duanec Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 if you could not reel fast enough maybe you are reeling with your wrong hand. just my thought. my reply might start a war of words. this might be fun. that's actually a question i've been burning to ask yall [and trying to figure out the poll thing] for some time...how many people out there reel on the "wrong side"? has anyone started out reeling on one side and switched over later? Quote
adc Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 Cast right, reel left...........why switch hands........You don't switch for the "other"....... Quote
Hawgstoppah Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 Cast right and reel right. I have a seamless transition that keeps tension on the line and also reels in the loop of line (if there is one). My left hand *can* reel if need be, but it's better left doing nothing as it's usually just in the way. It's a darn good rod holder during the fight Quote
birchy Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 I'm right-handed and to date, have been casting left and reeling right. But I think I'm going to switch to casting right and reeling right. I just have some weird thing about reeling with my wrong hand.. it just don't feel right! Quote
theiceman2 Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 Good poll, I always think about it when landing a fish how stupid I am for reeling and casing right. Good to see I am not alone. Quote
duanec Posted May 5, 2009 Author Posted May 5, 2009 Good poll, I always think about it when landing a fish how stupid I am for reeling and casing right. Good to see I am not alone. ya...i cast right reel right. someone told me that was 'british style'. huh. old skool? it's just what i learned to do and i have tried the 'other ways' but i find i am able to pick line on the reel up much more quickly & better line control with my dominant hand. once i'm on the reel the rod arm doesn't do a whole lot, so it makes sense to me. stripping streamers though...sometimes switching arms can be interesting with a fish on but i seem to do it without thinking & without issues. my preference got reinforced with me as my experience has been without exception that mooching reels for salmon fishing reel right. i did a bit of that just as i was picking up a fly rod the first time and sometimes you gotta be steve austin fast on the reel with a salmon in the ocean. though as i wee lad started out as a gear chucker and cast right reeled left [i think that's pretty standard], have not chucked gear in a loooooooooong time though... Quote
reevesr1 Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 I grew up with bait casting reels. Cast right (actually both hands on the rod, but right dominant) and reel right. I would transfer either as soon as the lure hit the water, and sometimes during the cast itself. Felt natural. But when I picked up a fly rod, the transfer seemed much more awkward. So I switched to reel left. It did not take long at all for that to feel natural as well. Quote
Hawgstoppah Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 I kinda watched this when I guided... becuase it was of interest to me. People that reeled with the dominant hand (be it left or right, whatever hand your dominant with) landed about twice as many hooked trout as those that reeled with the opposite hand. I don't think it's the actual reeling that made the difference, but line control when a fish ran right at ya (stipping, etc)... that failed them. Quote
Jayhad Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 I kinda watched this when I guided... becuase it was of interest to me. People that reeled with the dominant hand (be it left or right, whatever hand your dominant with) landed about twice as many hooked trout as those that reeled with the opposite hand. I don't think it's the actual reeling that made the difference, but line control when a fish ran right at ya (stipping, etc)... that failed them. That's interesting I would have thought having the dominant hand on the rod and reel with the less dominant hand would be best. Thanks for the info..... Quote
Din Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 How would you classify your client's skill level in general, and how much would they have they fished prior to being guided when you noticed this? I imagine a casual angler would/might exhibit this, but more experienced angler who fishes a lot it would probably not make a difference at all. So maybe the landing ratios were just related to their skill level? I kinda watched this when I guided... becuase it was of interest to me. People that reeled with the dominant hand (be it left or right, whatever hand your dominant with) landed about twice as many hooked trout as those that reeled with the opposite hand. I don't think it's the actual reeling that made the difference, but line control when a fish ran right at ya (stipping, etc)... that failed them. Quote
darrinhurst Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 I cast right and reel left. I am right hand dominant. I write with my right, golf, hockey, everything. When I took up fishing as a kid, I can't remember how I did it. I know that I cast with my right, that's a no brainer, but I couldn't remember what I did reel wise. I thought that it was with my left, but when I took it up again recently, it felt odd at first. About half an hour of chucking a rapala and it felt normal. I've only reeled with my left in fly fishing. I wouldn't even consider reeling with my right, as I would feel like I'm all thumbs trying to control the rod with my weaker, left arm. I have better line control with my left hand than I do my right also. Cast right, reel left is 100% natural to me. Quote
