Right or left

[Bill Kowalski]

Why is it that I see TV fisherman using spinner reels with the lefthand dominant and using baitcasters with right hand?  Apparently I grew up using my right hand with spinners.  Am I goofy?  

[bigturtle]

doesnt matter. It literally makes no difference

[William Rossi]

I agree. I cast right hand and reel left hand both spinning and baitcaster. Never made sense to me people that cast right hand, switch rod to left, and reel right.

[ethan-333]

i think just about everyone grew up that way. i made myself learn to cast flip and reel with both hands. sometimes in comes in handy but do what pleases you. takes milliseconds to switch hands after a cast. 

[LuckyHandsINC.]

My spinning reels are lefty and my casting reels are righty. Don't know how it happened, but it's working out ok. I'm left handed if that means anything.

[12poundbass]

I was out ice fishing with my son and my step-dad Saturday and were using his gear, all his reels were reel left. He's the one who taught me to fish. I'm left handed and I use right handed casting and spinning! Apparently after moving out I switched from left handed spinning gear to right. He was confused, I was confused! 

    Whatever works for you and is most comfortable use it.

[roadwarrior]

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.

 

[12poundbass]

21 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

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.

 

Makes sense. That explains why I use right handed gear exclusively, I golf right handed, bat right, hockey right, yet I'm left handed. I've been bass akwards my entire life. I know no different so it's no big deal. Lol

[bigfruits]

ive never felt that my reeling hand (left) was lacking when reeling in a fish. i can control the bait much better and get better feel in all presentations since i switched to left reels years ago. i am right handed.

 

its all preference. use what feels right.

[fishnkamp]

I use both right and left handed baitcasting reels. I am right handed. If I am throwing baits that I just cast and retrieve I like right handed reels for this purpose. I cast switch hands and then crank down things like rattle traps, crankbaits, spinnerbaits,etc.  For any baits that I cast and work back by hoping, dragging, crawling etc I keep my dominant hand on the rod and just take up he line with my left hand. So baits like jigs, carolina rigs, creature baits, texas rigs etc. aall fall into this category. 

[fissure_man]

34 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

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.

 

 

When you fight a fish or reel in a pile of slop with a baitcaster do you hold the rod steady and just 'winch' it in?  I reel in a fish the same way whether using spinning or baitcasting tackle, yet my spinners are LH and most of my casters are RH.

 

8 hours ago, William Rossi said:

Never made sense to me people that cast right hand, switch rod to left, and reel right.

 

To me it makes sense to switch because I like to palm a casting reel, but I can't easily operate the thumb bar and feather the spool from that position.  So even if I was casting right and reeling left, I'd have to move my hand from casting position to retrieving position, which is actually more awkward for me (trying to move my right hand when the left hand is only holding the reel handle).  With a spinning rod I cast with my right hand, and that hand never moves because I use the same grip for casting and retrieving. 

 

With a casting reel the switch is seamless for a two-handed cast:

 - right hand on trigger, left hand at end of rod handle, start the cast

 - mid-cast, bring left up to palm the reel

 - end of cast, start reeling with right hand

 

Easy to forget that you have to switch your hands back at the end of the cast, which is actually the most awkward and potentially time consuming IMO.   For cast and retrieve lures it's no problem and happens during the back-swing, but it can be tedious for rapid-fire pitching/flipping.

 

For those rods I've been trying LH reels, but still have the issue of hand position being a compromise between palming and casting grip.  If anyone's trying to do the same - I found that using a small reel like a Daiwa Alphas/Sol and fitting it with a large handle makes it easier.  The small frame reel is easier to operate from a compromised grip, and the longer handle seems to be easier to use with my uncoordinated left hand (which has no problem with spinning reels, somehow).  

[Chowderhead]

I use a RH casting reel and LH spinning reel. I am RH. Did not have a good explanation when my son asked me about it.

