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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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