I’m righthanded and reel with my left hand. Exactly for the same reasons as you mention: I prefer to fight with my right hand. Indeed awkward when you have to handle a multiplier and a (little) big game rod, but so natural on my fly rods (and previously my fixed spool reels as well). I’ve read the argument that reeling with your dominant hand allows you to reel faster and longer, which might be true, but I feel the argument of fighting a big fish is more important than reeling. Just my 2 cts. Cheers, Paulo
I am so brand new to this, retired last year and met a lady at our campground and she taught me to tie a fly, so next step was to learn to fly fish.::she gave me one lesson and I’ve been you tubing the crap out of everything. I bought a rod and it was set up backwards to me...THIS VIDEO, hands down explains it all...love love love this, it’s preference...and I’m on my way, didn’t catch one yet...well I caught a tree...does that count??? I’m in baby!!! I’m hooked!
Right handed and reel with my left. I have always done it this way and it feels comfortable. Would rather use my strong hand to put pressure on a fish.
I started with my right hand and fished that way for years. When I got a casting reel for bass fishing, I wondered why I was casting with my right hand, then switching hands to retrieve. So, I started buying "left" hand casting reels so I didn't switch hands after casting. After that, it just made sense to use my left hand to retrieve on fly rods also. Now, all my fly reels are set for left hand retrieve.
Pedro, you are spot-on with this discussion. I started out (1959) cranking right & casting right. It just didn't feel correct, but I did it anyway because a famous angling authority said "if you're right handed, you should crank with your right hand because it will be your dominate side and you'll be able to crank faster and thus take up loose line faster." After a football related neck injury, I noticed the strength in my left arm was compromised. I switched my fly reels to left cranking, and experienced no appreciable difference in cranking speed... and have stayed "right-fighting & left-cranking" ever since ... angling guru be damned. I can not imagine whipping a 50 lb cobia with my weak (left) arm. Switching back and forth when pitted against a billfish will likely place you at a significant disadvantage.
I'm right handed, cast right, and switch hands to reel with my right hand. I totally agree with your point of view, and have often thought that I am doing it wrong. But the simple fact is that it's awkward for me to reel with my left. I hope that someday I hook a fish big enough for it to make a difference! Same thought applies to why do I have 100 yards of backing? I've never even seen my backing while fishing. Someday......
Righty and reel right. I can do the other and in fact grew up with the handles on the other side as my mother reels left (she taught me to fish when I was 4). In my case, I reel much better with my right hand and haven't found the differential strength thing to be an issue for me. At the end of the day, do what you like. Not sure any of the other reasoning matters. Nobody should get bent over it anyhow! Thanks for all the great content!! Tight lines everyone.
Well heck, came here for guidance and I am still in doubt, Just Kidding. I am predominantly left handed (I think), write left handed, eat left handed, but I am actually pretty good at eating with both hands, sometimes at the same time, which is a whole other topic. In truth I am a bit ambidextrous, for instance I play both tennis and Racquetball by serving with my right hand and then throwing the racquet to my left hand for back hand and forearm, unless the ball is way to my right where I throw it into the right hand for a forearm. Do you feel my pain? I have always fished by casting with my right hand, putting the rod in my left hand and reeling with my right hand. I have always despised the open front reels with the handle on the left, so I avoid them and use Spin Cast Reels, always with the handle on the right, Hmmm did I just answer my own question? Oh damn, my reel came preloaded, so now I have to unwind and rewind all that Backing, and fly lone off my reel. Maybe I just need to go back to eating.
Oh my! I think we must be related. Born left-handed, forced to write right handed. Throw and cast left handed while baitcasting and spin fishing. I played tennis right handed. I fly cast right handed. My only constant is reeling right hand. Use chopsticks with either. Sigh.
I'm a lefty. I started fishing on spinning gear, ended up branching out into casting gear, and I lost fish because of the confusion of switching between RH and LH retrieve, grabbing air like someone else said. I just switched the spinning reels. I transitioned to primarily tenkara and now I want to start getting into western gear, but both my reels are LH retrieve and can't be switched. I agree 100% with what you said, but mainly, I just compulsively want all my reel handles on the same side.
