Left or right?

[flbassmaster]

1 minute ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I for one am not criticizing you.  This comes up about every week and I enjoy jumping in every time.   Hopefully one day  these hand switchers will realize the error of their ways. ?

 

I do admire these guys that can cast with either hand.   If I tried to cast with my left hand I think I would probably end up throwing the rod in the lake.

thank you and yeah I would cast with my other hand but I would  probably also throw my rod in the lake lol!

[WRB]

When your dominate eye is opposite your dominate hand; right hand left eye what you see as a small target isn’t located where you see it with both eyes open it’s to the left side.

You see a stump for example and cast missing it a few feet to the right.

You should learn to cast with the same hand as you are eye dominate.

Tom

[MN Fisher]

Just now, WRB said:

When your dominate eye is opposite your dominate hand; right hand left eye what you see as a small target isn’t located where you see it with both eyes open it’s to the left side.

You see a stump for example and cast missing it a few feet to the right.

You should learn to cast with the same hand as you are eye dominate.

Tom

I guess I just trained myself to do the opposite - right eye was dominant, but I still cast with my left hand.

Now it's a moot point as I lost my right eye to cancer 4 years ago. Good thing I was already left-handed for casting.

[WRB]

I didn’t know I was opposite eye dominate for over 30 years. Had a hard time with shotguns missing and archery missing the target to 1 side, had to  adjust by compensating. I learned about eye dominance from a archery instructor teaching Indian Guide kids how to use a bow, tested the kids and dads. I should shoot left handed after all those years!

Tom

[WRB]

28 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I guess I just trained myself to do the opposite - right eye was dominant, but I still cast with my left hand.

Now it's a moot point as I lost my right eye to cancer 4 years ago. Good thing I was already left-handed for casting.

Sorry to hear about loosing your eye, stay safe.

Tom

[Backofboatfisher]

I actually use both for BC. I wanted to try the left retrieve and ended up liking it. Now I have have 3 left hand and 4 right hand retrieve. I still cast righty though. I use the LH retrieve for techniques that might get bit right away, like jig or t rig, and RH for spinnerbaits and cranks. Gives a nice break to from the constant reeling of moving baits. 

[new2BC4bass]

5 hours ago, flbassmaster said:

d**n my bad for not looking at the archives and making a double post. Everyone just criticizes. Jesus man. great group of guys let me tell you.

Cant even enjoy a forum. its sad man

Like others have already said....this subject comes up all the time.  You notice that it doesn't stop us from posting our preferences....every time.    We do like to poke fun once in awhile.  No disrespect meant.  It is all in good fun.

 

Lots of topics get rehashed.  Sometimes we even change our attitude on a subject so we get to give a new opinion on an old subject.

[LonnieP]

I’m right handed,right eye dominate,cast and reel right handed.

[keagbassr]

Lefty. Cast with my left reel with my right with both spin and casting reels. 

[haggard]

I'm right  handed. When buying the first reel salesguy asks if I want righty or lefty reel. No idea. Tried righty. That was okay. Tried lefty. That was WAY more okay.

 

I feel like reeling is something either hand can do, but when it comes to casting or working the lure, that's for the power and control of the dominant hand. For this righty, it's always a left retrieve reel.

 

[bc106111]

13 hours ago, FordsnFishin said:

Im right handed.  So I cast with my right and reel with my left. 

 

Anyone who switches hands to cast and reel is obviously a psychopath. 

I feel the same. My buddy is right handed and casts right and reels right. I told him it was wrong but he insists I am wrong. Like you said though, only a psychopath would cast and reel with the same hand. 

[BIGfryFish]

Hmm,  I'm Right handed, cast with my left hand, reel with my right, and my left eye is dominant.

 

But I'm still in my right mind.  lol

 

Besides the fish don't care how the bait is thrown to them. 

 

 

[blckshirt98]

I'm right-handed but reel with my left for both spinning and casting.  I got a late start with baitcasters and there were many left-side handle models available.  Most right-handed people I know that use right-side handle casting reels did it out of necessity since many years ago the model they wanted didn't have a left-side option.

 

An added bonus to reeling with my left hand is that being right-handed, I like to control the rod, and hence the fish, with my dominant arm.

[Koz]

I'm right handed and:

 

Spinning - cast right, reel left

Baitcaster - cast right, reel right. Switching the rod to the other hand just happens. I don't even think about it. However, when fishing a buzzbait timing is critical. But because there are times when casting left handed would give me a better angle I have worked on back handed casting both sidearm and throwing from over my left shoulder.

 

Reeling left seems natural on a spinning reel as does reeling right on a baitcaster. My son bought a LH retrieve baitcaster and I gave it a try and I just could not do it all that well. It definitely did not seem natural. I think that if I tried a RH retrieve spinning reel I'd probably end up tangled up in the line ?

[.ghoti.]

They make casting reels with the crank on the wrong side? How long has this been going on?

