Hands?

[NCVirginian]

So this may be a stupid question, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately.

Do you cast and reel with the same hand? I cast with my right hand and reel with my left (although I'm right handed). Watching TV the other day I noticed a guy casting AND reeling with the same hand and thought it looked odd. The flip side of this is that it totally made sense at the same time. This also prompted me to look at my saltwater/deep water gear. All of my spinning reels are set for left handed retrieve. I was honestly questioning myself as to why I had them set up like that when it's very easy to simply switch hands after making the cast with spinning gear.

Anyway, I'm just curious if anyone else has ever thought about this and what your thoughts/opinions may be.

[ScottP]

My fishing partner and I go back and forth on this all the time. I'm cast right/reel left, he's cast right/reel right; his argument is that his right hand is stronger and leads to less fatigue when fighting large fish. I hate switching hands and don't notice any decrease in strength. Personal preference.

Regards,
Scott

[ducksterman]

Much discussed subject...

The way you do it IMO makes the most sense since you don't have to switch the rod to the other side.

Having said that... I cast right handed and reel right handed....I started young that way and I'm so right handed I feel I have more control while reeling.

I suspect more people cast right and reel left now adays...right handers that is....

[Draggerman]

I cast right, real left and am right handed.

[Buddy Sanders]

Whne I first learned to fish many years ago, I learned on spinning reels. They all had the reel handle on the left side. You cast and held the rod with your right hand, reeled in line and fish with your left. I was right handed. Seemed quite natural that this was the 'optimum' method for a right handed fisherman.

Bought a level wind casting reel eventually. At the time, all the ones I'd seen had the reel handle on the right side. If you were right handed, you cast the rod with your right hand, then switched hands after the lure hit the water and operated the reel with your right hand. Seemed backwards to me. I wasn't as good at manipulating the rod to give action to a lure with my left hand on the rod. My left hand wasn't as strong nor did it have the same reflexes as my right hand/arm did. Setting hooks was difficult on the bass I was after.

When I saw my fisrt left hand crank level wind reel, I switched immediately.

On my first fly rod, the reel that came with it was right hand retrieve. Wasn't built to be switched. Took me some time and and a bit of work, but with a file, drill, and dremel I made it work so that I could fish without changing hands after the cast.

Makes absolutely no sense to me to change hands. The dominant hand needs to be on the rod. That's where the power, control, and finesse is. The weaker hand can easily learn to crank the reel and strip the line.

Besides, when I was bas fishing, it seemed that I'd get lot of strikes while changing hands. Not the best time to not have absolute control over the equipment. I've found the same thing to be true when fly fishing. Lots of takes in the first few seconds after the fly hits the water.

All that being said, I think it's possible for us to adapt to either way of doing it. I know lots of fishermen, both fly and conventional tackle, that do quite well with it with what I'd call backwards.

Buddy

[FishnDave]

I started fishing with spincast reels. Cast right, switch hands and reel right.

It took some getting used to casting right/reel left when I switched to spinning reels. But I did that for many years, and it got to be 2nd nature. I made it make sense...I told myself I had better control over the distance of my cast if I could keep the rod in the casting hand, while slowing/stopping my line with my left hand.

So, now with fly reels, I still cast right/reel left.

I don't think its right or wrong, its whatever works. But I've seen those that want so badly to reel right-handed with spinning gear, that, instead of simply switching the handle to the other side of the reel, they will turn the rod over so the reel is upside-down on TOP of the rod handle!
I don't think they are intended to work that way, but people do it.

[garb72]

Cast with the right and reel with the left and im right handed.

[Uncle Jesse]

I cast all rods right handed; reel left handed on spinning and fly, right handed with bait casting. Switch hand on the baitcaster takes a split second, can happen with the bait in the air on a crank bait. I have good strength in my left hand so working a bait is natural. I am half left handed, anything I do two handed I do left handed, bat, sweep, dig, chop, etc.

[Byron Zuehlsdorff]

Cast left, reel right. I am left handed except for writing and using a fork, my mother was of the school, Thou shalt be right handed or else.

Oh yea, I shoot a bow right handed, everything else LEFT!!

[DaveP63]

All my fly stuff is set to reel left handed. My other stuff varies. I can do both.