something doesnt make sense>>>

[dman]

When it comes to baitcasters, its tough to find a left handed crank model.....why? Most people are right handed like me, its my stronger arm so i like the rod in my right hand for setting the hook, its a bit more cordinated as well for workin lures.....People always hafta cast with their strong arm (right) and then move the rod to their left hand to crank with their right. But then they pick up their spinning rod and reel and the crank is on the left!!!! So please enlighten me, why do a lot right handed people prefer to put the rod in their weeker arm but then swith back to normal for spincasting....it is so awkward to me, i just cant figure out why people do it.

(its really bothering me because i cant get reels that i want in left handed crank meodels)

[islandbass]

If you ask me, I think it is because back in the day, such reels only had handles on the right side. So regardless of whether or not one was right handed, you had learn it. I think such users reprogrammed their mind and muscles to do so that it is now second nature. Bottom line, it is now second nature to them.

As a relative new comer to fishing and with the availability of reels to have left handed handles, I choose them. I have however taught myself to fish both ways now, but my primary preference is a reel in which the left hand turns the handle.

It also leads me to believe that the inventor of the baitcaster must have been left handed.

BTW, what reel is it that you want that doesn't come left handed? Just curious. The only ones I can think of are the 100 Citica, Orange Pixy, and Curado 300.  

[dman]

hey islandbass,  thanks for the reply.    I guess if i really wanted something i could order it online, i  meant just window shoppping.

when i see them at Dicks or even Gander Mountain had not one left hand crank model at all last week.  The salesman just said that  "people just dont use 'em,  not sure why"  i said  "me either!"   its very wierd.   if people have become accustomed to it then why would they still use left crank model spin reels?

[Guest btlva]

Yeah you're right, the bottom line is it just doesn't make sense, and this is something I've always felt strongly about. Anglers will shell out huge dollars to get a slight advantage when it comes to everything else, but they fail to recognize that holding a rod in their strong hand (which is free) is in fact a HUGE advantage! So they take their $25 jerkbait, $20 line, and $600 rod/reel combo and use it with their weaker hand. The day the first left-hand retrieve baitcaster was created was the day holding a rod with your left hand became pointless! My .02

I definitely share your grief when it comes to finding left-handed baitcasters in stores! They are often out of stock and many places just plain don't carry them. I buy most of my reels online now. Hope you can find the reel you want. Tight lines

[roadwarrior]

Geez,

We just had six pages of discussion on this last week:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1187794805

[Raul]

So they take their $25 jerkbait, $20 line, and $600 rod/reel combo and use it with their weaker hand.

Been doing that for the past two and a half decades. It makes perfect sense to me. :

Just like having your vehicle with the wheel on the left side and your boat with the wheel on the right side.

[Taliesin]

My reason for using spinning reels with the handle on the left is that my right hand never moves. It stays right at or just forward of the reel (at the center-of-balance).

With the baitcaster, I hold the rod at or just forward of the reel, but cast with my hand behind the reel. If I used a reel with the handles on the left I would be switching hands twice to get the my right hand to the center-of-balance for the rod/reel combo.

It works for me to use them in the "old-fashioned" way.

I am also almost as strong with my left as I am with my right.

[moby bass]

With the baitcaster, I hold the rod at or just forward of the reel, but cast with my hand behind the reel. If I used a reel with the handles on the left I would be switching hands twice to get the my right hand to the center-of-balance for the rod/reel combo.

Yep!

[Guest btlva]

With the baitcaster, I hold the rod at or just forward of the reel, but cast with my hand behind the reel. If I used a reel with the handles on the left I would be switching hands twice to get the my right hand to the center-of-balance for the rod/reel combo.

I'm confused. I'm not sure how many lefties you guys have owned but I own many and I don't switch hands at all. We must have very different methods of casting. For short-range casting I use the exact same grip during the cast as the retrieve. On a long-range bomb I just slightly shift my hand upwards on the reel while the lure is in the air. No switching is necessary.

[Raul]

Methods of casting are the same, methods of holding the rod is what Taliesin is refering to, how do you hold the rod after you cast, by the handle or at the reel seat palming rod & reel ?

[lubina]

I definitely share your grief when it comes to finding left-handed baitcasters in stores! They are often out of stock and many places just plain don't carry them. I buy most of my reels online now. Hope you can find the reel you want. Tight lines

Agree with you and share the same pain.

BC reels were designed by a lefty  ;D That is the only way that makes sense to me.

[dman]

Geez,

We just had six pages of discussion on this last week:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1187794805

Sorry,  im new to the forum,  didnt see it.  Ill try to search better next post.    8-)

[Banor]

So they take their $25 jerkbait, $20 line, and $600 rod/reel combo and use it with their weaker hand.

Been doing that for the past two and a half decades. It makes perfect sense to me. :

Just like having your vehicle with the wheel on the left side and your boat with the wheel on the right side.

Truer words were never spoken!

