down on the grip, i like to have a better balance, with a spinning reel your hand is right over the reel, so its balanced that way.. but on a casting reel its not, not when you cast, so ive found i prefer to grab the reel with my left hand

 

if i had a left side retrieve reel, id have to cast right, then grab it with the left hand while i grab it again with the right hand around the reel to change the grip.. by having a right hand retrieve it goes from taking two actions to one, and it also allows me to quickly slide my left hand off the reel and onto the fore grip in front of the casting reel for added leverage when fighting a big fish

 

so for me, the better feel and better balance was more important to me than which hand i reeled in with

 

also, i use an abu garcia ambassadeur 5600C4 which is a round baitcaster, not even designed to fit in the palm as well as the low profile baitcasters and i still find it much more comfortable to hold it in the same fashion.. that said i cant even bring myself to go back to spinning rods and reels because i prefer the setup i have now far too much