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| I'm 100% right handed and have been using right handed baitcasters for years, but like most guys I keep the handle on my spinning reel on the left. I'm thinking about trying a left-handed baitcaster so I'd be setting the hook with my dominant arm and would have fewer motions from retrieve to figure 8 to cast.
Any right-handers out there using left-handed baitcasters? I'd like to hear your experiences. Thanks. |
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Posts: 8774
| It takes some getting used to, but it's nice to have the option of switching up. I've got right and left handed combos that I use regularly. Figure 8's can be weird depending on how many guys you have in the boat, but you can fire off a lot more casts when you don't have to cast over one shoulder and switch hands to reel. It takes a good season to feel equally comfortable with both, but it's well worth it. |
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Posts: 574
| I used one for a short time last year, just to give my other arm a break for a little while. It seemed a little akward at first, but I caught a bunch of fish while getting used to it, including my largest of last year. I think the erratic/slower presentation was why, but anyway. If I hadn't broken the reel by getting a finger caught in the levelwind on a cast (pinched finger/stripped gears)I'd probably have used it all year.
The first few outings it may seem a little akward, but I'd have no worries buying another
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | Or you could learn to cast with your right handed reels in any scenario. left handed, right-handed, over the top, sidearm, or underhand. If it is the hooksetting power you want then I can't offer any advice. But as far as limiting how much you switch your rod back and forth between hands...... you don't have to if you learn to cast differently. I use all right handed reels and cast left-handed over 50% of the time just to make smoother and quicker transitions from my figure 8 into my next cast or due to where others are in the boat. |
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| i switched to left-side crank reels a couple years ago, and i'm glad i did. it's much easier to engage the reel quickly and smoothly as the lure enters the water without all that nonsense switching hands mid-cast. i found it easier to learn how to reel left-handed than to cast left-armed.
it feels awkward at first, and it takes a bit of time and practice to build up the muscle memory, but after a bit it becomes normal. my suggestion is to start out with in-line baits such as bucktails or topwater where there isn't a ton of additonal action. after you get that down move on to jerkbaits.
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Posts: 375
| i am right handed and i used left hand retreive spinning reel models for over 40 years. when i went to 100% musky and 100% baitcasters it made absolutely no sense to me to switch since i figured i wanted my stronger hand / power-arm to grip the heavier rod / reel combinations as well as have the extra power when setting the hooks! the left handed luna 300L reels are my weapons of choice and to add to the "overall comfort" i also grind the trigger grips off of all of my rods!
stan |
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Posts: 299
Location: Ontario, California | Come on Gerard (Muskie_Nut!)... I'm waiting for your words of wisdom here. I know it wont take long.
As far as I am concerned... strong arm / weak arm... Bah! I guess I am fortunate to be ambodexterous (Spelling??). I can cast as accurately and as far with wither hand holding the reel. Why not just learn how to cast with your left hand??? |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | OK Mark here I go..............
It never made any sense to me to switch hands. The dominate hand is able to set the hook faster & harder and you don't need to switch hands while transitioning to a figure 8. You will get a reel guy on here claiming that 25% (or some number) of the reels sold are left side crank (I like to call them a true right handed reel) well I hate to burst his bubble but very few leftys buy a crank on the left side. Most leftys I know use right side cranks and don't switch hands. Besides the harder quicker hook sets, you also can impart better action on baits like minnow and side to side baits. I have often asked many times please name me one physical advantage for switching hands??? Never got one. More say "it feel good that way". Big deal, if you stick with it long enough everything will "feels natural". Go figure why they do this?
One other thing, if you are starting out a right handed wife, son, daughter, or friend with a baitcaster, start them out with a left side crank. They will be miles ahead with a left side crank with their hook sets and imparting action to those lures that need it.
I can remember when my brother 1st start going muskie fishing with me. At that time I only had two rod/reel combos (yes left side cranks) and I borrowed one rod/reel combo (right side crank) from my buddy for the weekend. After my brother tried my other rod, will I did have a spare cause he was using it. My buddy's combo just sat in the boat all weekend.
