Left hand or right ?

[Mark Gross]

Here's the story.When I was a kid growing up I usually got all my dads old fishing equipment including rods and reels.So when I learned to cast I used dads reel,but dad was right handed and I'm left handed ! So I'm on e-Bay and I see a left-hand Curado 201 and I think hay why don't I use a left-hand ed reel if I'm left handed. Just maybe it would feel more natural and just might help my casting(and I can use all the help I can get). So here is the question should I spend the money and try it or just stay were i'm at. What really amazes me is that I just realized it after 40 years geee's.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Mark -



I started fishing with a Mitchell 300 spinning reel over 40 years ago. It only came in left hand crank. Spinning reels couldn't be switched the way they can today. As a result, I have never felt at all comfortable cranking with my right hand - even though I am right-handed.



All of my bait casters are left-handed. Curados, Abu Garcia's, a couple of BPS reels and an old Diawa.....



My Curado's are the 101's. I absolutely LOVE 'em! You'll never regret buying one! (Or more!)



me!



P.S. From what I've seen the Curado's going for on e-Bay, I'd just go out and buy them new from BPS. I just don't think it's worth the chance of getting one that someone has misrepresented to save 10 or 20 buxs.

 

[Marke Cicero]

Mark,



If it ain't broke...don't fix it. I think after 40 years of right handed cranking, going to your left will feel completely un-natural. Unless of course you currently crank lefthanded with your spinning reels.



When I was a lad (some time around Scott's 100th birthday) I too used the mitchell 300 but I would flip it upside down and crank backwards because I physically can not reel with my left hand. It feels sooo awkward.



The other thing to consider is: Can you work the rod with your right hand? Set the hook? Play a fish?



Remember, there is more to fishing than crankin a handle.



Marke

 

[Jim B]

I am right handed and i also use left crank reels. right hand crank dosent feel comfortable to me. The way i look at it is the rod should be in your dominent hand and you should crank the reel with the other. so for a lefty having the crank on the right would make sense and for a righty having the crank on the left makes sense.

A lot of the guys i fish with that are righty and have used right crank reels say my left cranks feel more natural to them then theres guys like my dad who is lefty and they think its backwards much like i do with right hand crank reels.

 

[Ken Neeley]

I'm with you Jim...that's how I've always done it.

 

[Marke Cicero]

I think of it like this:



Everything we do with both hands requires strength and dexterity. I am write handed and my right hand has better dexterity. When I'm writing I hold the note pad with my left and use the pen with my right. Peeling an apple, apple in left hand and sharp object in the right. Hold a tooth brush in the left apply paste with the right...etc. This list can go on and on. So why would fishing be any different? Do you see where I'm coming from??



Anything requiring motion or fine motor skills, such as cranking a reel should be done with the dominent hand.



Try it. When all of you right handed left hand crankers brush your teeth tonight, try applying the toothpaste with your left hand and see if it feels natural.



Marke

 

[Ken Neeley]

Marke....what about, you know, ummmmm, you know, ummmmm....which hand should Rob use ...ummmmmm to uhhhhhh, .....

 

[Marke Cicero]

Like I said Ken....Which ever one your rod is most comfortable in.

 

[Tony Payne]

Well, to be a little different...



Read the book called "Powerhand Baitcasting" by Rich Forhan.

http://www.revolverrod.com/

Conventional baitcasting techniques are unnecessarily difficult for the beginner to master. Powerhand Baitcasting shows right-handed anglers the advantages of not switching hands after the cast, something left-handed anglers have always understood!

Basically, I am right handed, and I am using Left handed reels now. SouthPaws have had an advantage all along.



My "Power hand" stays with the rod constantly (Ken, be quiet!), and is always ready to set the hook. I leave the more menial task of "Cranking line" to my left hand... the same as I do with Spinning tackle.



So, Mark G. Stick with what you are doing now...if it aiin't broke, don't fix it.



It does take some getting used to at first, but now it is much more natural.

 

[James D.]

depends on which side the handle is on.........

