why are most baitcasting reels L. handed? 2024
Tweek1106 reply :
New to the baitcasting scene and started out with a Abu Garcia Black Max and while I really like it I started to wonder why the standard for baitcasting reels is for them to be left handed.
This seems counterintuitive seeing as how the majority of anglers (and humans in general) are right handed. I don't think anyone needs their right hand to power your bass in especially since your rod (in your weaker left hand) is doing the heavy lifting. Not to mention I always hear pro's say never not be ready to set the hook and it would seem like the time it takes to switch from your right hand casting to reeling with the right hand would be a prime time to miss a quick bite on the fall of the bait.
If anyone could explain this I would appreciate it.
bassbassontherange reply :
I think you might be visiting stores with low inventory, and what's left for the season may be mostly left handed. I've seen that happen. Otherwise, what you're asking about isn't a reality. Most manufacturers have a more limited left handed selection because they don't sell as well. There are definitely more righties produced, much to the chagrin of south paws.
WRB reply :
If the reel handle is on the right side, it's right handed.
Tom
MIbassyaker reply :
All I know is, I'm right handed and I learned to fish with a spinning reel, always holding my rod with the right hand, and reeling with the left. No switching hands, always casting and fighting fish with my dominant hand. It wasn't until I first tried playing around with baitcasters this year that I really grasped how awkward it would feel to reel with the right while holding and working a bait in my non-dominant hand since i had been doing it the other way all my life. It was so alien, I just decided I would use lefty baitcasters, and so far that seems just right (as it were). The reel selection is indeed more limited -- for some reels, the left doesn't have as many gear ratios available -- but after 30 years of always using my right hand to hold a rod, and reeling with the left, my hands just don't want to cooperate the other way.
Jolly Green reply :
On 12/21/2015 at 3:49 AM, WRB said:If the reel handle is on the right side, it's right handed.
Tom
... and I want to say I read in a similar thread some while ago that back in the day, the idea was to make your cast with your right hand and then rotate the rod so that the reel was under it for the retrieve, putting the handle on the left side. I'm a righty and use right-cranking reels because no matter which side the handle is on, I still have to at least adjust my grip from a casting position to a palming position, so switching hands is no big deal and I don't even think about it anymore. Also, I've had issues with lateral epicondilitis ("tennis elbow") in both elbows and cranking with my right half the time keeps me from aggravating that condition.
gulfcaptain reply :
If you're used to a spinning set up, most including myself have the handle on the left side of the reel even though we are right handed. Now when I go to baitcasting set ups, I reel on the right side (right handed reels) and if I tried to use my left hand to turn the handle and support the rod with my right, its awkward feeling. Same feeling if I try and use a spinning rod with my left hand holding the rod and right hand reeling.....why I don't know.
Tweek1106 reply :
Sorry bassbass, I think you may have misunderstood....all that was left is what most people see as a right handed (reel handle on the right side of reel), but I agree with mlbassyaker....always had reel knob in left hand and rod in right hand.....can't imagine why a right handed angler wouldn't want their pole in their right hand without having to switch after casting.
Evan K reply :
It doesn't seem to make much sense, I agree.
I've just trained myself (and am training myself) to hold the bait casting rod in my left hand and reel with the right. I still cast right handed.
1BADAIR reply :
i'm all screwed up lol. I'm right handed and reel both with my right hand
WRB reply :
All we can do is reply to what is posted, title of this thread is simply incorrect; most bait casting reels are Right handed.
The reason for this is back when baitcasting reels were direct drive with the cranking handle always engaged to the spool, the proper casting motion was with the handle held at 12 o'clock position or on top during the cast allowing the spool to spin easier. The majority of anglers are right handed, cast using the right hand. This requires switching hands to retreive a lure after casting and becomes a simple muscle memory motion as the lure nears the end of each cast the rod is switched hands.
Todays modern baitcasting reel can be cast without as much thumb controlling the spool, the position of the handle makes little difference, the rod/reel is very light in weight so it becomes a matter of practice to train your hand/eye coordination to cast right or left handed. I still cast right handed and use a right handed casting, holding the rod with my left hand during the retreive, it's normal for me.
Tom
Firefish Alumacraft reply :
I cast right handed and crank with my left, but i do everything else right handed.
clh121787 reply :
I am left handed. I Cast with the left hand and reel with the right. I learned to fish with a zebco then straight to a hand me down Shakespeare president 1980. Hadn't fished a spinning reel until becoming pretty proficient with a b.c. I have a hard time reeling left handed.
hawgenvy reply :
It would perhaps be more natural, with modern bait casting reels, to cast with the dominant hand and crank with the other, but most of us are spoiled by long habit and custom, and cannot assess our standard objectively. Nor can we easily change what is already deeply ingrained in angling culture.
