WHY do most wind in R/H when they should be lefty

[Steady]

I am right handed.

Spinning reel - reel with left, best control of rod when casting.

Mooching reel - reel with right, best control of reel (palming).

Levelwind - just got one. Notice most cast with right, switch hands then reel with right. This seems odd to me and it would make more sense to cast with right and reel with left but.....I will give it a try before passing judgment.

Bat left - control hand at bottom

Shoot left - control hand at top of stick. Only makes sense.....makes one handed play easier.

Golf left - swing like a slapshot.....

Interested to know if there is a good reason for switching hands on the levelwind.

 

[J-GLOBAL]

When I'm fishing alone I have LH Reel PORT and RH Reel Starboard. I reel in so many its nice to get an equal workout...
When I have others on board I use only RH Reel, otherwise they seem to get confused.

 

[Big Green Machine]

I must be whacked, bat right, hockey left, write right, golf left, reel left on all rods, pick my nose right......for some people, there's no rhyme or reason.

 

[Revenge]

[



Interested to know if there is a good reason for switching hands on the levelwind.[/QUOTE]






"lack of experiance more than anything"

 

[ChoveyRoller]

there is also so an important point where missing here is that
if your right handed then its best suited to be the rod hand as when striking setting the hook you have more power in your strongest arm???

which arm do you use to throw a ball that should be your rod hand strongest arm



Good point, but let me ask you this......... Which hand do you put your ball glove on for the rock hard ball that's thrown at you at 85 mile per hour? A righty puts it on his/her left hand.

 

[Englishman]

open one can of worms.... lol

also have fished for 30 odd years and come from a casting /fishing type background
like to see you fish with a fixed spool casting reel see how you get on ?

but i did say at the start each to there own?
my point is that right hander's should wind with left and that would be the way i would teach/instruct someone
IMHO go try your hand at laying bricks Englishman i know where the trowel is going to end up ....lol

Wild thing,

I believe from your earlier posts you are an ex-Brit who has fished in gravel pits for carp etc. using fixed spool reels. I am exactly the same. Fished many rivers and pits in U.K. with fixed spool reels. I write left handed and therefore always reel with my left using left hand wind reels. I cast over my right shoulder with the line on my right index finger because the "weaker" hand must control the rod (for me), so the deterous hand can control the reel.

Never used a trowel in my life, but since I use a snooker cue and a table tennis bat in my left hand (for dexterity and control not strength) I know which hand the trowel would end up....LOL

 

[Dave H]

I am right handed.

Spinning reel - reel with left, best control of rod when casting.

Mooching reel - reel with right, best control of reel (palming).

Levelwind - just got one. Notice most cast with right, switch hands then reel with right. This seems odd to me and it would make more sense to cast with right and reel with left but.....I will give it a try before passing judgment.

Bat left - control hand at bottom

Shoot left - control hand at top of stick. Only makes sense.....makes one handed play easier.

Golf left - swing like a slapshot.....

Interested to know if there is a good reason for switching hands on the levelwind.

I am identical but my level-wind is a left hand reel.
Basically if you cast with your right hand/arm using a level-wind or a spinning reel then the handles of the reel fall naturally into position to be reeled with your left hand.

Fly casting right handed and holding the line with your left hand is natural to me and I most often reel a fly reel right handed but can do both.

A single action reel like I use for trolling seems better suited to being reeled right handed to me so that's the way I do it.

Using a right hand reel level-wind when you cast right handed seems strange to me and very awkward when I try it.



Take care.

 

[IronNoggin]

... except when all nog has is a lefty levelwind Hali rig, that worked fine...

LOL! Luck of the draw, I always carry 3 or 4 right hand retrieve as the majority of folks fish that way, and one lefty reel for those right-handed folks who understand how to reel properly

Grew up with a fly rod in my hands from a rather early age. I am right handed, the reel was a left hand retrieve.
Moved on to spinning reels, and always switched the reels to left retrieve.
Same when I moved on to mooching reels, level winds and centerpins. ALL Left.

Definitely right-handed: I shoot rifles, shotguns and crossbows off my right shoulder, pistol in my right hand (occasionally both hands with the latter).

I've always believed that your "Dominant Arm" should be the one "controlling" the fish, the rod (NOT the reel) controls the fish, so therefore the rod should be in your right hand.

Always get a chuckle watching Ladz on the flow toss their level-wind rigs to their right hand to cast, then toss it back to the left to reel, and repeat. Seems like a LOT of "Wasted effort" IMHO.

That said, I can and do work both. In North America I've found the phenomena of reeling with your dominant hand to be much more prevalent than anywhere else. That of course includes clients, and the many Buddies who fish with me. No problems either way, however I still stick by my guns regarding which arm should be controlling the play.

When fishing sockeye with the ultra-lights, most often the starboard side of the boat carries three lefties, and the port side three right retrieve reels.
AWESOME performance watching the mass confusion that occurs with most that try to switch sides in the heat of battle!!

Each to their own. I guess you have to do whatever feels most comfortable. As long as you're getting the job done and ENJOYING, is there really any right or wrong method?

Cheers,
Nog

 

[chris73]

Same here, Nog: I am truly right handed and reel always with left. It does not take any real finesse reeling and palming and while I am pretty clumpsy with left hand typically I can reel at least as fast with left as with right hand. Also believe that fish and tension control on the rod is a strong arm job and not doing so is probably often the reason for broken off fish.

The hockey thing is indeed curious but very logical when you look at the details a bit closer. Again, I am right handed but use a lefty stick. Open ice carrying the puck with one hand - of course you use your strong arm to carry the stick and puck. So you rush up the puck, deek around the last defender and load up for the final shot. What do you do? You pull your stick back with still the strong hand on the handle of the stick, your weaker hand grabs the stick half way down and you pull through for the shot. Anything else is not logical as you would have to slide your strong hand down the stick to half way and reach with your weak hand for the tip of the stick handle and then shoot - during the transition from one hand to two hand carrying. The coach who teaches the latter would get a pink slip in my hockey club. The shooting difference is that the right way (right hander shoots left) the player uses his strong hand to direct and control the puck while the weak hand provides the thrust for the shot. So the shot will likely be a bit weaker but more accurate than a right hander who shoots right. I take the much better accuracy any time for 2mph less velocity.

 

[Seafever]

I am right handed basically. One day I decided to train myself to use either hand for anything.

It took awhile.......but it's easier than you think......just a matter of getting used to it.

(Don't bother replying with offcolor corny grade-5 jokes)....

When you perform tasks, you simply do it with your left hand instead of your right.


That said:- the level wind Penn-type reels the Yanks use with the reel sitting up on top of the rod is THE most un-ergonimical design ever. Guaranteed arm/wrist fatigue just from using the thing normally. And the eyelets facing up on the rod........Bazura!! Yankee technology ought to know better......much better.

All my knucklebusters are right-hand wind.

And this business of holding the rod and reel over your head when you wind a fish in......what the hell is that?!!!


Seen that on fishing shows a thousand times.....guy gets a fish on and right away the rod and reel go above his head while winding......into a really weak leverage postion.