Why is the reel handle on the right hand side?

[Guest btlva]

Hi there,

I have a question. When I started fishing, about 30 years ago, I was taught to hold the rod with my strong arm and to wind with my weaker one. So why is that when I came to the US that all I see is people fishing the other way round? Any ideas???

Thanks

The question was in fact "why are people fishing the other way around" not "why is the handle on the right side". I gave a reason why people might fish that way-- because that's what they're used to. I also gave several reasons why this it isn't a good idea. The OP sounded like he wanted to know the "right" way to do it. Just trying to help. tight lines

edit--I see now the title of the post was about which side the handle is on, while the question in the post was different. I guess we were answering two different questions.

[Catt]

The question was in fact "why are people fishing the other way around", the answer is because the man who invented (can't remember his name) the reel was left handed; he would cast with his left hand and retrieve with his right. So in reality what we Americans call right handed reels are actually left handed reels.

[lubina]

I'll buy that!!!!!!

[ABC123]

It don 't make sense to me that in many countries around the world the steering wheel of vehicles is on the right side, if the vehicle is auto no problem, but if it 's manual transmission that would be a chore shifting gears with your less dextrous hand, shifting gears requires much more dexterity and coordination than I can ask out of my left hand which is only good for holding things ( like a fishing rod ) or scratching my rear end.

Drivers used to be on the right side, in America. Drivers got moved to the left side for one basic reason. Becouse womans dresses were getting dirty from being splashed by mud and water from oncoming traffic. To fix the problem, they just rearranged the occupants. It would have been a whole different world if they would have installed doors and windows instead....

[.dsaavedra.]

im with Muddy on this one. when i started w/ baitcasters, i was like I don't understand why is the handle on the right side, but now after using them, i couldnt imagine doing it differently. the fact that i have to switch hands feels comfortoble to me, everything about baitcasters is comfortable. now if i use a spinning reel, handle MUST be on the left, i cant for the life of me fish one where the handles on the right. just something you get used to and accept.

[FishTank]

I did a little surfing and found this....

http://www.antiquefishingreels.info/FAQgeneral.htm

Check out question #4.  Not much of an answer but it's just a little food for thought.

[Fishin Phil]

Shimano makes LH in every model they sell  

Not the Core!!!!  :'(

Can't afford one yet anyway!!

[koko36265]

All my baitcasters are RH retrieve, and all my spinning rods are LH retrieve.  I have tried switching my spinning rods to RH retrieve and it just feels weird.  Does anyone else retrieve one stlye right handed and the other style left handed.  

I have the same set-up.... Most of the time I use my spinning reels for my slower presentations.....Mainly because I am what you would call a power fisherman.... I can't stand throwing a senko or something out and letting it sit, or even working it slow.... I want to get it out there and get it back to the boat as fast as I can......If I use spinning for this application for some reason it makes me work it slow.... I know it sounds weird but that is how I do it....Other than jigs I use LH spinning for all my slower applications, and RH bait casting for all my others

[joe bag o donuts]

Some of you may have heard of Lefty Kreh. He is a respected authority on flyfishing. Anyway he holds workshops and one thing he does is have somene who is used to reeling in a spinning reel with their left hand come up and reel in an amount of line with first his left hand and then his right hand on a fly reel. He times him both times and it seems without fail that person will reel faster with his right hand.

Why? Because that person is right handed! On a spinning reel the circles you make when reeling in are fairly large and require little to no coordination. However the small circles you make on a fly or baitcasting reel require more much more coordination. That's why a righty will find it easier to reel quickly with a handle on the right side.

Hope that helps...

Now me personally I don't feel comfortable working a rod with my left hand so I prefer left hand reels. I'd rather use my strong hand to control the rod than a little crank.

[Jeff_NHBA]

How about this:

As a right-handed person is flipping, the baitcaster is in the right hand and the line is in the left hand.  As the line is let go during the flipping cast, the line stays clear of the reel handle since it is on the right side and the line comes in from the left.  I say this because I'm left-handed and I use RH baitcasters.  If I don't position the handle crank properly (in line with the rod), or turn my left wrist inward a bit, the line will get tangled in the handle.  For regular casting, I find myself at an advantage since I don't have to switch hands after a cast.  This is no doubt shear luck as most items are designed for left-minded (right-handed) people.  (left-handed people are in their right mind)   ;D

S    

[Fendercaster]

posted by James_Heddon:

I'm left-handed, and I swear the person who invented the thing was left-handed too!  I find it kind of comical to watch the pros on TV cast, then switch hands!  I think this is one instance where the right handed world is struggling to do something that comes natural to a lefty!