How'd I do Mark???? You are ambidextrous, eh? Did you see I spelled it right, thanks to spell check. 
Edited by muskie! nut 12/8/2008 3:05 PM
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | ...what muskie nut said.
I can make any hand go around in a circle, I want my dominant hand on the rod imparting action to the bait and prepared for a quick and efficient hook-set. I could teach myself how to cast with the other hand, but I still would have my off hand on the rod. I think left and right handed baitcasters are labeled 180 degrees off!
Edited by nwild 12/9/2008 10:02 AM
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Posts: 214
Location: Central Iowa | I grew up using left side crank spin reels and when I started muskie fishing left just felt more natural to me, keeps the rod in my dominate hand and there's no hand switching needed...I can't understand how right side cranking baitcasters are the norm and left cranking spinning reels are the norm. Does anyone know why this is the case? |
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Posts: 366
| When I started muskie fishing they didn't make a left-reel Calcutta, and if I remember right very few companies had muskies reels that were lefty compared to today. So my answer was to teach myself how to use a right-reel baitcaster. I'm very glad I did. Of course I wasn't that proficient with baitcasters at the time anyways, so learning with the right didn't put me that far behind to start. Now using a right handed reel feels very natural, and the left handed reels feel a little funny when I pick one up. Thankfully the muscle memory remains and after a cast or two a lefty feels normal too. In fact it is kind of nice to be able to switch when my left arm is hurting. Your left arm is probably not actually any weaker than your right, but you might have to work on developing the natural connection with your brain. I like to attribute it to the fact that Chipper Jones is the best hitter in baseball, and does it while being a switch hitter, in a day when there are less and less ambidextrous hitters. The learning curve will be a little slower, but you will be happier if you can learn to use either hand. |
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Posts: 299
Location: Ontario, California | You did good Gerard... but like I said, I am right handed but my dominant arm isn't my right one. So I just screwed up your theory
Right hand, wrong hand... whatever works for you |
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Posts: 549
Location: deephaven mn | i think most people have a dominant hand. and wonder why they even have a left. teach yourself. where is your power?
you want to have the rod in your power hand for hook set and eights. more control. so i believe reels manufactuers have it completely wrong. SHIMANO MAKE A TRINIDAD IN LEFTY PLEASE!!!!! |
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Posts: 193
Location: Mayer, MN | I started muskie fishing and purchased a right hand retrieve. Never owned a baitcaster before. The next season I asked myself why does it have to be a righty? I bought a left handed retrieve and absolutely love it. Transitions are smooth. I now use both and love it for strain and fatigue reasons. Just switch back and forth all day. I now have equally defined forearms.  |
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Posts: 221
Location: Detroint Lakes, MN |
I'm right handed. I cast with my left hand, reel with my right.
Never switch hands to cast and then reel.
If you use both your hands (arms) to do multiple things than you aren't going to have "more power" hook setting with one or the other.
Your hands (arms) are only as useless or useful as you make them.
JS
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Posts: 100
Location: Bemidji/Cass Lake | I have always just used left-handed cranking reels. I also could not figure out why the norm was to use reel spinning with left hand and baitcasting with right. I'm right handed but it is quite uncomfortable to use anything that reels righty, I mean it's not even close as to how much better control I have with lefty reeling gear. I've always been pretty decent with my left hand for everything else(basketball, pool, etc), but never felt good for fishing. It is entirely a preference. |
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| like everybody here,i also never switch.the big mistake is why a lots of company still make right crank only when more than 70% are right handed? |
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Posts: 29
Location: n.ireland | most europeans use lefthanded reels
first time i saw someone swapping over after casting was an american musky dvd |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Norm nailed it. Luckily I am left handed, and most reels are made for me... I feel much more comfortable working lures with my dominant hand/arm. Can turn a crank with any ole arm as mentioned. That said, I still have my spinning reel handles on the left, I shoot bow right handed, and rifle/shotgun left.....Ughh. Again, just glad reels for lefties are most widely available. My right handed buddies have a heck of a time finding the reels they want in true right handed versions. |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | john skarie - 12/8/2008 9:59 PM
I'm right handed. I cast with my left hand, reel with my right.