However, there are some bait casting anglers that do crank with the non-dominant hand and feel they are more efficient that way. There are indeed some pros that do it. There are some anglers who were weaned on equipment handed down by the opposite hand, and so adopted a system contrary to the standard. And many such anglers are happy to do it backwards and feel that it is a better way to do it. So this post's initiator has a good point.
By the way, I find myself (a righty), more and more, especially in lazy moments and when the target is near, pitching with my left and cranking with my right, and, I say, it is nice not to change hands.
My next reel may be one of those with a flipping switch or one of those with a button to re-engage the spool, to get those bass now lost during the hand-switching. Alas, I may be too old to actually adapt to a lefty reel.
the reel ess reply :
I can get away with the spinning reel because the diameter of the handle is larger. My left hand isn't good for much. The spinning reel has always felt counter-intuitive to me.
smalljaw67 reply :
I'm left handed so a right hand casting reel is perfect but, with a spinning set up I cast with my left hand and switch to reel with my left hand. I know it doesn't make sense but I learned on spinning rods when I was a kid and then I learnd casting with a right handed casting reel so now reeling with my right for casting and my left for spinning, crazy isn't it.
blckshirt98 reply :
I only fished spinning reels growing up and fairly new to baitcasters. I've stuck with left-hand retrieve baitcasters because it feels natural to me, and, I like fighting the fish on the rod with my dominant (right) hand/arm. I'm just glad there are so many left-hand retrieve reel options nowadays.
hawgenvy reply :
On 12/21/2015 at 9:24 PM, smalljaw67 said:I'm left handed so a right hand casting reel is perfect but, with a spinning set up I cast with my left hand and switch to reel with my left hand. I know it doesn't make sense but I learned on spinning rods when I was a kid and then I learnd casting with a right handed casting reel so now reeling with my right for casting and my left for spinning, crazy isn't it.
Well, there you go. Makes perfect sense.
Tmmytomato reply :
Most baitcasting reels are not left handed. Although most are right handed (handle on right side) there has been a huge upsurge in requests for left handed reels, especially in the mid to upper range of reels. I pro staff for a very large sporting goods outlet and we have a lot of requests for lefty reels. Quite often there are not nearly enough lefties in stock although many more righties are sold.
I used to reel right handed and although I can cast with either hand my accuracy was far better casting right handed and then switching. But two reasons caused me to change to all left handed baitcasters: my right elbow pained me beyond use from ligament damage over the years and secondly, I lost two very large fish trying to switch hands after pitching under very low overhanging branches where I can to keep my hand on the reel longer than normal. Both fish were in extremely shallow water and I could not switch and turn the handle to lock the spool fast enough. The other fact is that most spinning reels are shipped/set up with the handle on the left and most people have no issue casting with the right and then naturally reeling with the left. I have to laugh when I hear people who readily fish with a left handed spinning reel say they can't reel a left handed baitcaster because it feels so unnatural - what??
massrob reply :
I went through this last year while starting to use baitcasters. I found that at first because I was used to spinning tackle I had a hard time with right handed reels so I bought a left handed reel. It felt better for awhile but my frog rod had a right handed tatula on it and by the end of the season I felt much more comfortable with right handed because I threw the frog setup the most. So I think it's just in our heads and we can adapt to whatever we need to. Now I'm just gonna stick to right handed reels.
NJSalt reply :
The never ending debate. I'm right handed and fish right handed reels both spinning and casting. Why someone, somewhere decided that the handles would be on opposite sides is something I don't think about.
One thing I don't get that you see alot- the idea of having your dominant hand on your rod? Not sure that you need to worry about that with the average fight a bass will put up is <1 Minute...
poisonokie reply :
Like they said, no hand switching and you can set the hook and control the fish with more authority, not to mention it's easier to work your bait, especially topwaters. I liken it to the guitar where, depending on the style of play, you strum the strings, or pluck individual strings, or palm mute with your dominant hand so that you have more control over timing/rhythm and the force with which you hit the strings, while your weaker hand handles chords and position on the fret board, which is less control/speed/power intensive.
desmobob reply :
If you reel back-handed, it feels like someone else is doing it.
:-)
Tight lines,
Bob
tomustang reply :
I need to visit pittsburgh since they have a standard of lefty baitcasters 
new2BC4bass reply :
On 12/21/2015 at 9:25 AM, hawgenvy said:My next reel may be one of those with a flipping switch or one of those with a button to re-engage the spool, to get those bass now lost during the hand-switching. Alas, I may be too old to actually adapt to a lefty reel.
