Handedness: What hand do you hold rod with?

[Bigbox99]

35 minutes ago, Craig P said:

I share the OP's logic but I also understand that handedness varies by task for most people.  I use my phone in my left hand even though I am right handed?  Curious if others do that?

 

BUT! When I see people switch hands during a cast, even the pros, you're not doing yourself any favors.

You still have to switch hands between casting and palming when using a left handed reel.  I use both and it's the same thing.  You cast with the rod's trigger on your trigger finger then switch to a palming grip of the rod to center the mass of the reel at the fulcrum point of the rod (your hand).  Since you are changing up grips anyways its as simple to just stuff the reel into your open left hand to change hands as it is to move your right hand up fron a casting grip to a palming grip with a left hand reel.  I do both and it's the same thing.  

 

The only reason I own left hand reels is so I can palm while pitching, punching or target casting (this last one is debatable because there is bait flight time).  If all I did was normal casting I would just use whatever i learned 1st because they are functionally the same thing.

[Mike L]

11 hours ago, Julius L said:

I am a firm believer that a fisherman should hold the rod with their dominant hand and reel with their non-dominant hand.
 

Maybe I’m wrong, but if you’re right handed you should be using a left handed bait-caster and vice versa. 

 

You believe it because that’s what you do. There is no “should”

 

2 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I'm right handed. I cast with my right then switch to hold the rod with my left hand. To each his own.

Ditto

 

1 hour ago, Jar11591 said:

I’m right handed, The whole “switching hands” argument makes me laugh. 
 

 

Every time

 

 

By the time my bait hits the water the rod is already in my left hand after casting right. 
 

After an initial pitch right and switch, all subsequent ones are done left. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[F14A-B]

I never use the trigger on a baitcast rod as a trigger per se, it rides in between two fingers as my hand both cups my rod blank (exposed blank) and my reel.. all with my right hand. 

[Peacedivision]

Right handed and all my reels are left hand retrieve. It's what feels natural.

[Bigbox99]

10 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

I never use the trigger on a baitcast rod as a trigger per se, it rides in between two fingers as my hand both cups my rod blank (exposed blank) and my reel.. all with my right hand. 

While palming the reel working a bait?  Thats normal.  If you cast this way you severely limiting your range of motion and energy input on the cast.  That's not always a bad thing and it can be a tradeoff for the ability to instantly engage the reel and set the hook once a bait lands.  For short pitching and casting scenarios this becomes a beneficial trade because I don't need that extra distance a normal hand on the rod grip trigger finger on the rod trigger type cast allows for and I DO want to be able to set the hook as soon as a bait punches through a mat or is pitched into cover.  

[LonnieP]

2 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I'm right handed. I cast with my right then switch to hold the rod with my left hand. I've been doing it this way for so many years I'd have a hard time learning a different way. Spinning reels, I cast with my right and reel.with my left. Both ways work. To each his own.

I’ve been doing it this way for over 30 years and it feels natural to me. It would be silly to think about changing it now. 

[F14A-B]

4 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

While palming the reel working a bait?  Thats normal.  If you cast this way you severely limiting your range of motion and energy input on the cast.  That's not always a bad thing and it can be a tradeoff for the ability to instantly engage the reel and set the hook once a bait lands.  For short pitching and casting scenarios this becomes a beneficial trade because I don't need that extra distance a normal hand on the rod grip trigger finger on the rod trigger type cast allows for and I DO want to be able to set the hook as soon as a bait punches through a mat or is pitched into cover.  

No. While pitching/flipping. Then rod goes to left hand , hand cups reel again with fingers once again splitting the trigger. I’m not limited at all, I use my full cork or full carbon handles against my body many times on hook sets. It’s absolutely, positively not an issue for me. 
 

 

[Mobasser]

9 minutes ago, LonnieP said:

I’ve been doing it this way for over 30 years and it feels natural to me. It would be silly to think about changing it now. 

Lonnie, that's me also. Im not changing now. Use the method that works best for you.

[ike8120]

Cast with my right,hold with my right, reel with my right.  Been doing it this way since I was a kid, Spinning I reel with the left. 

 

Correction; I hold with my left on BC and Spinning hold with the right.

[Aaron_H]

I'm left-handed. I cast with the rod in my left hand, I switch the rod to my right hand and then reel with my left hand. Reeling takes more dexterity than holding a rod, IMO, and feels better in my dominant hand, but I also feel that casting with any type of precision also is better suited to my dominant hand, so I just switch hands after casting, sacrificing 1 entire second (the horror).

 

Seen enough pros do it on the tour and if it's good enough for them when they have money on the line, it's good enough for me. I have never missed a fish while switching hands.

[Craig P]

41 minutes ago, ike8120 said:

Cast with my right,hold with my right, reel with my right.  Been doing it this way since I was a kid, Spinning I reel with the left. 

 

I am confused.  Did you lose your left hand/arm?  Cast right, hold right, reel right?

[OkobojiEagle]

wrong handed casting causes line twist...

[msgf91]

I don't really like the current debate about left retrieve vs right online. People are straight toxic on reddit and youtube. Someone will post a picture of their new reel and someone will respond with "hope you are left handed" "just do it the right way ".  It seems like it would be discouraging for people. We should all be on the same team. When I was growing up,  nobody liked fishing,  besides for a few friends. Everyone else said it was boring. 

