Gooose, went swimming again after steelhead, huh? Haven't you figured out that fish swim faster than you ? Anyway, you said you were sick again; the fishin' addiction must have made you recover quickly. You missed out on some fun on the rivers in the boat.
As to your reel question, it only makes sense for a right handed person to hold the rod in the right hand and reel with the left hand. Ever notice that many righties use a spinning reel with left hand retrieve, and a level wind with a right, which causes the loss of efficiency with the hand change-over? Watch most of the bass pros and you will observe this. Just shows that steelhead fishermen (and women) are much smarter.