126barnes Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 all those NHLer's must be shooting the puck from there wrong side too..............image how good they would be if they just did it the right way Quote
Guest rickleblanc Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 I cast with both hands, as river and wind conditions dictate, but I reel with my right. I suffered a bad injury to my right shoulder a few years back, and after losing a few big fish because I was fighting them with my weaker arm, I turned around all my lines. Rick Quote
Brad29 Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 I've had the same conversation/arguement with a couple of friends of mine, they cast right and reel left and my dad and I cast right and reel right. Whatever works, I guess. Quote
SilverDoctor Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 Cast right reel left. As did my Father and Grandfather. Quote
Tungsten Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 Cast right reel left,can also reel right but having the rod in my left feels wrong. Quote
jksnijders Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 I got 2 hands, so I use 'em. Cast right reel left. Or cast left, sometimes. Poorly. Quote
hydropsyche Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 ...but I reel with my right. I suffered a bad injury to my right shoulder a few years back......I turned around all my lines. Rick Ditto. When my right arm was injured, I didn't want to stress it any further by casting *and* fighting a fish with my right hand. Since I catch a fish on average, every second cast, I decided to switch up. Now that my arm is better, I never found a reason to go back. Interesting tidbit......clasp your hands together, interlocking your fingers...... Now, take a look at which thumb is on top. Is it your right or left thumb? That hand is supposed to be your dominant hand even if you didn't think so. Try it the opposite way. Feels awkward, eh? The theory is that society teaches us to be right handed and kids grow up with teachers putting pencils in their right hand, etc. I found that when I spring this on people without tell them and they say they are right handed but their left thumb in on top, I ask them if they do the occasional thing left handed (hold a hockey stick, etc.) they almost always say they do. Any closet south paws here? Quote
jksnijders Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Any closet south paws here? Sorta.. Could golf, swing a bat, stick, throw, with my left also. Never played any sports extensively that involved any of them in order to become equal with my right, though. Had a friend in school that could play badminton with 2 rackets. And was as good with either. Something to watch for sure. Used to rodeo with a guy that was right handed for heads, left handed for heels. Pretty interesting too. (Though I bet Taco's the only guy on here that knows what that means..) Quote
darrinhurst Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Ditto. When my right arm was injured, I didn't want to stress it any further by casting *and* fighting a fish with my right hand. Since I catch a fish on average, every second cast, I decided to switch up. Now that my arm is better, I never found a reason to go back. Interesting tidbit......clasp your hands together, interlocking your fingers...... Now, take a look at which thumb is on top. Is it your right or left thumb? That hand is supposed to be your dominant hand even if you didn't think so. Try it the opposite way. Feels awkward, eh? The theory is that society teaches us to be right handed and kids grow up with teachers putting pencils in their right hand, etc. I found that when I spring this on people without tell them and they say they are right handed but their left thumb in on top, I ask them if they do the occasional thing left handed (hold a hockey stick, etc.) they almost always say they do. Any closet south paws here? Interesting. Coincidentally, as I read this, I had my hands clasped. Indeed, my left thumb was on top, so according to this theory, I should be left handed. But, as I mentioned earlier, I do everything with my right. I always have. The only thing I do with my left hand is catch. I must be the exeption to the rule. Quote
dube Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 I'm a lefty and am just old enough to have gone through people trying to make me use my right hand. My grandpa used to put the fork in my right hand and I would gladly hold onto that fork while I proceeded to eat with my left hand (mashed potatoes were tricky). My parents didn't care so I was ultimately "allowed" to be a lefty, although in school there were not a lot of us so it was always a fight for the very few pairs of green scissors. I cast left and reel right, although I will switch if I happen to have a tricky cast on the wrong side of the river. Having said that I swing a golf club or bat right. I'm a carpenter and can use both hands for most tasks including using a hammer, I guess I'm a bit of a weirdo . Quote
Hawgstoppah Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 How would you classify your client's skill level in general, and how much would they have they fished prior to being guided when you noticed this? I imagine a casual angler would/might exhibit this, but more experienced angler who fishes a lot it would probably not make a difference at all. So maybe the landing ratios were just related to their skill level? Most of them were novice, your right. Probably bad at line control to begin with, and then you combine the excitement of a hot fish on the other end of the rod and their "off hand" loses ALL co-ordination LOL Quote
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