Ummm A good question....

[Bassassinator]

something i never bothered to ask before...i am right handed....what hand do i want to cast with and what side of the rod do i want my reel on?

[Bassboss]

Use a left hand bait caster. This way you don't have to switch hands.

[Bassassinator]

what does that mean i cast with the left and retrieve with my right hand?

[nofearengineer]

Here we go again with this tired old debate LOL.

Bassassinator, for some reason only known to God, the guy who invented the baitcaster put the handle on the right hand side. I don't know, maybe he was left handed, and it worked good for him. Well, that was all we had for a long time, so right handed people got used to it, and pretty much after a while they started calling a reel with the handle on the right side a right-handed reel, even though it would seem to me to work best for a left handed person.

I'm the most right handed person in the known universe...I'm not sure I could pick my nose with my left hand. All my reels have the handle on the left side, what they call a "left handed" reel. I hope this explains it, but I'm sure it still doesn't make any sense LOL.

[Bassassinator]

ok so the reel is determined by your less dominant arm....like for me and you...our left.

[nofearengineer]

Yeah. If you're right handed get a "left handed" reel.

You know, if you think baseball gloves, it kind of agrees with me. A right-handed glove goes on your left hand, because the wearer is right handed, and vise-versa. Too late to fix it now, I suppose hehe.

Kinda like electric current flows backwards from the way it ought to as well.

[Bassassinator]

uh oh...then i think i am in trouble....the only casting combos i have found, have right handed reels

[nofearengineer]

I thought all of the combos at Dick's had the handle on the left hand side? Or was it the right?

[Bassassinator]

it's on the right. but i could still use it that way though right?

[nofearengineer]

Oh, you could still use it, and maybe even get used to it. Millions of other people have. I just couldn't, because I was so used to my left hadn retrieve on spinning reels all my life. Given the choice, I would wait until I found a left-hander. You will survive hehe.

[RandyHolt]

shopping for my first baitcaster i laughed at the right handed model that I was shown. Simply change hands after casting, i was told. I wonder how many bites have been lost by the experts. I told him i have been cranking left handed my whole life and told him with a higher line intake or higher ratio than my dinosaur spinners that it should pretty much be offset by my less than optimal lefty reeling. Gimme the lefty. It would seem I already had a full plate learning to BC and the last thing I needed to do was switch hands religiously after every cast and have to work the rod left handed for the first time in my life.

[Bassassinator]

yeah but i don't exactly have a whole lot of choice it's pretty much either I get a right handed BC reel combo for 50 bucks, until i can afford a left hand reel, or i don't get one...unless i can find one with a left hand reel.....but i have looked all over and i can't find one for the price i have to spend.

[RandyHolt]

It may not be a good reel but the local dicks has a left Abu Garcia BCX for $49.99

[Bassassinator]

yeah but i have 50 bucks to spend on the combo....i don't have a casting rod....just my Ugly Stick spinning Combo.....i can't just spend 50 on a reel.

[Fishnngolfn]

Pick one up in the store and turn the reel. Choose which every side is most comfortable to you.

[Bubba_Bruiser]

I think FNG hit the nail. It's all about comfort. I have been bass fishing for about 20 years and I use right handed reels. I have no plans on switching. About the only drawback or specific I would switch for is pitching and flipping where you cast many times compared to chunking spinners or cranks. I can see the switching getting old then. But I don't fish like that much anyways. I don't remember seeing left handed reels at K-Mart when I started. And my grandpa tried to teach me to throw left handed, but I just couldn't get the accuracy. So we adapt with what we have and get used to it.

[BigBassin144]

I do agree that is probably more efficient to reel with your off hand and cast with your dominant. I'd say the great majority of people cast with their dominant hands. If you also reel with your dominant hand, you have to switch the rod to your other hand to reel. I also find it easier to set the hook, and work the bait with the rod in my dominant hand.

I didn't know any of this when I started fishing, but my dad taught me to fish a left hand spinning reel, cause that's what he fishes, and when I started baitcasting, I just continued. Which worked out good since I am right handed.

Most likely, a 25-30 dollar reel isn't going to be available in a left handed model.

But go to the reel counter, and pick a reel that they have out in both left and right. Play with them, reel them, etc. and see which is more comfortable to you.

BB

[RandyHolt]

I think the most comfort should not be in the cranking, but in the casting and working the rod. But thats just me. Which you typically cant do in the store. I think doing the same repetitive motion with your off hand (cranking), you will get it down pat one day. I think I can present that lure a tad better using my dominant hand. Heck if I cast one handed using my (off) left, I feel like my chances of chucking my rod into the drink increases.

[MississippiBoy]

I wish we had a "Beating a Dead Horse" smiley face...here, I stole one...



I'm right handed...I cast with my right hand, swap the reel to my left, and turn the handle with my right. The swap takes place before or as the lure hits the water.

[3dkicker]

Do both. Cast left and right. Reel left and right. That way it doesn't matter which side the reel handle is on.

My preference is cast right and retrieve left without switching hands. Especially when the fish hit the bait immediately. And the fact that my left pinky finger doesn't work well and my hook set with my left hand is horrible.

[Bubba_Bruiser]

Originally Posted by MississippiBoy

I wish we had a "Beating a Dead Horse" smiley face...here, I stole one...



I'm right handed...I cast with my right hand, swap the reel to my left, and turn the handle with my right. The swap takes place before or as the lure hits the water.

Same here. Man that dude is really beating that horse!

[zooker]

Originally Posted by Bubba_Bruiser

Same here. Man that dude is really beating that horse!

yep bubba you is right..



i am only one of the switch hitters on this board..there is a few more freaks amongst us...


zooker

[Bassassinator]

I think that is what i'll do....learn to switch hands between the cast and the contact of the surface. that way If this happens again i won't have to worry cuz i will have it down lol i just figured that maybe you might have more sensitivity to lighter tugs on the line with your off-hand. but again guys thank you for all your help.

[Raul]

I´m right handed, I cast with my right hand and turn the crank with the right hand, I´m a hand switcher.

As usual, everything that needs dexterity has to be practiced ( like thumbing your reel in case of a baitcaster, releasing your finger from the line on a spinning reel, knowing when to release to achieve a certain distance and so on ) switching hands also needs practice, once you do it without thinking then you have achieved the level of dexterity needed.

Also, you don´t "have" to cast with one hand, you can cast with both.

[Rebbasser]

Bassassinator, once you get the hang of it switching hands literally becomes automatic. You won't even think about it. Like most right handers I palm my reels, meaning I put the side plate of the reel in my left hand and reel with my right. To hold it any other way feels unnatural to me.

However, that said, there is no right or wrong way. Just do what works for you.