[Angry John]

I am right handed and i dont want to switch while casting.  I always reel left with a spinner and started baitcasters left for the same reason.  You want the power of your righ hand for hook sets and accurate casting.  Your left hand can do the easy work of cranking the reel.  If your switching you may miss a bite or get caught in a situation where you are not in control.  In the end do what you want and what is comfortable.  It also costs more to fish left handed as used reels are a premium for leftys.  I was looking for the zillion in the japan special and it was over a hundred dollars more in left.

[Mumbly]

I am right handed and cast and reel right handed regardless of spinning or baitcasting. Just feels natural to me for some reason. After 40+ years I don't see that changing.

[Jaderose]

1 hour ago, Mumbly said:

I am right handed and cast and reel right handed regardless of spinning or baitcasting. Just feels natural to me for some reason. After 40+ years I don't see that changing.

 

 

 

^^This^^.  The switch is not something I have to think about.  I just do it.  Pretty sure it happens before the lure ever hits the water

[MassYak85]

It's purely preference. Whenever I hear someone talk about "oh you need to put the rod or reel in your stronger hand/arm" this always pops into my mind:

 

 

I don't know about you guys but my arms are pretty evenly strong and any slight difference is not a concern when fighting a fish as weak as a freshwater bass. What makes an arm or hand dominant is the fine motor skills it has learned to do over time. Which is why as  righty, I want my right hand doing the small circular motions of reeling regardless of spinning or baitcasting. 

[Bassun]

This debate will NEVER end.  I could literally defend either side with what could be considered "good" reason, but let's face it --- you're gonna do what you're comfortable with.  I personally find it bizarre that anyone would have ever started casting with their right hand, then swapping hands to reel, by choice.  But, if all you had was a right hand crank bait caster - what else would you do.  Either learn to cast left handed, which as a beginner using your off hand would be adding an extra level of difficulty... or swap hands. 

 

I suspect many of the "swappers" started on bait casters.  Learned the process as a necessity, and grew comfortable with it.  Conversely, I would suspect those who learned to cast right and crank left probably learned on spinning or spin-casting gear - and learned that way.  There will, of course, be a few outliers --- but my guess is that's how the majority of us learned.

 

I personally learned on spinning gear, and cast right, reel left - and only buy left hand crank bait casters.  It's comfortable, it's easy, and it's what I like.  Now, for those who hold a spinning reel upside down, and crank it in reverse.... well, that's a whole different beast... lol!

[MIbassyaker]

I do not accept any of the arguments for any kind of universal practical advantage to holding/casting/reeling/retrieving baitcasters vs. spinning gear with different hands -- they all sound to me like rationalizations after the fact.

 

The only consistent principle that makes any sense to me is that people have a hard time getting their non-dominant hand to do things it doesn't do very often.  Did you learn how to hold a baitcaster and retrieve/work a bait/hookset with your left hand long ago despite being right-handed?  Then your left hand will be comfortable with that, but probably not so comfortable trying to turn a reel. However, your dominant right hand will be much more adaptable. 

 

I taught my left how to reel a spinning reel years ago. My left learned this motion over many years. But my left simply cannot hold a rod and do anything with it properly. It never learned this. Now, my right, being my dominant hand, can do both -- it is my left that is the weak link. So I let the left do basically the one thing it has a lot of practice doing: turning the crank. This means reeling left in both spinning and casting. If I had learned to fish initially on a RH baitcaster, My left would be well-practiced at something else, and my preferences would be different.

 

Some pros use consistent hands too: Chris Zaldain and David Walker are both right-handers who reel left for spinning and baitcasting. And Denny Brauer is left-handed but uses a RH retrieve on both. 

[wdp]

12 hours ago, LuckyHandsINC. said:

My spinning reels are lefty and my casting reels are righty. Don't know how it happened, but it's working out ok. I'm left handed if that means anything.

I'm right handed but I do the same. Just the way I grew up fishing & got used it. And it actually feels perfectly natural. 

[fissure_man]

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

I do not accept any of the arguments for any kind of universal practical advantage to holding/casting/reeling/retrieving baitcasters vs. spinning gear with different hands -- they all sound to me like rationalizations after the fact.

