Hood-winked

[fishinfoflounder]

I grew up the son of a left-handed fisherman. After retiring from the Marine Corps he chased his dream of making a living in the river & out in the ocean "fishing". Trout, Reds, Flounder, King Mackeral, Black Sea Bass whatever there was a market for. He fished for it & was very successful for a lot of years.
When I got to the age where I realized maybe dad was right about a few things I rememeber him telling me that fishing was the only sport that truly preferred the left handed person.
He told me that it made better sense that your stronger hand hold the rod as your primary hand is typically more proficient in all things.
Greater sensitivity, Better hooksets & the ability to manipulate a lure it only stands to reason that the handle be on the side opposite you dominant hand.
The tackle manufacturers dropped the ball here. Your basic fishing tackle comes with the handle on the right side, making the vast majority of you hood-winked folks that use conventional tackle fish backwards. I imagine this is why a sizeable number of people use spinning tackle. You can switch the handle from one side to the other. And a lot of people do.
A guy I used to Largemouth Bass fish with had all right hand retrieve reels except his spinning reel. The handle on that was mounted on the left side. Interestingly enough he told me he caught most of his fish on his spinning tackle. What's up with that? I told him my dads theory & he just looked at me dumbfounded. I guess after you've outfitted yourself with hundreds (possibly thousands)of dollars worth of backwards stuff, it's easier to pretend like you're doing things the right way.
This isn't an isolated situation. I see big name TV fishermen that do the same thing. Fish with right hand retrieve baitcasters & left hand retrieve spinning tackle. I'm certain a number of you folks out there do the same thing & don't even know it. Ya'll think about it. And don't cuss me when you've realized the error of your ways. I'm just trying to remove your cranial from your rectum, yes it's gonna hurt. But you'll be better for ir in the long run.

[Hooked]

I've switched my fly reels to LH retrieve for this reason. BUT - I also find my reeling is more difficult with the smaller circle of a fly reel using my non-dominant hand. That's the rationale I've heard for keeping RH retrieve on fly and bait-cast reels for RH folks.

I think I'd get better at reeling LH if I just caught more fish on the fly that had to be put on the reel! Practice makes perfect!

[1okbyme2]

If by conventional you mean baitcasting tackle, I've tried "left handed" reels & holding the rod in my right hand to cast & retrieve. Seemed a logical thing to do. I've found I don't like using left hand to crank, so I cast right, swithch rod to left hand & crank right. Weirdly enough, left handed cranking with spinning gear seems completely natural.

BTW, I'm righthanded.

[fishinfoflounder]

Weirdly enough, left handed cranking with spinning gear seems completely natural.

BTW, I'm righthanded.

That may be as a result of the circumference you're covering. I use aftermarket handles(they're longer) makes quite a difference. Spinning tackle typically has a greater radius handle.

[GILs_GONE_WILD]

Greater sensitivity, Better hooksets & the ability to manipulate a lure it only stands to reason that the handle be on the side opposite you dominant hand.

Sorry! This argument was done as a poll on a much larger forum (fly fishing forum) than this and it was right at a 50/50 split.

Besides, I cut my teeth on a Zebco 202 and I'm 57 years old so why would I even consider changing now?

Seems to me that every person I've seen fighting a Marlin, etc out of a fighting chair was yanking on that rod with their left hand while cranking with their right.

I know a guy that can shoot a hundred feet of fly line with either hand. I know of an guy (on-line) that can cast two fly rods at the same time.

My point is, you can teach yourself to do a lot of things. Even your dad could crank from the right/correct side if he chose to do so. ha!

True story, my dad was right handed but kicked left footed.

[VARick]

Greater sensitivity, Better hooksets & the ability to manipulate a lure it only stands to reason that the handle be on the side opposite you dominant hand.

My point is, you can teach yourself to do a lot of things. Even your dad could crank from the right/correct side if he chose to do so. ha!

True story, my dad was right handed but kicked left footed.

So very true -- I learned to kick left footed when playing soccer. Learned to shoot left handed when playing tournament paintball.
If you want to learn something you'll find a way.

[1okbyme2]

I crank my fly rod left handed too. Just feels the best. Baitcaster is the only one I switch.

[fishinfoflounder]

[quote="GILs_GONE_WILD
Sorry! This argument was done as a poll on a much larger forum (fly fishing forum) than this and it was right at a 50/50 split.

Besides, I cut my teeth on a Zebco 202 and I'm 57 years old so why would I even consider changing now?

Seems to me that every person I've seen fighting a Marlin, etc out of a fighting chair was yanking on that rod with their left hand while cranking with their right.

I know a guy that can shoot a hundred feet of fly line with either hand. I know of an guy (on-line) that can cast two fly rods at the same time.

My point is, you can teach yourself to do a lot of things. Even your dad could crank from the right/correct side if he chose to do so. ha!

True story, my dad was right handed but kicked left footed. [/quote]

I guess if you lost both your hands you could feed yourself with your feet, doesn't mean I desire to do that. Yes given obstacles a number of people overcome them. I'm not looking for an argument, evidently you are.
The reason you see folks fighting Marlin in that fashion is because they don't make reels that size in left hand configurations.

[GILs_GONE_WILD]

I'm not looking for an argument, evidently you are.

Absolutely not .... sorry you took it that way. You posted you and your dad's point of view but when I posted mine ... I'm arguing??

[GILs_GONE_WILD]

The reason you see folks fighting Marlin in that fashion is because they don't make reels that size in left hand configurations.

And do you not think they're made that way for a reason?*





*Just asking ...... not arguing!

[GILs_GONE_WILD]

Now, if you really REALLY weren't looking for some kind of argument you may have chose to word this statement a little differently. Just sayin'!

I'm just trying to remove your cranial from your rectum, yes it's gonna hurt. But you'll be better for ir in the long run.

[TerryW]

I'm left handed and have half of my spinning reels set up one way & the other half the other way. It's much less tiring for me when I can switch hands to do the reeling, twitching and retrieving. I still cast left-handed and then switch hands as needed.

It and it doesn't matter which lure or jig I'm using. That's the way I like to fish - either way.

[fishinfoflounder]

The reason you see folks fighting Marlin in that fashion is because they don't make reels that size in left hand configurations.

And do you not think they're made that way for a reason?*





*Just asking ...... not arguing!

When you're fighting a fish from a fighting chair, which side the handle is on is really kind of irrelevant as you're not using your arm but your back & the boat to fight the fish.

[fishinfoflounder]

I'm left handed and have half of my spinning reels set up one way & the other half the other way. It's much less tiring for me when I can switch hands to do the reeling, twitching and retrieving. I still cast left-handed and then switch hands as needed.

It and it doesn't matter which lure or jig I'm using. That's the way I like to fish - either way.

You're just bizarre

[TerryW]

I'm left handed and have half of my spinning reels set up one way & the other half the other way. It's much less tiring for me when I can switch hands to do the reeling, twitching and retrieving. I still cast left-handed and then switch hands as needed.

It and it doesn't matter which lure or jig I'm using. That's the way I like to fish - either way.

You're just bizarre

What the heck is wrong with doing it either way? It works. I catch fish.

signed,

Ms. Bizzaro

[fishinfoflounder]

[ What the heck is wrong with doing it either way? It works. I catch fish.

signed,

Ms. Bizzaro

M y great Grandfather on my dad's side could write 2 different letters using each hand with different themes. That doesn't mean it's normal.