Have You Thought About Going Lefty? 2024

Loop_Dad reply :

I am shopping for a new bait casting set up for pitching. Have you guys thought about going left hand reel so that you can pitch with right and reel with left? My spinnings are that way already.

NoBassPro reply :

Although I have all my spinning reels set up for left hand retrieve, I have used both left and right hand baitcasters and prefer right hand. I can't offer a detailed explanation other than to say its what works for me.

Sam reply :

Left hand spinning and right hand baitcaster.

Friend always questions me with the right handed baitcaster as he says it takes time and energy to switch hands after each cast.

But it is hard to change an old goat's ways about fishing!!!!

M-D reply :

I use LH reels, made the switch many years ago and glad I did. Only way you will know if it is right for you is to try it.

georgeyew reply :

My spinning reels are all set up for the left hand. So when I bought my first baitcaster, I naturally went with a lefty. I never had the chance to try and get used to a righty so I guess ignorance is bliss I am very happy with my lefty.

BigMoneyGrip reply :

I got a Pro Qualifier just to try southpaw. I got a cheaper reel thinking that if I didn't like it, I could sale the reel and not be out a lot of money.

The reel ain't for sale. In fact, I'm saving for a Core 51. I like the southpaw setup and it just seems to flow easy and naturally.

BassinMD reply :

I pitch and flip with my left hand and cast with my right I dunno why but pitching I make so many casts I just got lazy and madeself go lefty

Quillback reply :

I also pitch left handed and cast right handed. Did it from day 1, didn't even think about it.

Bluebasser86 reply :

I had a lefthanded Revo STX for about a month before I gave up. I just could not get my left hand under control good enough to reel left handed without it being very difficult. Lost my grip on the handle constantly and moved the rod way too much while I was reeling. Ended up traded it for a right handed Revo S to another member on the forum. I wish I could have made it work but just couldn't do it.

Loop_Dad reply :

Anybody knows why transitionally you reel with RH on barrister? I wonder if it has something to do with avoiding the arm fatigue coming from holding heavier rod then spinning all day long on the same hand...

jslacker reply :

Strange to see everyone here pretty much set up for LH retrieve on sponning equipment. I have just now started baitcasting and have always fished RH on my spinning gear. Just starting out I have a LH and RH baitcaster, don't know which one feels more natural yet, probably the RH because I'm righthanded and thats how I've done all of my fishing in the past. Something just dosent feel right soing it RH on a baitcaster though IDk... I'm still figuring it all out lol

new2BC4bass reply :

My thoughts were just the opposite. Should I try a righty? I grew up on LH spinning reels. When I switched to BC reels, I stayed with the left hand. Then a mint Alphas ito came up for sale....RH. By then I knew they were great reels that were out of production, so I bought it not knowing if a LH in similar shape would ever come up for sale. (I know better now. ) First year it didn't get used too much because it felt uncomfortable to me. The next spring I practiced pitching with an outfit i had purchased for my oldest grandson. He is a lefty, so I bought him a RH reel.

After that I found it much easier to use a RH reel. In fact my reels are split about 50/50 now. If a reel I am interested in is being sold at a good price, I normally don't even consider which hand it is...I just go ahead and buy it. I may actually be learning to like a RH reel better than a LH.

BASSHUNTER1961 reply :

I cast righty and have always reeled with my right hand till three weeks ago. After 35 years of reeling righty with a baitcaster I made the switch three weeks ago and glad I did. I had it down within a couple hours and it feel like I've been doing it this way forever. Give it a try.

deep reply :

On 7/21/2012 at 8:00 AM, Loop_Dad said:

Anybody knows why transitionally you reel with RH on barrister? I wonder if it has something to do with avoiding the arm fatigue coming from holding heavier rod then spinning all day long on the same hand...

I believe there's a theory about using the (baitcaster) reel to winch in your fish, or something like that.

Having personally casted and retrieved 4 oz plus baits for over 10 hours in a day for several days in a row, using a very heavy rod (compared to bass gear), I can tell you that I'm not fatigued at all. I use all lefty casting and spinning reels.

BASSclary reply :

I like a mix of both. I can do minute movements to the rod with my right hand, so for finesse and pitching/flipping, I use a lefty reel, just because I'm only picking up slack line. However, for moving baits I cant stand LH! The motion feels awkward and my hand will slip off. For any moving technique I MUST go righty.

And for spinning, it's always lefty.

I think preference has a lot to do with whether or not the reel is on top, or below the rod. Just MHO

Scorcher214 reply :

I have thought about it and I did buy a lefty. I like it for jigs and pitching or flipping. You can just cover more targets when pitching lefty. But when fishing other things, it feels kind of weird. I would try one out before you buy a lefty BC

islandbass reply :

There is no theory at all. It means that the inventer of the bait caster was left hand dominant, lol.

Joking aside, I will bet you a floating rapala minnow that you will prefer 100% a casting reel with a left sided crank. Trust me. In the same way that rh people have ingrained in them to use rh casting reels (and we could bet that most of them have been fishing for so long in a time when there probably were not many if any other options) you are accustomed to Lh reels. My bet stands... I know you will prefer Lh reels. There is no need to look back or waste more time.

If you don't mind, I am going to go to my local shop and but a floating minnow in case I am mistaken, lol, but I won't be, but just in case, lol.

Loop_Dad reply :

On 7/23/2012 at 1:00 AM, islandbass said:

There is no theory at all. It means that the inventer of the bait caster was left hand dominant, lol.