No sir. I don't believe you are too old to learn. I am 7 years and 3 days older than you. I started using baitcast reels in 2009...so about how old you are now. I cast with either hand. I reel with either hand. Up until recently my reels were nearly half and half. Half RH, half LH.
However, I will admit that you probably won't learn as quickly as a teenager would. More than likely you will never be as good as you would have been if you had started 50 years ago. You no doubt are smarter than any 16 year old, but if anything like me, the mind (and muscle memory) ain't what it used to be when it comes to learning new stuff.
hawgenvy reply :
On 12/23/2015 at 10:36 AM, new2BC4bass said:
No sir. I don't believe you are too old to learn. I am 7 years and 3 days older than you. I started using baitcast reels in 2009...so about how old you are now. I cast with either hand. I reel with either hand. Up until recently my reels were nearly half and half. Half RH, half LH.
However, I will admit that you probably won't learn as quickly as a teenager would. More than likely you will never be as good as you would have been if you had started 50 years ago. You no doubt are smarter than any 16 year old, but if anything like me, the mind (and muscle memory) ain't what it used to be when it comes to learning new stuff.
Well then, maybe I'll get a LH at some point. You're probably right, it shouldn't be that difficult. Prob would be good idea for flipping -- but I might freak out the first time I have a pig on and my hands are switched. Still, a lot safer than an American driving in England!
hawgenvy reply :
On 12/22/2015 at 4:37 AM, Tmmytomato said:Most baitcasting reels are not left handed. Although most are right handed (handle on right side) there has been a huge upsurge in requests for left handed reels, especially in the mid to upper range of reels. I pro staff for a very large sporting goods outlet and we have a lot of requests for lefty reels. Quite often there are not nearly enough lefties in stock although many more righties are sold.
I used to reel right handed and although I can cast with either hand my accuracy was far better casting right handed and then switching. But two reasons caused me to change to all left handed baitcasters: my right elbow pained me beyond use from ligament damage over the years and secondly, I lost two very large fish trying to switch hands after pitching under very low overhanging branches where I can to keep my hand on the reel longer than normal. Both fish were in extremely shallow water and I could not switch and turn the handle to lock the spool fast enough. The other fact is that most spinning reels are shipped/set up with the handle on the left and most people have no issue casting with the right and then naturally reeling with the left. I have to laugh when I hear people who readily fish with a left handed spinning reel say they can't reel a left handed baitcaster because it feels so unnatural - what??
Tomato, sir, do you have experience with, or have an opinion on, the bait casters with a flipping switch, or on those, like some Pinnacle reels, that have a re-engagement switch ("QuickFlip button") off to the side? The idea, of course is to be able to set the hook on a surprise bite right when the bait touches down, especially when you're pitching or in tight quarters.
new2BC4bass reply :
On 12/22/2015 at 8:38 PM, massrob said:I went through this last year while starting to use baitcasters. I found that at first because I was used to spinning tackle I had a hard time with right handed reels so I bought a left handed reel. It felt better for awhile but my frog rod had a right handed tatula on it and by the end of the season I felt much more comfortable with right handed because I threw the frog setup the most. So I think it's just in our heads and we can adapt to whatever we need to. Now I'm just gonna stick to right handed reels.
I started using right hand baitcasters because 1) not all reels come in left hand, and 2) I wanted to be able to take advantage of any good deals that came up regardless of which hand they were. Why limit yourself if you can use both. I always cast with the right arm if accuracy is a priority no matter which side the handle is on. Casting distance doesn't suffer on either side.
bigfruits reply :
I am right handed and switched to left handed baitcasters several years ago. it took less than one outing before i realized i made the right choice. i sold off my right handed baitcasters soon after. i fish a lot of bottom contact baits and i get way better feel by working the rod with my dominant hand.
JRammit reply :
Im on the same page!... I had a right handed baitcaster that was stolen several years ago... Ive been fishing spinning tackle ever since and got use to working the rod in my right hand
I just recently got another baitcaster, and i went left handed... I LOVE IT!... Click, cast, reel.. Click, cast, reel... And all my coordination is in my right hand, so it works the rod while my clumsy left hand turns the handle
One thing hard to remember, on a left hand reel, the drag is backwards.... Lefty tighty, righty loosey...... I lost a big fish to a bent hook because of that last week
bigfruits reply :
On 12/23/2015 at 10:11 PM, JRammit said:One thing hard to remember, on a left hand reel, the drag is backwards.... Lefty tighty, righty loosey...... I lost a big fish to a bent hook because of that last week
think of it as forward - tighten, backwards - loosen
the way the reel handle goes will tighten the drag.