[kjfishman]

I always cast with right hand but have both right and left bait casters. My right thumb likes to lock up (trigger thumb) so it is nice to be able to switch off to the left hand reels.

[Boomstick]

I am left handed, but for whatever reason reeling with my left hand just feels really awkward to me so I use a right handed casting reel.

[Bass Junke]

I am a pure lefty( hand, eye,leg). I can cast and reel with either hand but to really work the rod with deft and dexterity I need my left hand. For me, it's cast left reel right both bait casters and spinners. Switching hands seems kind of crazy, there is a significant amount of time you are not in contact with your bait as you switch. However I am pretty sure most people " palm" low profile bait casters, but I don't cast holding it that way so I also move my hand to a different position at the end of the cast. Do we all loose contact with our bait momentarily when fishing with bait casters? Maybe we need to design a better bait caster. Maybe anglers that switch hands are not psychopaths ( at least not all of them). 

[J.Vincent]

This topic will twist your head like a pretzel....just get a Cane Pole : )

[PourMyOwn]

For those of us using a baitcaster since the Reagan administration, it's almost always reel with your right hand. Back then you only had what seemed like 10% of reels that offered a left handed option. 

[fissure_man]

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 4:45 PM, WRB said:

When your dominate eye is opposite your dominate hand; right hand left eye what you see as a small target isn’t located where you see it with both eyes open it’s to the left side.

You see a stump for example and cast missing it a few feet to the right.

You should learn to cast with the same hand as you are eye dominate.

Tom

Cross dominance can be an issue in shooting sports because you are forced align your vision from one eye through an optic or sight to the target. When your dominant eye doesn’t align with the sights/barrel (i.e. left eye dominant, shouldering a shotgun on the right), you need to force your brain to focus through the non-dominant eye typically by just closing or obscuring the other. This works, but it’s not ideal (compensating your aim is a bad idea, but off topic). Better to align the sights with your dominant eye and keep both eyes open.

 

For casting I doubt cross dominance would have any noticeable effect, and may even benefit..?  A lure’s trajectory is not necessarily aligned with either eye’s line of sight (think of a sidearm cast), and even when it kind of is (pitching, maybe? Or overhead cast?), casting with a particular hand doesn’t mean you couldn’t align the trajectory with whichever eye you innately prefer.  For most people, casting with the hand that feels unnatural to them is a huge hindrance, while the benefit of matching eye dominance (if there is any) would be insignificant.

 

…

 

For me, switching hands started with spin casting.  For a young kid with small hands, palming is not an option and you need to grip behind the reel to operate the push button. Retrieving while keeping the same grip behind the reel is extremely awkward and strenuous, so some hand-shifting is required (we only had right hand retrieve spincast reels, anyway). Easiest way to do this is to cast right, grab the foregrip with the left hand at the end of the cast, and then start reeling with the right. To this day this is how I do it with casting/trolling reels that are too large to comfortably palm, while bass sized casting reels get the same treatment but are palmed during retrieve with the non-casting hand. The hybrid palming/casting grip that militant non-switchers employ surely works fine for them with ‘palmable’ bass reels, but is less practical for small (child) hands or big reels; I’d guess this is a part of why hand-switching remains common for baitcasting. 

 

With spinning reels of any size (and hands of any size), it is perfectly comfortable to cast and retrieve without changing the position of the hand that’s holding the rod.  Not surprisingly, it’s relatively rare to see an experienced fisherman that switches hands with a spinning reel after casting.  JMO

[Tennessee Boy]

I’m cross dominate and I’ve always felt like it gives me a big advantage in shooting.  I’ve always shot left handed.  Guns, archery,  even pool all left handed.  Being able to control the gun with your dominant hand and aim with your dominant eye is an advantage IMO.  I would struggle if I tried to shoot right handed.

[Jaderose]

I'm a hand switcher with both types of reels.  Happens in one fluid motion and I've never missed a fished because I was changing.  I can pitch with my left which is what I'm doing with a spinning reel most of the time.  Don't like it or think it's wrong?  Ok

[Spankey]

20 hours ago, J.Vincent said:

This topic will twist your head like a pretzel....just get a Cane Pole : )

I'm gonna sell all my stuff and go that direction with the cane poles. Thanks for the nudge. 

On 3/15/2019 at 10:41 AM, FordsnFishin said:

Im right handed.  So I cast with my right and reel with my left. 

 

Anyone who switches hands to cast and reel is obviously a psychopath. 

A psychopath I must be. Been called a lot worse. Heck it wasn't all that long ago you couldn't even buy a left handed casting reel. 

[Log Catcher]

On 3/16/2019 at 12:01 AM, bc106111 said:

I feel the same. My buddy is right handed and casts right and reels right. I told him it was wrong but he insists I am wrong. Like you said though, only a psychopath would cast and reel with the same hand. 

I cast and reel right handed. Doesn't matter if it is a baitcaster or spinning setup. Us psychopaths got it right. I can't believe all the people doing it differently. You all need a checkup from the neck up.