 

To the non-swappers: how do you grip the rod in your non-reeling hand?  I put an honest effort into becoming a non-swapper, but having to compromise on grip is what keeps me switching hands most of the time.  I like to palm the reel pretty far forward for balance and to touch the line with "feel" baits, but from that position I can't run the thumb bar and feather the spool. 

 

I have LH casting reels and when I use them (casting right handed), I always feel like my right hand is either too far back to palm the reel properly, or too far forward to run the thumb bar.  Same thing when I cast or pitch with my left hand using a right handed reel. 

 

When I was a kid learning a baitcaster, small hands would've made that issue even worse (not that I even thought of it).  I was using a large round Abu, casting and reeling RH, holding the foregrip in my left on the retrieve.  Maybe all the non-swappers just have gorilla hands and never encountered this issue?   

 

The difference with spinning gear is that preferred hand position for casting and retrieving is the same, so there's never a need to swap hands or adjust grip between casting and retrieving.  In fact, it's super awkward to switch hands on a spinning rod because you're putting your off hand into the space your casting hand is already occupying.

 

 

 

 

 

[RoLo]

I'm right-handed, so quite naturally all my spinning rods, casting rods & conventional rods

are held in my dominant right hand. In this manner, all my casting is done with my strong arm

which gives me the greatest accuracy and distance. In addition, it keeps my rod in my strong arm

where it's always in position for the hook-set, and for pumping a trophy fish to the boat.

The only job assigned to my left hand is retrieving the lure and cranking-up slack line (woop-dee-dew).

As a bonus, there is none of that ridiculous hand-switching after EVERY CAST  

 

In days gone by, I refused to buy any reel that wasn't available in a 'left-hand' version,

but thanks to today's strong demand for left-hand reels, that is no longer a problem.

 

Roger

[Bassun]

54 minutes ago, fissure_man said:

 

To the non-swappers: how do you grip the rod in your non-reeling hand?  I put an honest effort into becoming a non-swapper, but having to compromise on grip is what keeps me switching hands most of the time.  I like to palm the reel pretty far forward for balance and to touch the line with "feel" baits, but from that position I can't run the thumb bar and feather the spool. 

 

I have LH casting reels and when I use them (casting right handed), I always feel like my right hand is either too far back to palm the reel properly, or too far forward to run the thumb bar.  Same thing when I cast or pitch with my left hand using a right handed reel. 

 

When I was a kid learning a baitcaster, small hands would've made that issue even worse (not that I even thought of it).  I was using a large round Abu, casting and reeling RH, holding the foregrip in my left on the retrieve.  Maybe all the non-swappers just have gorilla hands and never encountered this issue?   

 

The difference with spinning gear is that preferred hand position for casting and retrieving is the same, so there's never a need to swap hands or adjust grip between casting and retrieving.  In fact, it's super awkward to switch hands on a spinning rod because you're putting your off hand into the space your casting hand is already occupying.

 

 

 

 

 

Generally speaking, the same way you do, only with my right hand. 

 

Being more serious, it just depends.  If I am casting long, or sweeping casts, I generally keep my hand further back on the reel - if I am doing more short stuff or just pitching I generally work forward on or palm the reel.  But I cast from that position most of the time (I think -- I don't really think about it, I just do it.)  Sometimes it just a matter of moving forward one finger up.

 

I do the same with my spinning gear too though.  I especially like to move forward one finger for any finesse or really slow presentations.

[Jeff H]

Who cares!  To "debate" this is what makes no sense!

[CTBassin860]

I'm right handed and I reel lefty on my spinning gear and righty on my casting gear.Its what I'm used to.My rod is in my other hand as I'm engaging the reel.

[Further North]

21 hours ago, Bill Kowalski said:

Why is it that I see TV fisherman using spinner reels with the lefthand dominant and using baitcasters with right hand?  Apparently I grew up using my right hand with spinners.  Am I goofy?  

 

 

Cast with your dominant hand (accuracy and distance will be at your best), reel with the other (hook set reaction time will be at your best).

 

I've never seen any justification for switching hands that made any sense...and I've seen a ton of fish caught (or missed) in that ¹/₂ second when the rod is switched from hand to hand...

 

That said...do what works for you.  Ignore what everyone else says...