Joking aside, I will bet you a floating rapala minnow that you will prefer 100% a casting reel with a left sided crank. Trust me. In the same way that rh people have ingrained in them to use rh casting reels (and we could bet that most of them have been fishing for so long in a time when there probably were not many if any other options) you are accustomed to Lh reels. My bet stands... I know you will prefer Lh reels. There is no need to look back or waste more time.

If you don't mind, I am going to go to my local shop and but a floating minnow in case I am mistaken, lol, but I won't be, but just in case, lol.

I decided to give LH reel a try. ( I would like a Super Rogue please. )

clayton86 reply :

I'm the same way my BC gear is RH and spinning is lefty now my wife and nephew are opposite spinning is RH and casting is LH . I did just pick up Two LH Revo S's time will tell when I get to use them in the spring. I'm ambidextrous though so I think i will like it I can write with my left, shoot with my left(and still hit what I'm aiming at) I can pretty much do anything left handed that I can right I'm just right hand dominant. What I'm really interested to see with them is I cant fish a jerk bait on casting gear to save my life it feels awkward twitching with my left and not my right so i throw them on spinning gear maybe with lefty BC gear i can use them.

j.bruno reply :

Didnt take much thinking on my part. Just went lefty from day 1 never looked back. Wish there was more gear ratios available on certain models though.

MichiganFishing1997 reply :

I was taught as a lefty, when i got my first BC, i got a left, Never looked the other way afterwards.

jignfule reply :

went LH many years ago, one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Traveler2586 reply :

On 7/21/2012 at 6:51 AM, M-D said:

I use LH reels, made the switch many years ago and glad I did. Only way you will know if it is right for you is to try it.

For me it felt very natural to go LH, I've never thought about going back to RH. If you look around, I think you'll see everyone using LH on spinning reels where they can choose the setup themselves. BTW, I'm right handed.

Michael DiNardo reply :

I tried lefty a few years ago, and it is a natural feel to me. I have both right and left reels and can use either effectively. I fish from shore and wade, when fishing a big river I will use either right or left depending on the side of the river I am fishing. Since I try to reel downstream for the most part, I want to reel on the downstream side of the reel. I think it gives more power to the hookset.

Mike

Bassn Blvd reply :

I could switch to lefty, but I like being normal,

zildjian reply :

Im right handed. I cast with my right hand, set the hook with my right hand, and reel with left hand for everything. It feels awkward any other way.

cbass12 reply :

I have a total of 6 baitcast reels and 4 of them are lefty. I use the right handed reels mainly for flipping/pitching, but have no problem transitioning to a lefty reel for that type of fishing. Growing up my dad had both left and right handed reels so it was almost out of necessity that I learned to be proficient with both of them. I am planning on buying a 7'6" mh casting rod here in the next week or so and it will be paired with a lefty pro qualifier.

LuckyHandsINC. reply :

Sometimes I like to switch it up and go lefty. Sometimes ill sit on my right hand till it goes numb then...oh wait baitcasting always righty because I'm a lefty and want the rod in my dominant hand.

Hyrule Bass reply :

On 7/23/2012 at 9:46 PM, LuckyHandsINC. said:

Sometimes I like to switch it up and go lefty. Sometimes ill sit on my right hand till it goes numb then...oh wait baitcasting always lefty because I'm a lefty and want the rod in my dominant hand.

either you mean you use right handed reels, or you can hold the rod in the same hand as you reel with which would be quite the impressive feat...

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as for me, i use left handed reels, always reeled with my left hand using spinning gear and saw no reason to change that. im right handed, and prefer the rod to be in my right hand, just do not feel like i have sufficient grip on the rod if its in my left hand...

smr913 reply :

Spinning = Left, Baitcasting = Right. That's all my dad had for me to learn on, and when he finally bought me my first BC when I was 9 or 10 it was right handed. I gave a lot of thought about it while I was in college and even bought an Ambassador 5500 in left hand just to give it a try and I didn't care for it. Now that reel just sits in the closet.

LuckyHandsINC. reply :

On 7/23/2012 at 10:49 PM, Red Earth said:

either you mean you use right handed reels, or you can hold the rod in the same hand as you reel with which would be quite the impressive feat...

--------------

as for me, i use left handed reels, always reeled with my left hand using spinning gear and saw no reason to change that. im right handed, and prefer the rod to be in my right hand, just do not feel like i have sufficient grip on the rod if its in my left hand...

Your right I screwed up. I meant right hand retreive. Fixed it.

Jig Meister reply :

Never reeled any way other than left handed, which I love, but sometimes buying a BC reel is a hassle because the leftys seem always sold/harder to find.

Diggy reply :

I started right and went lefty, I prefer it (4 reels now). For some reason I still want to buy a rh one again just to have one in case im injured or something

tholmes reply :

I'm left-hand dominant, so I reel both spinning and baitcasting reels with my right hand. I can't imagine doing it the other way.

Tom

j.bruno reply :

Yea it all varies from person to person. The way i see it. You hold the rod with your stronger hand / arm. Thats just how i roll anyways.

Hooligan reply :

Almost all my bottom contact rods have LH reels on them. A lot of my Cranking/Reaction rods are RH. Just the way it is for me.

tipptruck1 reply :

I am right handed. All my reels including spinning are right handed. It felt werid reeling with my left hand. I also flip and pitch left handed. You should see me cast. I move the rod to my left hand a lot. While the bait is still in the air.

My buddy who is a lefty. Will only use right handed gear also. He even pitches with his right.

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Have You Thought About Going Lefty? 2024

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