 

[Ken Neeley]

"Power Hand"...."Cranking Hand".....Rob, are you taking notes?!?

 

[Marke Cicero]

That's the point I was trying get across. My left hand is my power hand. It is stronger but lacks dexterity to crank. I give up...I'm just a freak of fishing nature.



Sim, I may check out that book as this topic comes up quite often. I here guys talking about "time" and how much I waste by changing hands. How if I didn't change hands I could get 100 more casts per day which would increase my fish catching odds. Hog wash I say...Hog wash!!



Marke

 

[Paul Mazza]

When I was growing up and beginning to fish "left-handed" spinning reels were just being introduced. My right handed father would buy himself the standard spinning reel (left hand retrieve) and he would buy me the "left hand" model (right hand retrieve. This way my power hand/arm would control the rod and cast and my weaker, less coordinated hand/arm would control the retrieve. All was good.

When it came to baitcasting though, things were even better for me.Since all the handles on baitcasting reels were on the right I could cast with my power left and retrieve with my weaker right and I didn't have to switch the rod after every cast. My right-hand father had to switch the rod every cast. I ignorantly thought someone had finally invented something with left-handed people in mind.

 

[James D.]

i'm going to learn how to flip with my left hand this year. i think it would be good to be able to do it with either hand.

 

[Marke Cicero]

 

[Tony Payne]

Marke,



I am a recent convert... trust me when I say...



"It's not hog wash"...

 

[Marke Cicero]

If you use one hand all the time then switch to the other...is that "cheating"?

 

[Paul Mazza]

Originally the handles on baitcasting reels did not disengage with the cast. They turned with the spool. Also,earliest reels did not have level winds.You spooled the line back onto the reel with your rod hand as you reeled in.

There's a story that says the handle was put on the right sothat it would face up rather than down on the cast. Because it spun with the spool if it was on the left and faced down it would impart more drag to the cast and shorten the distance. The trade off for a little more distance was the need to shift the rod to the other hand after each cast.It's said that even with the advent of disengaging handles,tradition dictated that the handle stay on the right.

 

[Marke Cicero]

Sim,



Believe me, I have tried and my left hand has ZERO dexterity. Watching me reel you would think there was sand in the bearings or I was reeling under a strobe light because the motion is so choppy.



Marke

 

[Jim B]

Marke,

Im in the same boat with right hand crank reels. It feels all backwards to the point where i cant even fish. I guess old habits are hard to break.

 

[Tony Payne]

Marke,



I understand... You have to go with what works for you, regaurdless. Not trying to be pushy or anything, I know it improved my fishing and confidence... but then I only had 2 years of "habit" to break. When I explained it to the Mrs, she thought that it made alot of sense, and would be easier for her to learn.



I still do not understand why a spinning reel feels so different for folks. I "think" it has to do with the radius of the handle, as well as the lowered location...



Do I understand correctly that you can twist/flip/pitch/cast and fight the fish with the left hand? Or are you just "hanging on" to the rod with the left hand during the fight? ((please don't take this the wrong way)... Do you use left cranking spinning reels?



If so, it might just be more of a learned thing, I know it feels "wierd". When I decided to switch, I forced the issue by selling off my right hand reels and buying all left. Gave myself no choice... It now feels much more natural.



If it is literally a dexterity issue, perhaps Ken or Rob can suggest some "other" exercises to help you...

 

[Tony Payne]

Pama...



I think you are correct.



The way it was explained to me, was that earlier reels had a much slower retrieve ratio, forcing you to use the powerhand to "catch up"... newer reels of course don't have that issue either.



If memory also serves, southpaws used to be looked at as "inferior" or "not normal", so for along time, nothing was designed with them in mind.



So, the right handed cranks actually gave you an advantage you didn't knew you had...