Never switch hands to cast and then reel.
If you use both your hands (arms) to do multiple things than you aren't going to have "more power" hook setting with one or the other.
Your hands (arms) are only as useless or useful as you make them.
JS
John,
I can and do fish with right handed cranks as well, but I can feel enough of a difference between my dominant hand and the other to warrant having it in the most important position. Everyone has a dominant hand no matter how much you may use the other. You are kidding yourself if you feel they are equals, especially in finesse applications. If you don't believe me, try to write with your off hand.
I also feel that by having your dominant hand in the "power" position you reduce fatigue during the course of a long day. Less fatigue and dominant hand on the rod makes me a much better fisherman at the end of a 12 hour day. |
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Posts: 366
| Norm, I think what John is saying, and I happen to totally agree with is that, although you may have a dominant hand it is because you've made it that way by always favoring it to do specific things. And just as you created a dominant hand, using the other will decrease that dominance and eventually give you an equal to use in any situation. It's not an instantaneous change and requires a lot of practice. Probably a season or two, but if you can suffer through it you might be happier in the long run. Although I'm sure that not everyone can become ambidextreous as easily as those who it comes naturally to, with effort you can develop it to become comfortable. Can I write equally well with my left hand? No, but then again I've been practicing to write with my right for about 25 years, and probably haven't spent an hour trying to write with the left. I do believe that if schools taught you to try and write with both hands that you would learn to do so, although there isn't really the need. So the point is that yes you have dominant naturally, but the difference between your hands was created through lots of practice, just as you can likely eliminate that dominance with lots of practice. Is there a need for most of us to go out and buy all new gear and start fishing with the other hand? No, but if you were just starting out you shouldn't necessarily be affraid to learn how to use your less dominant hand. Those individuals who sustain and injury to their domininant hand aren't always going to give up fishing, and instead will teach themselves to use the other hand. Heck I've seen people who learn to write with their feet because they were born with no arms, so your other hand can be trained to do what you want it to.
Ryan |
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Posts: 131
| i sell reels and it drives me nuts when people tell me they couldn't possibly use a left handed baitcaster so when i ask them which hand they reel a spinning reel with nearly ALL of them say they use their left.DAAHHH!it makes no sense to me.when i got my first baitcaster it was a rightie and right off the bat it felt totally backwards so i switched.you definetly get more hooking power plus more cast per hour thus upping your odds to catch a fish.you also can gain better control of baits in the weeds/slop by being able to immediately engage the spool keeping the bait up out of the crap.i swear the guy who invented the baitcasting reel was a leftie and built it to suit his natural posture. |
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Posts: 29
Location: n.ireland | try teaching a 7 year old kid to cast when he's left handed and your not
now that takes patience |
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Posts: 221
Location: Detroint Lakes, MN |
I'm not saying people don't have "dominant" hands, what I'm saying is you can make you other hand (arm) just as dominant with practice and just plain old usage.
Instead of buying 5-6 new reels with a crank on the left side, I just started casting with my left arm. It only took a few days to actually feel very comfortable doing it, and now it's awkward for me to try to cast with my right hand.
I would be very comfortable casting with either arm and using a right or left hand crank reel just because of making myself do both.
So, if you want to get away from switching hands when you cast, but don't want to replace all your reels, just start casting with your left hand and it'll feel natural in a short time.
At least it did for me.
