Good question missingaddi.

Since someone sat me down and made me reel a lefthander for an evening while watching the tube, I've never gone back, never regretted it and never bought another right handed reel. I used to keep a couple righthanded reels for boat guests but now I have them reel a lefthander on the way to the river and before they know it they are convinced as well. I've known a lot of steelheaders (river casters) who have switched from righthanded casting reels to left, but never back to right again. And come to think of it, I can't recall one righthanded steelheader who started with a lefthanded reel that switched over to right. Amazing when you consider lefthanded reels are still not as popular as right. It just goes to show how insignificant the steelheader market is compared to the bass market. I even remember a time when manufacturers were actually considering reducing the number of lefthanded reels models they would offer. Could the very vocal, but very regional, outcry of the northwest fisherman have had anything to do with the amount of lefthanded casting reels we have today? I know I've cast my ballot with my pocketbook more than a few times:D