Racerx reply :
Looks like there's plenty of different takes on this topic, something that I just really started to pay attention to, recently. As a kid, my parents never enforced a dominant hand approach with me. Whatever was more comfortable, I went with. As a result, I'm all over the place. I write lefty, but cut with right-handed scissors (Only guy I knew growing up who could do that, at the same time). I threw lefty but batted righty. As a kid, my fishing rig was a Zebco 202 rig, with the handle on the right side. I had never heard of right-handed or left-handed reels, and I never thought about it, either.
When I hit double-digits, my parents bought me a spinning combo, handle on the left. I cast that d**n thing so much, I had forgotten that I had grown up casting with my left hand, and now I'm casting right-handed. My casting power was always pretty strong, but I knew my aim was rather wonky. Just figured I had to get better at it, and since I really only fished carp and cat, it didn't matter to me, much.
Fast forward 5 years, I meet my wife, move, and since I didn't know the local spots like my old ones, and how to access them (I'm in the Pittsburgh suburbs and have 3 rivers out in front of me!), I kinda gave up. 25 years later, after getting the bug on an opening weekend trout outing , I decided to get serious about bass fishing. A year into it, I picked up a baitcaster combo. When picking out the reel, I chose a left-handed one (handle on the left side), but I was casting with my right hand, just like I did with my spinning gear. Didn't make sense for me to switch hands to cast, and then switch back to reel. I saw the pros doing that, but it just didn't seem logical to me.
Now, about 2 years into this bass thing, I noticed that I really needed to up my game with my casting accuracy, if I was going to catch more bass than trees. I was fishing a local lake, and was frustrated with all the overhanging trees around me, tripping me up and was having some difficulty with overruns in my baitcaster, even though I kept going through and making sure my tension and braking was just so. I saw a decent spot I wanted to cast to, but it was in a way that I'd have to cast with my other hand, to hit it. I figured "What the heck.", and threw a pretty decent and accurate cast to the spot, and with zero backlash. That's when it hit me: My left hand is my throwing hand. All those years playing baseball as a kid conditioned that hand to be for throwing, and the casting motions are quite similar. I had been casting with my weaker hand, from around the age of 10, with that spinning rod, making the best of what I had.
Now, am I left-handed or right-handed? I have NO @#$%ing idea! All I know is that I'm sticking with left-handed bait casters and right-handed spinners, cause the reel handle's on the same side.
cddan reply :
I have always used right handed retrieve and it took practice. I had one lefty carbonlite and really enjoyed the instant connection. I think the righty reels are that way because it keeps everything standard turning threads.. Dragstar and drive shaft.
I have also thought or perhaps read a long time ago and sort of agree with. A busy day of fishing, catching and cranking, if your dominant hand/arm does all the work(with left handed retrieve) it can do it easier but in time can become overworked. Running and gunning a half ounce spinnerbait all day while they're biting and you're gonna have one very tired arm/hand. That's more so in a three or four day tournament (especially with the heavier reels of old)
. Now with right handed reels the duties of casting and hooksets are traded and the work load is more evenly distributed.
I did like my old left handed carbonlite (gold) and plan to use left handed casters for pitching, casting or just a change of pace.
I think right handed mechanically and physically makes more sense to a tournament or professional for the majority of fishing scenarios.
For me learning a right handed retrieve and working the rod left handed has cost quite a few fish over the years and serves a good argument to retrieve left handed..
I'm going to use both and begin to purchase some lefties
Baitcasters are awesome little machines that fascinate us all and I thoroughly enjoy using them for decades now and to come
8 pounders for all! And to all a good bite!
Lendiesel22 reply :
If you write right handed and throw right handed you train from early age to use your right hand for skill activity. You would not write your name left handed and you wouldnt try and throw something accurately with your left. The majority of people are not ambidextrous. So it amazes me that the LH reel users are not tipping the scales. I got lucky when I was 13 that my dad had a LH ambassador in the basement. If that had been a RH reel i would have had no option and learned on that. Like most others.
poisonokie reply :
exactly. Turning a crank requires very little dexterity. It may feel strange if you just reach up and crank the handle of a reel mounted to a display at the counter, but it's wholly different if your right hand is involved. If you're right handed, your left follows your right's lead, so to speak. You can do things with your left so long as it jives with your right. Here's an experiment: Try writing something with your left hand. Turns out looking like hell, right? Now write the same thing with your right and left simultaneously. That's weird... It looks a lot better but you need a mirror to read it.
BassWhole! reply :
why are most baitcasting reels L. handed?
For the same reason everyone has 2 unicorns in their garage...
Jaderose reply :
I cast right handed and switch to reel in right handed. Weirdly, I have more control over the bait with my my left hand. I do it with both BC's and spinning. Not even something I think about and do it so fast that it's not an issue. Just how I've learned it
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