JS |
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Posts: 462
Location: Antioch, IL | (I'm a righty) I cast over my right shoulder (90% of the time) I prefer to hold the rod in my left hand and reel with my right. My right hand is my dominate hand as far as dexterity goes, but in overall strength there is no noticeable difference, if anything my left is a little stronger. I don't think arm/hand strength has a whole lot to do with the hookset. My arms don't have much to do with my hookset. Most of the power comes from my torso and from stepping back, most comfortable with my right foot, as I twist. I nuturally want to set the hook to the right so I see I big advantage in having the rod in my left hand so the rod moves a greater distance across my body. I tried a left handed reel for a while. The cast and retrieve were easy to get used to, but the hookset felt very weak. |
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| if you are right handed...here is a good test as to why you should reel right handed. take a right handed reel not attacthed to a rod and reel it as fast as you can....then do the same with a left handed reel. The reel companies make right handed reels for right handed people for that reason. Some of you who reel left handed but are right handed have just gotten used to it. Its a lot like golf in a sense. You need more coordination in your reeling hand. |
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Posts: 375
| guest,
in my musky opinion, being able to spin the handles on my reels as fast as i can comfortably is way down the list vs. having the "meat" behind the hookset...:) i would hope reel manufacturer's actually have some engineering type fisher-people working for them! if they don't, i'm raising my hand to apply...lol |
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| If your right handed and using a left handed reel...that means your hookset is going towards the left (non dominant) side of your body. its actually a weaker hookset. foot work and hips are more important than your arms on a hookset. |
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Posts: 8774
| It's all about endurance for me. Casting, working baits, doing figure 8's, all day long with the same arm? I want to be as accurate casting and able to react as quickly after 9 hours as I was first thing in the morning. (Well, ok... 10:00 am. I'm usually not worth much in the morning!)
As for your stronger arm and setting the hook, How many times a day do you actually set the hook, and how much strength do you really need? I'd rather be able to fish for 9-10 hours, 6 days straight, and not feel like I got hit my a bus than make sure my stronger arm is setting the hook.
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | John,
That I will buy into whole-heartedly. I was fortunate, I made the switch after buying my first reel many years ago. Not much invested, easy to swallow. The part that does bite for me is I have to have a whole fleet of reels for clients in the opposite hand for them to use (the confirmed right handed reel guys).
As of late we left handed reel consumers are become more and more fortunate with the choices being offered to us. In the beginning of my musky fishing that was not the case. That was the biggest drawback to fishing lefty back then.
I would never tell someone to switch if they have been doing it for years righthanded. Obviously you have taught yourself to fish that way and are comfortable doing it. I would encourage them to do as you have and teach yourself to cast with the left hand/arm. Beginners I let make up their own mind. I supply them with one of each and let them make the choice. Nearly every time the right handers will choose left handed equipment.
Now if I could only find some left handed rods!  |
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Posts: 366
| I imagine that when baitcasters were invented, most lures were simple cast and retreive, and therefore reeling was where most of the coordination was required. The other hand simply held the rod, and I'd be willing to bet that very few anglers palmed the reel as they do now. The majority of people are right handed, so they put the handle on the right. Now a days we work jerk/twitch baits with a flurry of action. Throw in thumb bars and figure eighting and the reeling hand is the one that is hardly doing anything technical. So now companies are making left-hand reels, because there is a demand for them.
Hooksets are something that can be debated till the end of time because it is more about personal preference and feel. There is also the aspect that hooksetting is what, 0.5% of what we do when fishing? Granted it is a pretty important 0.5%, but it isn't the whole game. When people weight lift do they have a heavier dumbbell in their dominant hand, than the one they hold in there other? To be honest I usually set the hook with both hands by palming the reel and gripping the handle, and the leverage is provided by the torso twisting away from the fish. |
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Posts: 375
| in the "perfect world" on every cast i am more "comfortable" with my right foot to be out in front of my left while reeling with my left hand because my "base balance point" is on the right "power side" of my body which i have more control over as is with my stronger right arm. i prefer to keep "things" as consistant as possible and deal with whatever hookset angle / side knowing and feeling that my body is at it's most solid and most powerful position. my goodness, i don't beleive i typed that...the engineer in me coming out concerning musky fishing...lol...i guess it's what WE do...lol.