Hi thanks for your reply,. Ok it's now what people are used to, bought on mainly by still water trout Fishing . Still water trout fishing made it possible for everyone to enjoy fly fishing, and bought with it many fisherman who were used to winding a fixed spool real with their left. When I started trout fishing ,still water trout was very new to the UK. I lived very close to some of the original small fisheries one famous one belonging to a life long friend . who was always experimenting with new breeds of fish. We all fished the fly mainly on chalk streams and south west Wales rivers ( towy etc )and yes we did often fish the fly at night even In 1959-60 to tell the truth I never fish in the day for Sewin so it is very important to keep control of line in or out of the water. In those days reels always came direct from the factory for right hand wind. You cast with the right and retrieve and hold most of the line in your left hand , to make it easier to move up and down the river bank. Actually the figure of eight was part of this exercise , by holding all or most of the line in the left hand ( impossible to do on large lakes) this way you have complete control. Also casting some of the older lines ( silk kingfisher etc greased) the line could not get hooked up on the handle, as it passed across the back of the reel. Just to add, Hardy introduced The rim on the marquis in order to use your fingers as a drag , this is done better by the right hand, if you are right handed. I also wind With my left hand when spinning, but with my right using a baitcaster / multiplier. Just to add I have fished the Yokanger in Russia a few times, the first time using one of my Hardy marquise salmon reels , disaster!! as I found them not up to handling those fish . For my second trip I purchased an Abel salmon reel that did the job, but even though it's not the quality of Hardy
Exactly my point, there are those on the channel that state it does not matter yet i disagree with them , your logic makes more sense then theirs. Right handed casters have not time to play with the rod specially when you hook on a large fish and this is when your strong arm comes in.
This is a legit discussion. Thank you. I've been looking at my empty fly reel, along with backing and line to put on it. I am a lefty who does most things (sports) right handed. Messes me up! I don't even know which way to reel the damn thing as it sits on my desk! This said, yeah, dominant arm casts and holds the rod. End of discussion.
I agree with your rationale on why people reel the way they do. Probably just the way they always have done it. I'm right handed (and cast right handed) and have always reeled with my left. Probably b/c my dad had his reels that way. I agree with your point that it only makes logical sense to do this. I've always contended that it is so silly that folks would switch hands. I realized this when I saw it on a tv show where the guy was fighting a big fish and he would pull with his right hand, while the left hand palmed the reel mid pull, then switch hands to reel down. He did this over and over throughout the fight. I thought it was bananas.
I deliberately set up my spinning reels to wind in left handed and my fly reels to wind in right handed. The argument about holding your rod in your strongest arm thus really doesn’t become relevant as both forearms are roughly similar in strength. There is something about stripping fly line with the left hand and winding with my right which feels more natural to me. At the end of the day it is all about which feels most comfortable to the angler. Fly fishing is full of dogma and those that are pushing a particular perspective. I agree with you that doing what feels most comfortable is critical as behaviour needs to be instinctive when fighting fish.
After four decades of fly fishing casting with my right hand and winding with my right hand (I find transferring the rod from my right hand to my left is easy and occurs without thinking about it), now I'm supposed to wind with my left, always holding the rod with my right. Well, okay but I'm nervous about it. After all, I am an old dog and this is a new trick.
Thanks for the comment Stephen, I think at the end of the day everyone should do what makes them comfortable… I do think though that those starting out should reel this way so it becomes natural…. Thanks for joining the debate!
Hey Pete. I do agree that there is no right or wrong way here. What ever you are comfortable with. Not sure I agree with the need to fight big fish with the dominant hand though. I think you need to use your legs more than your arms when in a tough battle. Hope you’re battling monsters on Prov. Only a little jealous.
Grandad taught me , I am right handed and I retrieve with my left , I too have been told that I was wrong by an older gentleman on the river here in British Columbia , I told him never mind you will get it right one day and we both chuckled. I agree personal preference...
Right hand dominant, I cast right and wind left. I don't see it as any different than using an open face spinning rod. The reel is also under the rod for both fly and spinning.
Nicely done, however I am the opposite of you and most out here. I cast right/reel right. One reason (although there are others) is ironically the same as yours, "arm-strength". I find that after hours of casting, the large muscles in the right arm become naturally fatigued. The left arm conversely, is relatively unstressed. So why not share the work?
Well I personally use my right or dominant hand for winding and line control, as no one can wind or control the line as fast and well with their weaker/less dextrous hand. I fight the fish with my left hand - and cast with it, because it's not that weak lol. I find that when you are battling a large fish for a prolonged period of time, if you are careful you can use both hands during the fight if need be. Having said all of that, whatever works best for the individual is of course best. By the way, a regular Tai Chi practice is great for strengthening your non dominant hand over time.
