Right vs. Left hand retrieve ??

[dan94]

Just now, GrumpyOlPhartte said:

I say put the handle on top and reel like you're churning butter ... With either hand. Wouldn't need the endless debate! Well, except for which direction to rotate. Hmm. I gotta work on this some more. Uh, never mind.

lmao

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

@bigfruits: I would love to see me reel in an eight-pound bass, period! ?

[bigfruits]

sounds like its time for a road trip to FL, GrumpyOlPhartte. pick me up on the way, im right off of 95.

[NHBull]

8 hours ago, david in va said:

I WOULD TRUELY like to see a right handed guy reeling in a 8 lb  BASS WITH HIS LEFT HAND

 

Look out when he breaks water

I have fished that was so long with spin casters I am much better with the left hand setting the hook

All day long......go for strippers and Blues every other week

[Scott F]

10 hours ago, NHBull said:

All day long......go for strippers and Blues every other week

My wife doesn't let me go for strippers anymore. She does let me listen to the Blues while I STRIPER fish!  

[NHBull]

8 hours ago, Scott F said:

My wife doesn't let go for strippers anymore. She does let me listen to the Blues while I STRIPER fish!  

Senior moment......fat fingers....or Freudian slip 

[Bassun]

lol - If I had a dollar for every time I've heard this debate I would have a few more LH reels.

I 100% agree that it "seems" most common that people tend to reel left handed if they started with spinning gear, and right handed if they started with casting gear.  Which makes me ponder -- why, if "right handed" retrieve is the "better" way would so many use a left hand crank on a spinning reel when you can swap the crank from one side to the other... if "right" is better wouldn't everyone just swap to a right hand retrieve on the reels where they can swap sides?

I get that many of the casting reels are designed as RH only retrieves, so I can understand better how that would start you out reeling with the wrong, ahem, I mean "right" hand, lol.  But now days, you have plenty of offerings in either configuration so pick what works for you.  Whether there is an actual advantage of one over the other is going to be completely offset by your comfort level using one style vs the other.  If you feel clunky reeling / casting with one hand vs the other - then swap.  Don't get caught up in what is right or wrong, do what feels most natural and you will have better success.

[MIbassyaker]

19 hours ago, GrumpyOlPhartte said:

I say put the handle on top and reel like you're churning butter ... With either hand. Wouldn't need the endless debate! Well, except for which direction to rotate. Hmm. I gotta work on this some more. Uh, never mind.

 

Clockwise in the northern hemisphere, counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere.

[Johnbt]

"tend to reel left handed if they started with spinning gear, and right handed if they started with casting gear"

 

I've seen a lot of that, too. I started with right handed casting reels many years ago, but now prefer left handed ones. Sure, I've used a lot of saltwater spinning reels during the past 35 years and still use them with the crank on the left side, but it just seems to work better for me when I lift the fish with the rod in my strong hand and reel down. Lift and reel, lift and reel. I don't winch fish, not even something like my biggest bluefish off the beach - 17.5#.

 

Of course, maybe I'm slightly left handed. My father was right handed, but batted and golfed lefty. Bunch of uncles and cousins are purely left handed, so maybe I'm touched with it too.

 

Maybe it would all be different for me if the old freshwater casting reels I grew up on weren't about as crude and clunky as the metal rods they were mounted on in the '50s.  

 

 

[Further North]

On 7/6/2017 at 11:51 AM, david in va said:

I WOULD TRUELY like to see a right handed guy reeling in a 8 lb  BASS WITH HIS LEFT HAND

 

Look out when he breaks water

I have fished that was so long with spin casters I am much better with the left hand setting the hook

How about 20 lb. musky?

 

...when that big girl comes outta the water it makes an 8 lb bass look like...well...dinner...

 

 

On 7/6/2017 at 0:09 PM, Pro Logcatcher said:

I feel the most comfortable reeling with my left hand for both spinning and baitcasting reels. However, I forced myself to learn how to use both.

Same here.  Learned to cast a fly lefty too.  I suck at it, compared to right handed casting...but there's time when I want the angle.

[Steveo-1969]

On 7/6/2017 at 10:37 AM, reason said:

Are we really doing this again?

 

Yup. Why search the forum for the 63 other posts about this topic when you can start a new one?

[Further North]

I saw two thoughts on "why" recently.  Both make sense, could be either, neither or both...

 

Quote

The Old English style of casting right, retrieving right, was to keep the fish always on the main strong arm. We do it wrong by switching hands as soon as the fish is hooked. the rod is placed into the left hand only once the fish itself has put itself on the reel, then the fish is played on the reel with the main hand controlling the reel. That way the fish is always being controlled by the main hand, first by the rod then the reel till it is landed then released or capture with the main hand.

 

...and...

 

Quote

There is a logical reason the bait casting reel had the handle on the right side.