Edited by STUSHSKY 12/9/2008 2:44 PM
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Posts: 897
| This is silly, who cares which side you reel on. To each his own, do what works for you. The only thing that sucks about being a lefty is finding reels. You pretty much have to order everything online unless you get lucky.
I'm a righty and reel with a left handed reel because I can work baits better, set the hook better, and fight fish better that way. I've tried using right handed stuff and have caught fish, but I also lost a lot more fish because I wasn't used to setting the hook and fighting fish with that set-up. Could I learn to fish right-handed, sure, probably will have to after a few more years of wearing my body out with double 10's. For now, I'm just gonna do what is working...
Someone above mentioned endurance and hook setting power. For those of you who still palm your reel, try using the foregrip for a couple days next year and see how your endurance and hook setting power compares. The boys up at AML turned me on to this last year and I've been using the foregrip ever since. Makes a world of difference for me in both categories. |
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Posts: 225
Location: Nordeast Minneapolis | This is a little funny... a buddy and I were recently having a discussion about why it would be that spinning rigs would typically have the reel handle on the 'left' and casting rigs on the 'right'. Bear in mind, this quote is from Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt. But here's what the interwebs had to say:
"Early reels were often operated by inverting the reel and using back winding to retrieve line. For this reason, the reel crank handle was positioned on the right side of the reel.[1] As a result, the right-hand crank position for bait casting reels has become customary over the years, though models with left-hand retrieve are now gaining in popularity."
The source cited is 'Henshall, J.A., Book of the Black Bass Cincinnati: J.A. Henshall (1881)'. So I guess all you folks reeling with your left hand are doing it right, and the rest of us aren't.
But I don't care. I like reeling with my right hand (on a casting rig) and you're not going to get me to change!!!
But I may just pick up a giant spinning rig to use once in awhile. |
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| What hand do you guys reel with on a fly reel?? That matters about as much as comparing what side you reel with on a spinning reel when asking about using a baitcaster. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Guest - 12/9/2008 1:24 PM
If your right handed and using a left handed reel...that means your hookset is going towards the left (non dominant) side of your body. its actually a weaker hookset. foot work and hips are more important than your arms on a hookset.
I think the main reason that baitcasters were made right side cranks is because of the thread direction. Right hand thread on the left side would loosen up when cranked. Nowadays we use reverse threads on left side cranks and that doesn't happen.
For guys using their right hand cranks for years, don't change. But for gosh sakes if you are teaching a youngster or the gf or wife (that is right handed), get them a left side crank. It would take them years to develop the mechanics that you have acquired over the years. That is why I say they would be miles ahead with a left side crank.
And for those who say "you are only setting the hook .05% of the time", do you really want to chance a big fish, maybe the only fish you've had hit all day???? This is what puzzles me about muskie anglers. They pay attention to every little detail like purchase the best rods, sharpen the hooks razor sharp, best leader, best line, proper knot, every little attention to detail to up your odds to catch a big muskie and not using your dominate hand to impart better action on your lures and better hook sets is not an option. Makes no sense to me. |
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| with many lures though Gerard the actual reel handle, not the rod imparts quite a bit of the action, lures like triple D's are best used with very little or suttle rod action and the reel handle and how you crank/twitch/pause is how the lure gets it's great action...I have zero belief that I will set the hook any less with my right hand on the handle as oppose to my left...I am right handed but palm the reel with my left hand and reel/crank with the right..been doing it that way since 1993 and find it to me second nature and almost not even a conscious thing switching in mid cast....to me, it is the way that is comfortable and i'm just as strong with my right arm as left..
I don't buy the idea that guys that do things this way are somehow setting the hook with any less force...
no trouble getting hooks where they need to be...imo....sort of agree with others who say it's silly...do what feels best and stick with it...i can't stand holding the rod in my right hand and reeling left...