I'm all messed up. Natural lefty (left eye dominant) but my parents took the fork out of my left hand and forced me to be right handed. For what it's worth I use left hand crank. All my psychological woes are on my folks. 😜
I am new to fly fishing, and I bought a right hand reel and retrieve. I can understand the reasons for having the retrieve on the left, but I am _not_ _in_ _the_ _least_ ambidextrous. My right hand is simply faster and stronger. I'm only going to fish in freshwater for crappie, bluegill, perch, and bass. I just don't think my left hand will move fast enough to snag the fish. I also spin cast the same way.
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing Funny that you mention horses. I ride and show horses. I ride and show hunt seat (English) which requires equal use of both left and right hands. I never had a problem with that. It makes me wonder now. I cannot type on my computer with my left and right hand at the same time. I also was unable to learn to play a musical instrument because it requires my left and right hand to work "independently" from each other. Maybe I should play the Kazoo. 😋😋
I know this is a late comment. I'm right handed and reel left. I started fly fishing with an automatic reel (all the rage in the '70s) but when I got my first single action reel it just seemed natural to set it up for left hand retrieve, as I fished with a spinning rod which are typically weak-hand wind. I completely agree there is no wrong answer, but great job on the last word.
I cast right handed and wind with my right. When I first started fly fishing it was in the salt for bonefish and my left hand was simply not able to take line in fast enough when a bonefish was running at me. I have caught tarpon and I don't find switching the rod from left to right is any issue when either arm gets tired. So IMHO its best to wind with your most dominant hand. Perhaps when I get to the Seychelles the GT's may convince me otherwise. (I was to be in the Seychelles right now, but have had to reschedule for March 2021)
I am left handed (and have been fly fishing since I was knee high then with only a hand me down split cane fly rod and line the latter on a crab line winder) and cast with my left hand, I strip line using my right hand and strip strike using my right hand then I swap to my right hand to play the fish winding with my left hand. I think most of the this is hard wired into our nervous system prior to birth and is jolly difficult to change and I have never found a problem even with the biggest tarpon/sailfish.
I think Peter is correct in that we reel in whichever way we first learned how to - essentially the most comfortable and familiar to us. However, one overlooked advantage (impo) for casting and reeling with the right hand, stripping left (like myself) relates to initial drag adjustment when fighting strong and fast moving saltwater fish. The first thing I do immediately after a strong fish puts me on the reel during its initial run is to swiftly set the drag with my left hand (while keeping pressure on the rod with my right) to as high as I dare without breaking off - important when you need to stop a fish heading for a reef fast. I find that after I've tuned everything in and gained control of the fight, I have all the time in the world to move the rod between hands. I find that I change hands anyways depending on which direction the fish is running and how / in which direction I want to apply pressure. Fish runs to the left - I pull in the opposite direction with my right. Fish runs to the right - I pull in the opposite direction with my left. Big salties will eventually tire even the most dominant of arms - I find that switching it up keeps you fresh for longer, and if you straighten those arms and stick it in your gut even better!
Thanks for taking the time to write this, and I do agree with you… fighting a big saltwater species does often require resting of the arms…. Check out my video on Fighting Big Fish On The Fly…😀
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing Hi Peter, I love your videos and chances are I've already seen that one. Potentially more than once😅! I certainly wouldn't mind giving it another view - Good educational fly fishing content is difficult to come by on RUclips. Thank you for the good work!
This is the reason I cast and reel with my right, I learned my fishing in boats in the big English reservoirs, fishing for stocked trout, and in Scotland, Ireland for wild trout, sea trout and salmon. With "normal" size of trout one can just handline them with the left hand without using the reel, just as one most commonly see's other anglers doing on reservoirs and rivers. Now imagine this; you are on your own on a decent sized loch/lough/ Rutland/Grafham etc, in a 14' boat with an outboard engine, oars, anchor, drogue, and decent size net. You connect with a big fish that suggests you "get it on the reel". It takes a fraction of a second to transfer the rod to your left hand thereby freeing up your right hand. I am much more dextrous and stronger with my right arm, so I can now, as necessary, pull up the anchor quickly and easily, get the drogue in quickly, start the engine if necessary (next time out you try with your weaker arm), use the oars, get the net ready.....works for me. I'm unlikely to ever have the tons of money required to fish with a fly fly rod for GT's, marlin etc so cannot agree or disagree with AM's mention of strength of dominant arm. Its all down to what suits you. The best thing to do is try both and see.
