why are most baitcasting reels L. handed?

[hawgenvy]

On 12/21/2015 at 3:37 PM, Tmmytomato said:

Most baitcasting reels are not left handed. Although most are right handed (handle on right side) there has been a huge upsurge in requests for left handed reels, especially in the mid to upper range of reels.  I pro staff for a very large sporting goods outlet and we have a lot of requests for lefty reels. Quite often there are not nearly enough lefties in stock although many more righties are sold. 

I used to reel right handed and although I can cast with either hand my accuracy was far better casting right handed and then switching. But two reasons caused me to change to all left handed baitcasters: my right elbow pained me beyond use from ligament damage over the years and secondly, I lost two very large fish trying to switch hands after pitching under very low overhanging branches where I can to keep my hand on the reel longer than normal. Both fish were in extremely shallow water and I could not switch and turn the handle to lock the spool fast enough. The other fact is that most spinning reels are shipped/set up with the handle on the left and most people have no issue casting with the right and then naturally reeling with the left. I have to laugh when I hear people who readily fish with a left handed spinning reel say they can't reel a left handed baitcaster because it feels so unnatural - what??

 

Tomato, sir, do you have experience with, or have an opinion on, the bait casters with a flipping switch, or on those, like some Pinnacle reels, that have a re-engagement switch ("QuickFlip button") off to the side? The idea, of course is to be able to set the hook on a surprise bite right when the bait touches down, especially when you're pitching or in tight quarters.

[new2BC4bass]

21 hours ago, massrob said:

I went through this last year while starting to use baitcasters. I found that at first because I was used to spinning tackle I had a hard time with right handed reels so I bought a left handed reel. It felt better for awhile but my frog rod had a right handed tatula on it and by the end of the season I felt much more comfortable with right handed because I threw the frog setup the most. So I think it's just in our heads and we can adapt to whatever we need to. Now I'm just gonna stick to right handed reels.  

 

I started using right hand baitcasters because 1) not all reels come in left hand, and 2) I wanted to be able to take advantage of any good deals that came up regardless of which hand they were.  Why limit yourself if you can use both.  I always cast with the right arm if accuracy is a priority no matter which side the handle is on.  Casting distance doesn't suffer on either side.

[bigfruits]

I am right handed and switched to left handed baitcasters several years ago. it took less than one outing before i realized i made the right choice. i sold off my right handed baitcasters soon after. i fish a lot of bottom contact baits and i get way better feel by working the rod with my dominant hand.

 

[JRammit]

Im on the same page!... I had a right handed baitcaster that was stolen several years ago... Ive been fishing spinning tackle ever since and got use to working the rod in my right hand

I just recently got another baitcaster, and i went left handed... I LOVE IT!... Click, cast, reel.. Click, cast, reel... And all my coordination is in my right hand, so it works the rod while my clumsy left hand turns the handle

One thing hard to remember, on a left hand reel, the drag is backwards.... Lefty tighty, righty loosey...... I lost a big fish to a bent hook because of that last week

[bigfruits]

23 minutes ago, JRammit said:

One thing hard to remember, on a left hand reel, the drag is backwards.... Lefty tighty, righty loosey...... I lost a big fish to a bent hook because of that last week

think of it as forward - tighten, backwards - loosen

the way the reel handle goes will tighten the drag.

[Racerx]

 Looks like there's plenty of different takes on this topic, something that I just really started to pay attention to, recently.  As a kid, my parents never enforced a dominant hand approach with me.  Whatever was more comfortable, I went with.  As a result, I'm all over the place.  I write lefty, but cut with right-handed scissors (Only guy I knew growing up who could do that, at the same time).  I threw lefty but batted righty. As a kid, my fishing rig was a Zebco 202 rig, with the handle on the right side. I had never heard of right-handed or left-handed reels, and I never thought about it, either.

 When I hit double-digits, my parents bought me a spinning combo, handle on the left.  I cast that d**n thing so much, I had forgotten that I had grown up casting with my left hand, and now I'm casting right-handed.  My casting power was always pretty strong, but I knew my aim was rather wonky. Just figured I had to get better at it, and since I really only fished carp and cat, it didn't matter to me, much.

