Determining A Right Or Left Handed Baitcaster?

[Al Agnew]

Wow, this is getting confusing...

As I'm sure most everybody knows, the older baitcasting reels all had the reel handle on the right side. If you were a naturally right-handed person, you cast with your right arm, and then had to switch hands to turn the reel handle with your right hand. If you are old enough to have learned that way, you will probably find that reeling with your left hand (with a baitcaster with the reel handle on the left) feels awkward. However, if you are new to baitcasting and have used spinning tackle with the reel handle on the left side, it should be very easy to get used to reeling a baitcaster with your left hand, as well.

And for most people, getting used to reeling a baitcaster with your left hand doesn't take all that long, and most certainly gives you the most efficient way of using one. I'd recommend a baitcast reel with the handle on the left side for anybody who casts right handed. It simply doesn't make sense to have to switch hands.

But if you just can't stand to use your left hand to reel a baitcast reel, simply learn to cast two-handed...assuming you have average to large hands that will allow you to palm the reel during the retrieve. Left hand palms the reel at all times. Right hand is on the rod handle with right thumb on the spool to make the cast. When the lure hits the water, right hand goes to the reel handle.

Personally, I've used the two handed cast occasionally, especially at times during the course of a long day of fishing something like a crankbait, mainly to give my left wrist a bit of rest. But my hands are fairly small and there aren't many reels that really feel comfortable in my palm, nor do I feel like I have a really secure grip with my left hand palming the reel. So I mainly cast with my left arm and reel with my right hand. I taught myself to cast left handed way back when I was still a teenager, even though I'm more or less naturally right handed.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I taught myself to use left hand bait casters, just makes more sense than switching hands all the time especially flipping.

[Kelroy]

_{Wow- back to one of my favorite soapbox topics. I look at it from a scientific approach. When 'working' a lure, you are trying to control that lure and make it perform various actions. When you are lucky enough to have a fish on the end of that lure, your goal turns to controlling the fish. Your interface with that fish is your lure, which is controlled by your line. Your line is controlled not by your reel, but by your rod. This is even more apparent in fly fishing, where the reel is nothing more than a spool on which to store the line. Maybe it's just my opinion, but I'd rather have the rod controlled by my dominant hand, which by default is stronger, more dextrous, more sensitive, and has quicker reflexes than my 'weak' hand. All of those biomechanical advantages are wasted on turning a tiny crank just to take slack out of your line, while leaving rod/line/lure/fish controlling duties to your weaker, slower, clumsier hand.}

_{All of my fly reels are are left-reeling (or automatics- gasp!) all of my spinning reels are left-reeling, so it was a natural progression to left-reeling baitcasters. The only right-reeling reel I've used was an old spincaster I had as a kid; it was made by the Zero Hour Bomb Company. ;-) The state of the art has come a long way since then. Just my .02 worth.}