I've got to agree with this, a right hand retrieve feels perfectly natural to me, for both spinning and baitcasters.

I do play guitar right handed, though.

[brgbassmaster]

i use left handed pflueger and abu

[smokyjoe]

I am right handed and use left handed bait cast reels. I did not start out that way but my late Uncle John who was a great surface lure fisherman for years convinced me that this was the thing to do. He told me that when you are laying a lure up close to the bank or any structure you had better be ready for a strike and not be changing hands. He fished almost every day at Lake Norfork for about 20 years, handmade his own surface lures and had calendars marked daily where he recorded his catch. I looked thru these calendars and was convinced that whatever Uncle John said was the thing to do. I believe he caught thousands of bass on these lures......and he was right handed and used left handed reels!

[smokyjoe]

As I posted before I am right handed and use left handed baitcast reels. I also found that at the end of the season/year sometimes you can get some really great deals on left handed reels in sales! They seem to make more of them than they can sell and some nice reels can be gotten at a discount! I once bought 3 ABU Garcia Ambassaduer's that way for about 2/3 or less of the regular price.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

I guess I got lucky.

I was born with two hands and learned to use them both. :

[skillet]

WELCOME to the forums!!! I have almost always used baitcasters (RH) and when I finally broke down and bought a decent spinning outfit and I left it LH, can't say why but it works for me!!!

                                       As Ever,

                                        skillet

[Zeta]

I'm left-handed,

and I swear the person who invented the thing was left-handed too!  I find it kind of comical

to watch the pros on TV cast, then switch hands!  I think this is one instance where the right

handed world is struggling to do something that comes natural to a lefty! ;D

Yup yup - from another lefty!

[Rivera_Red]

My first baitcast was a lefty I bought by mistake about eight years ago. I have to say that was a mistake I repeat to this day.

[MonarkMcfaster]

I am right handed and also prefer a LH in both types of reels, I don't like making the cast and then being caught off gaurd by a sudden strike while the rod is between both hands....just my 2cents worth.

[islandbass]

If you ask me, it leads me to think the baitcast reel was invented by a left hand dominant person as others have said.

Bottom line, use the reel with the handle on the side most comfortable to use for you and if you have the time, learn to fish the opposite way. It takes a little reprogramming, but it can be done.

[Guest the_muddy_man]

I have been reading this thread for days and really my mother, who never fished in her life had the right answer for this question:

BECAUSE IT IS, NOW GO OUT AND PLAY

NOW THATS THE END OF THAT

[roadwarrior]

Nope, we have a new thread running today... :

[FishTank]

I have been reading this thread for days and really my mother, who never fished in her life had the right answer for this question:

BECAUSE IT IS, NOW GO OUT AND PLAY

NOW THATS THE END OF THAT  

Thanks, I need that.....

[moby bass]

BECAUSE IT IS, NOW GO OUT AND PLAY

That's why they're Moms.. Ya gotta love 'em

[d.hark]

Some of you may have heard of Lefty Kreh. He is a respected authority on flyfishing. Anyway he holds workshops and one thing he does is have somene who is used to reeling in a spinning reel with their left hand come up and reel in an amount of line with first his left hand and then his right hand on a fly reel. He times him both times and it seems without fail that person will reel faster with his right hand.

Why? Because that person is right handed! On a spinning reel the circles you make when reeling in are fairly large and require little to no coordination. However the small circles you make on a fly or baitcasting reel require more much more coordination. That's why a righty will find it easier to reel quickly with a handle on the right side.

Hope that helps...

Now me personally I don't feel comfortable working a rod with my left hand so I prefer left hand reels. I'd rather use my strong hand to control the rod than a little crank.

I think this just about sums it up for me. I am for the most part righty but can do just about everything lefty just as well (some things I actually do do lefty). But I would say righty is my power side. The long circle retrieve on a spinning reel feels best for me on the left side and the rod in my right (power hand). Now like this example says on a baitcaster where the retrieve circle is smaller it feels better in my right hand and the pole in my left. But after seeing this example maybe its more of the length of the retreive circle. It seems like when bringing in a fish with spinning gear you really want your power hand on the pole as I feel this is how you are actually pulling that fish in. Now on a baitcaster for me anyways when bringing in a fish your hands are almost together so your are using both, so you have more leverage, so this is where you want your power hand on the reel. This is how I see it and again after reading about this experiment it makes obvious sense to me. Theres no right or wrong just what feels most comfortable to you.