left handed reel?

[struktcha_man]

Hi everyone

The question is, why is left handed the agreed position for you reel handle?
I have been right handed and still catch fish, it gets a little uncomfortable somtimes but I am doubting a left wind would be any better.

why is left best?

sorry this should go into the tackle section.

cheers

[Marlin_Mike]

Think its something to do with controlling the rod with your strong dominant hand.

Right handed people should hold the rod in their right hand and turn the reel left handed.

[Cammy]

Yer thats the way i always heard was the proper way something about getting more and steady pressure on the fish, actually try it and feel it, i cant really do it, i just stay with the "normal way" lol.

Cam

[woolybugger]

Coming from the old country (England) where most people cast with their right hand and wind with their left hand, it was a bit strange to me seeingpeople cast with their right hand and then switch hands???

I agree with the other posts in that, if you are right handed then you would have better control of a fish and also have better precition casting etc. Also on many occassions when casting a lure or fly, I have been hit as soon as the presentation hits the water and if too busy switching hands then you might miss the fish.

Food for thought anyway...

[TheRealAndy]

I crank with my left hand. Means I dont have to swap hands to cast, plus I feel I can control the rod better with my right hand.

[lostandbroke]

I am right-handed, but have always used the reel left handed. Watch a video of a right handed person having a protracted fight with a big fish, using the reel right handed, and see how many times they switch the rod to the right hand to lift the fish and then back again to wind in some line.

Also, when holding a surf rod for long periods, it is so much easier with your stronger arm on the rod and not the reel.

Works for me

Al

[Mudguard 92]

when i put action into lures i can do it better with my right hand. e.g. shake the rod with right hand and wind with left (i cant shake with left and wind with right)

[Cammy]

Hahaha mudguard

Cam

[_brendan_]

Yeah I tried to teach myself to do it this way, left handed winding while holding the rod with right, after hearing that this way is better for a right-handed person. But I just ended going back to the way I have always fished, with good ol' right-handed reel. I think this way is better for me anyway seeing as I have fished like this all my life.

[coelacanth]

This is a debate that has been discussed on many a site with no conclusion ever really made as to what is best, unfortunately if you predominantly use a
bait caster then you will be winding rhd as most reels supplied to tackle shops appear to be rhd .As for spinning reels then you obviously can choose the side you prefer.Jokes aside it's what feels good however I sit in the lhd side as it makes sense to not change hands and use your stronger side (dominant) hand /arm as generally you will have more power and strength/endurance.The winding part should be easy if you are using the rod and it's action to design and construction.Has anyone started to use a well known cricketers "ball" to increase forearm strength.Ian

[struktcha_man]

I think I would make a difference if you had to lift big fish off the bottom like snapper or emperor or somthing and you reall has to put you arm into it.

The reason I noticed was I cast mostly over my right shoulder or from my right side (being right handed) so the cast is biased to the left a bit, so flicking/retreiving it back with my right hand would be easier and more in line with the cast.

cheers

[Mrs Ronnie H]

Hi
I am left handed, hold my rod in the left hand , cast with the left hand, wind it in with the right hand-- don't know what the problem is??? I don't know if I should be going the opposite way as you guys have said but that just feels uncomfortable.
I bat right- handed too ???

Ronnie

[cqfreshie]

Good one Mrs Ronnie H.

I cast with left, lift with left and wind with right. Why? 'Cause I'm ruddy comfportable that way .... just like any other person going right hander. It's like any thing else in life ... do it the way you're comfortable with and bugger the others.

Cheers

[Feral]

I use two rods when I fish, one with a left handed reel, one with a right handed reel.

I cast with the hand that will hold the rod while I fish, when that arm gets tired, or I want to use the other lure, I cast with the other arm winding with the other hand for a while.

I had to learn to cast with my right arm a few years ago when I got tennis elbow in my left arm and could not cast with it for over a year. Now I just use both.

I cast a little bit more accurately with my left hand, but there is not much in it.

[oldboot]

Thre is all sorts of arguments on what is correct.... but some people simply cant wind effectively with their no dominant hand no matter how much they try.

I have been looking at left wind bait casters and it forces you up the price range, none of the cheaper models come left wind.

cheers