I grew up fishing with what we now call knuckle busters; bait casting reels that the handle was always engaged with the spool, no free spool. Most people being right handed held the pistol grip short handle rod by their dominate hand, the reel handle pointed up allowing one handed wrist action to cast the rod, the thumb controlling the spool, the handles spinning freely with the spool shaft riding on a fixed bearing/bushing on the opposite downward facing side plate. If the handles were pointed downward they would hit your shirt sleeve or forearm. Free spool reels that disengage the reel handle like Ambassaduer 500 that came out in the early 60's eliminated the need for the handle to be kept upright. Trigger grip long handle rods in the 70's promote using a 2 handed casting motion in lieu of the 1 hand wrist casting motion. The combination of free spool reels and trigger grip long handle rods made casting right or left handed optional and reel mfr's started offering left hand bait casting reels to fill the demand.

Nothing to do with fly fishing. Left hand reels were standard for spinning reels.

Tom

 

[Scott F]

After watching 2 different MLF tournaments over the weekend, I noticed that EVERY one of the 12(?) pro anglers in these 2 events cast their bait casters with the right hand, moved the rod to the left hand and cranked with the right. Using a spinning rod, only Jacob Wheeler held the rod in his left hand. All the others held their spinning rods in their right hand. 

[Russ E]

I am Left handed, but can not use a left handed reel. it feels backwards to me.

cast with left hand  andcrank with right hand.

only drawback to this is when fishing soft plastics and jigs on baitcasters, I always re position left hand so I can feel the line with my left index finger. while still cranking with right hand. 

been doing this for 30 years. never really thought about it, until a fishing friend noticed what I was doing and questioned it.

[mcfishing620]

I reel with my left hand for spinning and right for baitcast because it just feels the most natural. Can't explain why, it just does. Something that really helped me a lot considering this is I taught myself to cast left handed when using my baitcast. I am just as accurate in any situation with my left hand as I am my right hand. Being ambidextrous is very beneficial, especially when fishing out of a small boat, or shore fishing with trees all in your casting area.

[RPreeb]

Very dominant right handed man.  I cast a baitcaster with the right hand, and it just feels natural to reel with the right too.  I don't find that switching hands is really that big a deal.

 

However, since I've spent far more time with spinning gear, for that I feel awkward even pantomiming a right hand reel.  I open the bail, cast with both hands (but with my right hand on the rod with my fingers straddling the reel shank in my normal retrieve position), close the bail with my left hand, then retrieve with the left.  I've landed 10+ pound jacks and snappers, as well as a few nice sized barracudas on spinning gear.  My Shimano Spheros spinning reel can be switched from left to right in a few seconds, but I've never felt any desire to try it right handed.

[NYWayfarer]

1 hour ago, RPreeb said:

Very dominant right handed man.  I cast a baitcaster with the right hand, and it just feels natural to reel with the right too.  I don't find that switching hands is really that big a deal.

 

However, since I've spent far more time with spinning gear, for that I feel awkward even pantomiming a right hand reel.  I open the bail, cast with both hands (but with my right hand on the rod with my fingers straddling the reel shank in my normal retrieve position), close the bail with my left hand, then retrieve with the left.  I've landed 10+ pound jacks and snappers, as well as a few nice sized barracudas on spinning gear.  My Shimano Spheros spinning reel can be switched from left to right in a few seconds, but I've never felt any desire to try it right handed.

 

Ditto. Bait-casters right, spinning reel left for this right handed man.

 

I would have never even thought about switching my spinning gear from left to right until I read this thread. And I still won't 

[fishnkamp]

My take is a little different. I reel with my left with a spinning reel.

For baitcasters I use both left and right handed reels. If the lure I am throwing is  one that I just cast and crank than I prefer to use a right handed reel.  I will switch the rod to my left hand and retrieve with my right.  I do this with lures like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and buzzbaits.  

 

Any lure that I am going to cast and use the rod to move the bait, like a carolina rig, a texas rigged creature bait or worm, any jig and trailer, as well as a jerkbait, than I prefer to use a left handed reel.  

Doing this does several things that benefit me. One thing it does for me is I have the rod in my right hand at all times (my dominate and stronger hand/arm) so if a fish hits the bait on the fall I am better ready to respond.  Secondly my dominate hand is dragging, hopping or jerking the bait so I am still better prepared to respond. My left hand is just keeping up with the slack line.  Lastly I have been making my living as a mechanic for over 35 years. As a result my hands can cramp up and by changing back and forth between left handed and right handed reels I can avoid the cramps.  This makes my day go much more enjoyable. It is rare that I am fishing with less than 4 different baits tied on rods sitting on my boats deck.  These will regularly include baits good for covering different part of the water column and different structure.. 

[3crows]

On 7/5/2017 at 8:08 PM, dan94 said:

How should a dominant right handed person hold and retrieve (baitcasting) ? Im dominant with my right hand but i retrieve left both spinning and casting outfits. Why do some anglers reel left with a spinning rod and then reel right with a casting ?? 

 

No expert here at all. However, when I do use a spinning rod and reel, rare, I cast right and retrieve left. But, with a bait caster I may cast with either hand but reel in right. I may cast overhead and side and roll casts with my right hand and switch hands while the lure is in flight. Or, for flipping and pitching, I cast with my left hand. In all cases I reel with my right hand. 

 

What is correct, beats me, but I have no intention of changing and would never purchase a left hand retrieve bait caster just because I do not want one. But that is just my preference. While I am right handed, I can shoot left or right, mostly shotguns left, handguns either and can do any casting with either hand just about as well.