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| fortunately, many of the best reels are offered in both right- and left-hand crank.
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | casting with my right and reeling with my reel feels natural to me. It does not take any extra time because I switch hands while the lure is in the air. When I'm bass fishing I pitch left handed. This just feels natural to me. I tried using left handed reels and could not properly set the hook. I do reel with my left hand with spinning reels, but the way the rod is held is different. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Brad did you even read my entire post?? You must glazed over the part where I say "For guys using their right hand cranks for years, don't change............".
If I was starting out or instructing a right handed person I would not make them switch hands. No reason to and they will be at a point where you are now after years of fishing a whole lot quicker. Am I wrong???? |
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| yes, in part, I think you are..mainly with the last sentence about how you feel the dominant hand should be on the rod or reel to impart "better" action. I don't feel that is correct.
It's all in what's comfortable and that will determine how a person will choose to hold the rod/reel and with what hand...by saying a person can impart, as you say, better action on the lure by holding in in their dominant hand, ie, if they are right handed to hold the rod or palm the reel in their right hand, will somehow impose better action on the lure is false to me...it should be, what feels comfortable....i started doing it that way, way back when...probably before 93 with bass and pike rods..and think from day one, i was more comfortable that way....so i get the part you say, keep doing it the way you're doing it, but i don't agree with your statement about imparting better lure action by simply holding the rod in the dominant hand...do what's comfortable from day one...the rest will fall into place...that is what i was trying to say... |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | I'm saying you will get there quicker (falling into place, if you will) if you use your dominate hand/arm to impart the action on a lure. As stated here many times anybody can teach their body to do anything if they do it long enough.
I will also add that I love fishing behind some that switches hands. Many times I have outfished them, even using the same lure. They can't get a good sploosh or even work a jackpot in one place.
Make it be known that I don't care what others do or how they cranking their reels. This board is about giving information. And I believe most will say that the information I give is true. Take it or leave it - your choice. |
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Posts: 2378
| do what you feel comfortable doing...end of story. |
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Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | BALDY - 12/10/2008 10:10 AM
do what you feel comfortable doing...end of story.
Cane pole - can't get into the trees as far...
S. |
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| Wow - lots of interesting opinions (and plenty or irrelavent ones).
I *think* (but don't know) that my hook sets, especially, would improve if I held the rod in my right hand and reeled with my left. Have any of you who switched expereinced an improvement in hooksets? Or any other positive or negative results from changing? Don't give me your thoughts; give me your experiences. |
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Posts: 8774
| ROL:
I can set the hook equally well, either way. BUT. Fishing with a left handed reel makes it much smoother casting. I cast over my right shoulder, thumb the spool, engage the reel, start reeling, and tuck the rod onder my arm all in one motion. The power of your hookset, in my opinion, has much more to do with where the fish hits. Nearly all of my fish as of late have hit in exactly the same spot -- right on the outside turn of the figure 8, where your arms are extended, and all you really have to do to set the hook in the opposite direction the fish is going (torawds the fish) is swivel your hips and pull your arms towards your body. As far as turning yout torso goes, I doubt (unless you play baseball or something) there's a significant difference in strength.
What I have noticed switching back and forth is that you have to pay careful attention to how you are doing your figure 8's. I like to make sure that when I hit the "money spot" on the 8, I'm set up perfectly to drive the hooks home, and not in a position where I can't really set the hook because I'm off balance wth my arms across my body. Which side of the boat you are on changes how you figure 8 and how you would set the hook.
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Posts: 767
Location: Ames, Iowa | Go with what Stushsky said. That has always worked for me for the reasons stated. My left hand has learned to be very coordinated reeling hand, that is all I ask it to do. But it, it's wrist, and its left arm are not very coordinated at casting accurately, thumbing the spool, "feeling" the wind, working a bait, all of the subtle things that go into a cast and presentation. Never gave it a chance to learn those things. Hopefully I won't ever need to. 5 degrees in Ames, IA, about 180 days till Mn opener.
djwilliams |
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| we, european, will be glad if you ask for more left handed reels.
