Took me awhile to figure it all out also but now I have only 3 RH retrieve reels left. One is an absolute cherry ABU 5000D the other two are 5500C and a 5000A.

Reading all your replies, all I must say is that I am very backwards...it may come from the fact that I taught myself pretty much everything I learned in my first 5 years or so of fishing.

I am left handed and I fish with left handed reels. When I am fishing with convential gear, I cast with my left hand but during the drift and while fighting fish, I hold my rod in my right hand and reel with my left.

When I am flyfishing I cast with my left hand and hold the rod in my left hand. During the presentation, I hold my rod in my left hand and my line in my right hand. When I am hook a fish I fight the fish with my rod in my left hand if I am stripping line in or the fish is not on the reel yet. Once I get the fish on the reel, I switch my rod over to my right hand because my reels are set up for left hand.

I have tried both reeling with my right hand and holding my rod in my right hand during the drift but neither feels comfortable (I can do it when gear fishing ) so I have to just stick with switching back and forth.

Well a nice set of replies....and a bit of diversity that I didn't expect. Shows how different we all can be. Myself I was perfectly satisfied to fish right handed reels for almost 20 years....yeah I had to do the big switch when hooked up but it worked. Since goin lefty it just seems more natural with my personal style and abilities. I can even in place my casts where I want them even in situations where a left hand cast seems appropiate. My thumb is automatically in place on the spool and my right hand in place to help manipulate the line thru the drift. I'd rec' anyone who is just starting out to try it. For those set in their ways I wouldn't want to even try to advise you....wasn't my purpose...but I wanted and value your experienced opinions. Anyway back to the ice bag on the knee. BTW heads up don't ever try to split a submerged boulder in half with your left knee cap....believe me from my experience it's a real stupid idea.

Gooose

Gooose,
You might want to ask RT where he gets his knee pads!....j/k

Randy
After basically coming back to the world...after playing flounder on top of a nonsubmerged very convenient boulder....that was amazingly one of my immediate thoughts.I'll never razz :p RT again for them kneepads....I'm just going to hide them under my neoprenes as I wouldn't be seen dead....ooops!?! sorry uh yeah....well just look for ol'knobby knees in neoprenes on the river.. thats me.

Gooose

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.

Mike
Wasn't intending to go swimming....but knowing how to do the flounder helped. As for the bug well it was a New Years miracle. Go ahead and e-mail and rub my nose in it ya dog.

Gooose

Gooose, I promised you salt in the wound. It's on the way

Gooose,
I am not one who can talk about good knees. I've had 5 knee surgeries and move pretty gingerly. Maybe you, me and RT should have a foot race....say 100 yards? Can you guys get a week off? Thats about how long it will take me.

Gooose, sounds like a duck around tree maneuver! I think I know the spot

As far as reel handings, I'm a righty and use both
LH and RH depending on how I'm fishing. Tried to go stictly LH retrieve but my right elbow let me know that holding the rod full time wasn't in the cards. Driftfishing baitcaster (my go to) is usually the only time that I use RH retrieve, giving my elbow a rest during retrieves. I can still do all the creative reeling and spooling just that it's in a unconventional manner.

Floats,spoons,bait...etc. spinning or casting it's lefty all the way and when done in excess can lead to a talking elbow

Is 37 old
First the elbow
Then the backlash my body gave me following a day on the sloaps maybe it was that nasty high speed fall

FJ...out.

What knee pads?

I have fished both L & R hand reels. But I normally use the left hand reels and fish right handed for more than just because it's my stronger arm. I also feel my right hand is a bit more sensative to bites and quicker with reflex hooksets. I think that's only partly from being right handed; with much of it because I'm used to fishing that way most of the time and the arm gets 'tuned in'.

As for boat fishing, when I am holding my rod in the jetsled I need to fish it in my right hand so my left is free to run the tiller handle on the trolling motor.

As far as the Rt vrs the Lt all the parts that I have been thinking are here. Steelheading, particularly drift fishing is tough. Anyone can nail a suicide fish but feeling that subtule pick up by a stealthy river wise steelie requires skill of which I am still mastering BTW. I think it has alot to do with reflexes and unconcious conditioning in the brain. You are right handed so your left brain has better reflexes and has better eye to hand conditioning etc. Therefore you feel the bite better with the right hand (remember the brain is cross wired). This leads to switching back and forth casting reeling, hookset and retrieving (what a pain).

For me, as someone mentioned, I grew up with a coffee grinder trout fishing (although I can say I never did put it in the up position) and learned to reel with my left hand. The logical decision was the L H retrieve.

Right handed lefty reeler present! Done it practically as long as I've been fishing, just can't stand the right handed ones. How can you muscle a fish with your left arm?!

I'm a righty and fish a lefty Curado. I can fish either right or left equally well. I just prefer to hold the rod in my power hand and it saves time shifting the rod. When pulling plugs(2 man driftboat) I have a lefty and a righty up front so the guy up front can reel in both rods at once approaching the tailout.