 

[Larry Harp]

Funny this subject should come up as James and I were just talking about it this past weekend. I was thinking that the next reel I buy should left hand drive. My thinking concerns reaction type baits like jigs and soft plastics mostly with the idea being that many times the strike comes on the fall and sometimes as soon as the bait hits the water. If you are in the process of switching hands when the fish strikes, it is highley unlikley you are going to form a personal relationship with that fish. I have always cranked my spinning reels with my left hand and baitcasters with my right so I don't think it would be a hard transition to make.

Harpo

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I use both and love it. I first started with a right handed but, could not get the feel winding right and settin' the hook with my left. Then when lefty's became more popular about ten years ago...I learned left. Got pretty good at it and had read some articles that some of the pros were using both to keep from wreaking havac on your wrists and arms.I learned and love it. I use 6 1/2 to 7 ft rods(RH reels) for Carolina rigiin' and flippin'...then I use 5 1/2 to 6 ft. rods(LH reels) for close quarter casting spinners and cranks.Works for me....

TEE

 

[Marke Cicero]

Sim,



I cast with my right hand for accuracy (like throwing a ball). After the rod is in my left hand I can twitch a finesse bait, jerk a jerk bait, set the hook, etc. and do all the things that need to be done with a rod.

I never purchase a spinning real unless the handle can be switched to the right side.



Sooner, I also debated your issue several times too. The hand switching is such a fast and fluid motion that it is done before the bait hits the water. I have NEVER lost a fish because they hit the bait faster than I could switch hands. The switch is fast and fluid...if you blinked you would miss it. Remember, the hand is quicker than the eye...It's majic LOL



Marke

 

[Mark Gross]

I use my right hand for cranking on my spinning and casting and never switch hands, always holding my(fishing) rod in the left hand.That other thing Ken & Rob are doing will ruin your eyesight.

I would never buy a reel from E-Bay because its to much a personnal think I'd always feel like I was using the other guys reel.I was just window shopping.

I will check out the book "POWERHAND CASTING'cause I love good books that deal with fishing.

I think I'll buy one and try it.

Thanks for all the input....note to self ;if opportunity arises to bunk in with Ken or Rob at a fishing event graciously decline...lol

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

And NEVER ask them to hand you a rod......



TOXIC

 

[Bill McElroy]

"Don't hand me no lines,...and keep yo'hands to your self!"

Georgia Satellites

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Ya know on a post titles 'left hand or right'.......well.....LOL I was leaving it alone until Mark goes and ropes me in! And believe me Mark at any fishing even I attend, bunking is all I do in the room, because I'm not usually there much. Now if I can just get my wife to travel with me, I'd have to lock the door so Mac or Neeley don't walk in on us.....MAN would THAT kill a mood! I thought having my 4 year old see us was bad! She wouldn't let me touch her for years after that! LOL Course......I could charge a cover......?????

 

[Tim King]

I do the right hand baitcast and the left hand spinning reel thing and have tried to do it the other way and it just feels awkward!! I have always been able to swithc hands in the middle of a cast and(Ken) "never miss a stroke" so to speak. A friend of mine that fishes BASS and many other circuits has shown me another technique for thse that are so concerned with the "fish hit while switching hands thing" is to just leave it in your casting hand while the lure is falling until a fish eats it or it hits the bottom. Of course this won't work with a retrieve type lure, but for that I just learned to cast left handed and it really came in handy for all the time I spent as a non-boater!



So, I guess for you whatever feels comfortable is best and if you are lucky enough to belong to a board like this and have access to all this advice I hope some of it helps!!



Tim

 

[gone bye bye]

I fish left handed reels and can say that you absolutely cannot duplicate the speed and accuracy of burning a 'trap or spinnerbait without casting and retrieving with different hands. Even if you switch while the lure is in the air. Most people that do that have to "loft casts" which is dificult to do in heavy cover situations (hanging branches etc).



I wouldnt even try baitcasting until I found a left hand reel to buy.



Mini

 

[Mike Levesque]

For spinning reels, I cast righty & reel lefty, for baitcasting reels, I cast righty, switch the rod to left hand, and reel in right handed, never even gave it a thought until reading this thread here, am I gonna change anything though? Well, no, but it is an interesting subject to think about.