 Fast forward 5 years, I meet my wife, move, and since I didn't know the local spots like my old ones, and how to access them (I'm in the Pittsburgh suburbs and have 3 rivers out in front of me!), I kinda gave up. 25 years later, after getting the bug on an opening weekend trout outing , I decided to get serious about bass fishing. A year into it, I picked up a baitcaster combo.  When picking out the reel, I chose a left-handed one (handle on the left side), but I was casting with my right hand, just like I did with my spinning gear.  Didn't make sense for me to switch hands to cast, and then switch back to reel. I saw the pros doing that, but it just didn't seem logical to me.

 Now, about 2 years into this bass thing, I noticed that I really needed to up my game with my casting accuracy, if I was going to catch more bass than trees. I was fishing a local lake, and was frustrated with all the overhanging trees around me, tripping me up and was having some difficulty with overruns in my baitcaster, even though I kept going through and making sure my tension and braking was just so.  I saw a decent spot I wanted to cast to, but it was in a way that I'd have to cast with my other hand, to hit it.  I figured "What the heck.", and threw a pretty decent and accurate cast to the spot, and with zero backlash. That's when it hit me:  My left hand is my throwing hand. All those years playing baseball as a kid conditioned that hand to be for throwing, and the casting motions are quite similar. I had been casting with my weaker hand, from around the age of 10, with that spinning rod, making the best of what I had.

 Now, am I left-handed or right-handed?  I have NO @#$%ing idea!  All I know is that I'm sticking with left-handed bait casters and right-handed spinners, cause the reel handle's on the same side.

[cddan]

I have always used right handed retrieve and it took practice.  I had one lefty carbonlite and really enjoyed the instant connection.  I think the righty reels are that way because it keeps everything standard turning threads.. Dragstar and drive shaft. 

I have also thought or perhaps read a long time ago and sort of agree with.  A busy day of fishing, catching and cranking, if your dominant hand/arm does all the work(with left handed retrieve) it can do it easier but in time can become overworked.  Running and gunning a half ounce spinnerbait all day while they're biting and you're gonna have one very tired arm/hand. That's more so in a three or four day tournament (especially with the heavier reels of old) 

. Now with right handed reels the duties of casting and hooksets are traded and the work load is more evenly distributed.

 I did like my old left handed carbonlite (gold) and plan to use left handed casters for pitching, casting or just a change of pace.  

 I think right handed mechanically and physically makes more sense to a tournament or professional for the majority of fishing scenarios.  

 For me learning a right handed retrieve and working the rod left handed has cost quite a few fish over the years and serves a good argument to retrieve left handed.. 

I'm going to use both and begin to purchase some lefties 

 Baitcasters are awesome little machines that fascinate us all and I thoroughly enjoy using them for decades now and to come

8 pounders for all! And to all a good bite! 

[Lendiesel22]

If you write right handed and throw right handed you train from early age to use your right hand for skill activity. You would not write your name left handed and you wouldnt try and throw something accurately with your left. The majority of people are not ambidextrous. So it amazes me that the LH reel users are not tipping the scales. I got lucky when I was 13 that my dad had a LH ambassador in the basement. If that had been a RH reel i would have had no option and learned on that. Like most others. 

[poisonokie]

exactly. Turning a crank requires very little dexterity. It may feel strange if you just reach up and crank the handle of a reel mounted to a display at the counter, but it's wholly different if your right hand is involved. If you're right handed, your left follows your right's lead, so to speak. You can do things with your left so long as it jives with your right. Here's an experiment: Try writing something with your left hand. Turns out looking like hell, right? Now write the same thing with your right and left simultaneously. That's weird... It looks a lot better but you need a mirror to read it.

[Deleted account]

why are most baitcasting reels L. handed?

For the same reason everyone has 2 unicorns in their garage...

 

[Jaderose]

I cast right handed and switch to reel in right handed. Weirdly, I have more control over the bait with my my left hand.  I do it with both BC's and spinning.  Not even something I think about and do it so fast that it's not an issue.  Just how I've learned it