I'll add...  for me the way the rod is held and the motion used to set the hook just seems more powerful with the left hand.  Just because your right hand is dominant does not mean it is stronger.  It just means your brain is programmed to handle more intricate tasks with that hand.

There has to be more specific physics involved with this.  I need to read that 6 page post that I apparantly missed.

B

[koko36265]

Methods of casting are the same, methods of holding the rod is what Taliesin is refering to, how do you hold the rod after you cast, by the handle or at the reel seat palming rod & reel ?

I palm my reels... I can't hold it by the handle, it just doesn't feel right

[Guest btlva]

When I retrieve a lure I palm the reel just like the rest of you. What you guys don't realize is that with a left-handed reel you are able to do this on the cast as well since there is no handle coming out of the right side. It helps with accuracy tremendously.

If your right hand is dominant then it should without any doubt be stronger, seeing as how that is the hand that is used for every other task you perform in life and it gets 100x the workout of the left. Why somebody's dominant hand suddenly becomes useless when it comes to bass fishing is a mystery to me. Aren't working a lure, setting a hook, and fighting a fish intricate tasks requiring strength, dexterity, and coordination? Or is rotating in a circle the more difficult task?

The fact is, right hand retrieving is like an onion, it stinks no matter how you slice it.

[roadwarrior]

I guess I got lucky. I was born with two hands and learned how to use them both.

Holding the rod in one's left hand acts as a stationary fulcrum when fighting a fish on baitcasting equipment. Playing the fish and winching it in is more delicate than holding a rod. That's where right-handed retrieve comes into play. With spinning tackle the reel merely retrieves and stores line, the fight is with the rod. These are fundamental differences in the equipment.

[senile1]

Geez,

We just had six pages of discussion on this last week:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1187794805

I second that.  

Some of you continue to mention which arm is stronger in both of these threads.  Are you guys setting the hook in one hundred pound fish all day long?  Strength has nothing to do with it.  Either of my arms are strong enough for bass fishing all day long, and I would bet, most of you are the same.  The lack of logic in the process is the use of the right arm to cast, and then switching the rod to the left hand so you can reel with the right.  During this process a fish could strike and be lost.  That is the conundrum.  An easy solution is to cast with both hands which I do quite often.  Either way, I can't say I've ever lost a fish switching hands. (At least that I know of.)  Also, when casting buzzbaits, etc.  I just switch hands and start reeling before the bait hits the water.  Still, no problems.  Is it the most logical way to do it?  Absolutely not!  But it's what I feel comfortable doing and I'm not buying left-handed equipment after all these years.  

[roadwarrior]

I also cast with two hands. There is some adjustment in hand position, but my left hand on baitcasting equipment and my right hand on spinning gear is always involved.

[Guest btlva]

I guess I got lucky. I was born with two hands and learned how to use them both.

Holding the rod in one's left hand acts as a stationary fulcrum when fighting a fish on baitcasting equipment. Playing the fish and winching it in is more delicate than holding a rod. That's where right-handed retrieve comes into play. With spinning tackle the reel merely retrieves and stores line, the fight is with the rod. These are fundamental differences in the equipment.

I understand that, but it's not a question of whether you are able to use both hands, it's a question of which one works better! If you are right handed then your right hand is just plain better or it wouldn't be your dominant hand! If you're truly ambidextrous then it definitely makes no difference which hand is used for which, and I *** you for sure!

Reeling in line requires very little strength or dexterity if you are using the rod to play the fish right. With either baitcasting or spinning gear the reel is used simply to retrieve and store line, if you use the reel more than the rod to fight a fish then you're doing something wrong. The rod absorbs all the shock and is what tires the fish out. An angler must also constantly change angles with the rod to lead fish out of cover and pull them towards the boat, this is undoubtedly easier with your dominant hand! This is why new fishermen struggle to retrieve big fish, they just hold the rod still and try to winch the fish in with the reel.

If all of your reels are right handed then by all means keep them and use them. But bass fishermen typically want to capitalize on every single advantage they can, this is why we buy $40,000 boats and pay obscene amounts for lures and gear, because they give us a slight advantage which on some days might make a difference. Holding a rod in your dominant hand not only gives you an advantage on every single cast, it's also free!

Within 10 years I believe 99% of bass fishermen will be using their right hand for holding the rod, it's only common sense now that left-handed reels are available. But what do I know, I'm not the brightest guy in the world, after all, I'm wasting all this time trying to convince right-handed people to use their right hand! ;D

[roadwarrior]

But what do I know, I'm not the brightest guy in the world, after all, I'm wasting all this time trying to convince right-handed people to use their right hand! ;D

Touche!

;D ;D ;D

[Taliesin]

Holding a rod in your dominant hand not only gives you an advantage on every single cast, it's also free!

I don't know that I would call it free.

How much time would I spend searching for replacements for my current reels (that are going to outlast me) and how much would I spend to replace them?

I have thought about switching, but I can't seem to do it.

However; just like rod and reel preferences, it's all personal preference. What works for one person doens't work for everyone.