Please, as you are there, ask for a good left handed linecounter.
2 years ago I tried to switch to a right handed because of a pain in my right wirst after one hour of fishing, but no way, I can live with my wirst problem, but I can't fish with a right handed reel...
ah, the pain also is gone.
fabio
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Posts: 375
| gatoRRR,
although i only troll maybe 10% of the time, i have been using cabela's brand depthmaster gold left-handed line-counters and they have worked well for me!
stan
Edited by STUSHSKY 12/11/2008 2:33 PM
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Posts: 531
Location: Hugo, MN | Does anybody really feel that they can't set the hook properly with their "non-dominant" hand? I mean, c'mon. Somebody needs to do an actual test and show me how many pounds of difference there is in the hookset power each way. Somebody told me he actually measured how much weight could be lifted from the ground with a hookset, and it was around fifteen pounds, max. I'm not sure you're going to find more than a pound of difference between the two hands, and that's probably due more to mechanics and coordination. Just do whatever you feel is most comfortable, and encourage youngsters to do the same.
Not that it matters, but I cast over my right shoulder or sidearm, and switch to reel with my right just before the bait hits the water. It's easy. I feel my left arm does a fine job of setting the hook, and my right hand is more coordinated for reeling. I've tried casting with my left hand and it was embarassing. I also still have to switch my grip on the reel no matter how I do it. I thumb the spool with my trigger finger around the rod trigger, and end up palming the reel with the trigger between my pinky and ring finger. I guess that all depends on how you grip your rod or reel.
For you guys that are right handed and cast left handed so you don't have to switch hands, doesn't that mean you have to thumb the spool with your non-dominant thumb?
Welcome to the Winternet. |
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Posts: 102
Location: Bowling Green, KY | Just thought I'd chime in here with my two cents worth. I'm as right handed
as a person gets, and I reel right handed. I guess 20 years of bass fishing before
there were any left handed bait casters cemented this habit. While I understand
the logic of a right handed person using a left hand crank reel they feel absolutely
foreign in my hands. I like to palm my reels during the retrieve and there's just
no way possible that I see to do this with a left hand crank reel. Maybe if you had
hands the size of catcher's mitts you could maintain a palming grip on a musky
sized reel and reach over the side plate and still thumb the spool, but I can't.
I do use spinning tackle with the handle on the left side though. Palming a spinning
reel would be a little weird! LOL I can personnally can set the hook much harder
with a baitcasting rod, so I think hook setting power comes more with practiced
technique and muscle memory than which side of the reel the crank is on. Maybe
that's two and half cents worth! |
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Posts: 375
| musky vs. bass (panfish...:)) leave your "money" hookset to your power arm for muskies whilst grasping the rod on the foregrip! nufsed...jmo...lol
Edited by STUSHSKY 12/13/2008 3:33 PM
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | I'm right handed and have always used a left-handed retrieve baitcast and spinning reel.
Jed V. |
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Posts: 625
Location: ashtabula ohio | it is an obvious adavantage to be able to use both reels for the long day. anyone who hasnt yet...should. i agree it takes about a season or less to get it, but when you do you will be better off in any fishing situation... you guys [as usual} make threads like these confusing to some and ridiculous to most. |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | With the use of 100lb braid and stiff 8'-9' rods you do not have to use a Babe Ruth hook set, and reeling size 10/13 blades all day, as fast as I can, my right arm /hand will hold up all day long, my left arm/hand lasts for 2-3 hours only. I don't see any advantage for a musky guy. Now in bass fishing when over half of your hits happen when the bait hits the water yes, but in musky fishing over half of your hits happen by the boat. Do what feels right to you !!!!!! |
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Left-handed reeling