 

With casting i prefer to trigger grip to cast and spider grip to palm the reel during the retrieve. The easiest way it seems for me to do this, is to go from right trigger to left palm because that's only switching hands once. I've seen the videos of people casting right trigger, then switch to right palming,  most switch hands twice because they'll offload the weight to their left hand while holding the handle knob then switch to right palming offloading the weight back to the right hand. That's twice.

 

With spinning reels I switch the handles to the right side but that's because I do most of my spinning reel fishing with live bait. So it's muscle memory with lures. 

[ike8120]

1 hour ago, Craig P said:

 

I am confused.  Did you lose your left hand/arm?  Cast right, hold right, reel right?

Correction; I hold with my left on BC and Spinning hold with the right.

[MN Fisher]

14 hours ago, Julius L said:

You’ll never be able to write, shoot, or draw as well with your non-dominant hand and I think the same goes for imparting action on a lure with your non-dominant hand.

Except for those of us who are 'weird' - I'm a righty in most things...except for pistols and rods - I'm better having those in my left hand than my right.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I’m right handed and primarily use left hand reels. Where I depart from the OP is the use of words like should, better, right or wrong.  Its 💯 personal preference. 

[Julius L]

5 hours ago, Craig P said:

I share the OP's logic but I also understand that handedness varies by task for most people.  I use my phone in my left hand even though I am right handed?  Curious if others do that?

 

BUT! When I see people switch hands during a cast, even the pros, you're not doing yourself any favors.

I’m left handed but bat and golf as a righty. Funny enough I use my phone with my right hand as well!

[Julius L]

2 hours ago, msgf91 said:

I don't really like the current debate about left retrieve vs right online. People are straight toxic on reddit and youtube. Someone will post a picture of their new reel and someone will respond with "hope you are left handed" "just do it the right way ".  It seems like it would be discouraging for people. We should all be on the same team. When I was growing up,  nobody liked fishing,  besides for a few friends. Everyone else said it was boring. 

 

With casting i prefer to trigger grip to cast and spider grip to palm the reel during the retrieve. The easiest way it seems for me to do this, is to go from right trigger to left palm because that's only switching hands once. I've seen the videos of people casting right trigger, then switch to right palming,  most switch hands twice because they'll offload the weight to their left hand while holding the handle knob then switch to right palming offloading the weight back to the right hand. That's twice.

 

With spinning reels I switch the handles to the right side but that's because I do most of my spinning reel fishing with live bait. So it's muscle memory with lures. 

People blow the whole right vs left out of proportion and I understand that those who grew up fishing in the 70’s/80’s only had access to right handed reels. But in today’s age if someone is starting out I see no reason not to have them use their dominant. Unless they feel more comfortable casting the other way.

[Julius L]

5 hours ago, Mike L said:

You believe it because that’s what you do. There is no “should”

 

Mike

There is no “correct” way to fish, and if you grew up using a certain reel because that’s what was available then that’s an entirely different story.

 

But you wouldn’t agree that when using a jerk bait or stroking a jig off the bottom that your dominant hand would do a better job? 

[Julius L]

7 hours ago, Bigbox99 said:

I think people not palming the reel or palming with too few fingers in front of the trigger trying to be cute with a left handed reel is why there is such an obsession with reel weight lately.  People aren't palming the reel properly and centering that mass into their hand so the felt reel weight is exaggerated. 

 

When I see videos of people not palming the reel while retrieving and instead mainly holding the rod it drives me insane. Especially when a fish blows up on the bait and the rod almost gets snatched out of their hands. 

[new2BC4bass]

6 hours ago, Craig P said:

 I use my phone in my left hand even though I am right handed?  Curious if others do that?

I'm right handed.  Don't know you, but I can hit those tiny little letters/numbers better with my right finger (even with the middle one).  So, yeah, I hold the phone in my left hand the majority of the time.

[PBBrandon]

With both spinning and casting, I cast with the reel in my right hand, switch to my left and then retrieve right handed. So many people say it’s wrong, so I tried lefty baitcasters multiple times. Felt like day 1 with a baitcaster and I’m too stubborn to figure out how to use one with my left hand. So I’m back to all righties.

 

I still write with my left hand though, probably why my handwriting looks like chicken scratch. A little too late for me to switch to my right on that one.

[Johnbt]

"I am a firm believer that a fisherman should hold the rod with their dominant hand and reel with their non-dominant hand."

 

I don't feel that way. But I'm righthanded and I've done it that way since lefthanded casting reels became reasonably available and affordable.

I wanted a lefthanded casting reel in the '50s, but got by with what I had. Fwiw, my first spinning reels were for saltwater fishing in the early '80s. 

"I’m left handed but bat and golf as a righty."

 

My father was right handed, but golfed and batted lefty.

 

I write, throw, bowl, and usually bat from the right side, but putt better from the left side. Whatever works is good.

[MN Fisher]

"I am a firm believer that a fisherman should hold the rod with their dominant hand and reel with their non-dominant hand."

 

Let me fix that

 

"I am a firm believer that a fisherman should hold the rod with which ever hand is more comfortable for them and reel with the other hand."

[TnRiver46]

Watch Andy Morgan casting around some docks or trees sometime , he’s a magician. Left or right, no difference