Was just wondering after observing all the guys fishing this year. How many right handers use left handed bait casting reels? I'm a righty and have been fishing lefty reels for 14 years. When steelie fishing there's a reason for it and I was just wondering how many understood it....pretty sure the old hands know? Have had several urban types comment on my lefty selection this year as being an oddity. Just a notion if any one wants to discuss it?

Gooose

The only way to go. I'm a righty too and have been using left handed reels for over 20 years. Rod stays in your power arm and theres no switching hands and possibly fish.

The only bait caster I own is an 01.I have to set the hook with my right hand,without switching hands.don't have this problem with my Diawa spinning reel!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

SteelieSteve nailed it . If your a righty you gotta switch hands with a righty reel....even worse if your in free spool thumbin it as you should be when drift fishing.

Gooose

This is really a Northwest thing. I recently spent a year in West Virginia and did alot of fishing over there. They couldn't grasp the concept of a right handed person using a lefty reel. I also believe all left handed people should use right handed reels. However, I rarely see that. Any of these out there?

Im right handed and use a left handed spinning and fly reels. As for baitcasters ( which I use exclusively in the winter)I use right handed reels. I cant use a left hander to save my life. I even bring my own plug reel along when I go out in the boat as the guys I fish with are mostly left handed reel guys. Dont know why but I just cant use a left handed baitcaster. I use the switch hand method, It just comes natural to me.

Took me a year to get use to it but Rich G I suspect being young and having fast reflexises makes up for your handicap...JK :p . Seriously it was tough to adapt.

Gooose

My sweety is a south paw.I can not fish with her setup. Had a hell of a time teaching her a couple of knots.I think she likes me not being able to fish her rod though!

I know it has been at least 10 years+ a couple since I went left. Just feels better. I changed after a shoulder injury forced me to learn to cast lefthanded for the entire fall salmon and winter steelhead season. I liked not switching hands after casting so when I got healed up I went for a lefty.

Wife informed me the other day that her next baitcaster would be a lefty too. I think it has something to do with the experiance this fall with big fish and switching hands.

I like it cause I don't have to switch hands when things heat up.

That took some effort? I can't imagine switching but if it came down to fishing and not fishing?????
I try and try with my wifes and I miss every time!Maybe if I tied my right behind my back!

I'm a righty and cast with both left and right hands. This allows me to fish in tight places.
Some times you can't get in closer with a left handed cast. I think that it is more important
to learn how to cast with both hands. It can be
done with practice. I just like the way the reel
feels when I'm cranking with my left. I have plenty of power in my left arm for fighting fish.
Its not like arm wrestling.

I think the reason younger people are using left handed reels is because we grew up with spinning reels which are mostly left handed.

it really depends on the kind of fishing you do...if your drifting it really doesnt matter...but if you cast and retrieve all day it helps to switch the load (cast with the right/retreive with the left) it keeps one arm from wearing out after a long day...any serious bass fisherman can explain this

Serious bass fisherman? Is that some kind of oxymoron?

I'm a righty and haven't used a casting reel for some time. I use spinning reels with the handle on the left with the reel facing down and cast with my right. The handle can be changed to either side. I used to cast with my right, switch my rod to my left and crank with my right with the reel on top until I was corrected. When I fish off a boat, in the salt, I hold the rod in my left hand and reel with my right.

Fishing with a left hand wind bait caster is the only way to seriously fish on a river when you are casting all day. By the same token my buddy is left handed who can only fish with right hand reels. If we are fishing in my boat and happen to be pulling plugs he can't do it. It is kind of funny. I even have my big boat rod reels for Tuna and billfish specially made for left hand reeling. This way I never have the fish or the strike in the "wrong" hand. Most quality fishing reel companies have salmon and steelhead sized reels readily availabe fortunately.

I'm right-handed, but I cut my teeth learning to fish for largemouth bass, so I always used the traditional bass reel: baitcaster with the right-hand crank. As such, I learned to set a mean hook with my weaker, more uncoordinated left arm. All the while, I was learning to use fly reels and spinning reels with left cranks -- which felt a lot more natural to me.

So when I started fishing for steelhead, it seemed like the best choice would be a baitcaster with a LEFT crank, which -- as stated by many -- allows you to hold the rod, follow your drift and set the hook with your right hand. Definitely seems like the best way to go if you're right-handed.

Being a South Paw, I use a right handed reel. It only makes sense. Why a right handed person would use a right handed reel is beyond me.

It is wierd, I am righhanded except when fishing. It just feels natural reeling with my left hand.

I too am a right hander who uses a left hand retrieve. I talked to a Shimano dealer a couple years ago about why some reels weren't offered in left hand models and they told me it's because of a lack of demand. They said that the majority of their left handed reels were sold in the Northwest and the demand wasn't that strong anywhere else. Kinda strange.