That’s funny, literally last night I switched my reel handle on to the left on my spin gear to stop hand swapping, annoys me when I make videos and looks at them haha! Anyway did a cast reached for the handle and grasped air! Twice lol! Switched it back after. On the fly I switch too. I blame my dad! Haha
Interesting.. I'm right handed, cast right handed but reel right. All my other setups, spinning/casting are right casting and left reeling. Been like this my whole life. I'm gonna swap my fly reels to left hand reeling. Not sure why I was doing it differently with the fly fishing gear.
I totally agreed dude. I have been trying to tell people this for years. If you try and catch a yellowtail kingfish, like we have down here in New Zealand, and you try and hold the rod with your weaker (usually left arm) and wind with your stronger hand, people look all over the show and get frustrated. I have always held my rod in my stronger arm (right) and wound with my left weaker arm. There is only one circumstance where you want you stronger arm to do the reeling: when you are strapped into a stand up harness & don't hold the rod at all (all the weight is supported by the harness and not your arms at all (legs do the pumping) & your left hand just cups the left side plate of the reel (IGFA rules)- in this case it is better to do the tiring handle pumping with your stronger arm, and all you left does is guide line evenly onto the spool or cup the side plate. Hence even though I am right handed I use left hand wind reels. Only my massive shark reels are right handed because I am strapped like I described above. I have also found that people who have to change hands after casting (casted with right hand & right handed reel), can often miss a bite when the fish hits the lure the instant it touches the water. If you are right handed but use a left hand wind reel, you can actually cast and fish with never putting it in you left hand at all, all in one motion with maybe the left hand just clicking it out of free spool (or putting the bail arm down if using a spinning reel). You are 100% correct, and like you say if people say this is wrong, that is because they only catch small fish. Holding the rod in my right strong arm- I can do an isometric contraction with my bicep and hold even a kingfish (amberjack to yanks) from stopping the rod touching the side of the boat, with the rod butt end my armpit, but if I try that with my weaker left arm and try winding-I just look like a spastic and it is not enjoyable. Hold the rod in your strong arm. Wind with your weaker. Common sense...
I almost always fish with a two-handed rod and I'm righthanded. My reason for having the handle at the Right side is that I have to land the fish with my right hand and then I need of course to have the handle on the Right side too if things "go south" :)
My situation kind of sucks sometimes. I do a lot of things ambidextrous. So some setups i fish right handed and others left handed. I cast a fl ugh rod with my left hand then, for retrieve and reeling i hold the rod with my right hand and do everything left handed. Sucks when a fish hits as soon as it hits the water. It is just what feels natural. I didnt really think of it until about a year ago. I want to practice to do it all right had or all left hand
Hmmm - strength and dexterity can't be put in the same bucket imho...I just watched the "big fish" video and a bunch more, and there is a significant amount of "switching and repositioning" of the fighting and retrieving hand........I retrieve RHS only because the part of my brain that controls my LH wind belongs to some fella that doesn't live in my body - it's so foreign that I would (and have) lost fish trying to wind LH....However, my left bicep is probably only 2-5% weaker than my right due to my "righthandedness..." so its natural to fight left and wind right - and i think that is key.....what feels right....or left......but mostly correct :)
Any thoughts or tips on my cast, I cast with my left and retrieve with my right, have my reel set up as right hand retrieve and work a fish still with my rod in left hand and reel right hand, this is fine on still water but fishing my local river we are only aloud to fish the left hand banking of the river which is a nightmare for a left hander or at least in my case as due to foliage behind it makes it very hard to cast the line to a nice upstream 30-45 degree to nicely float the fly down with the river naturally..... Any tips other than use your right hand to cast and completely change the way you fish, its hard to explain but the way I look at it is if your right handed and slight wade in you can back cast down downriver but as a lefty your angled still over the banking.... Any tips would be much appreciated
I'm right handed , casting with right and reeling with left one, how I consider normal and natural....But...it happened not once to switch the rod in my left arm while battling big fish ,because my right arm was damn tired from casting..
IT IS ABOUT PREFERENCE AND COMFORT AND NATURAL DISPOSITION IN OVER 40 years of FLY FISHING I’ve CAST RIGHT, retrieved RIGHT AND MANAGED THE ROD WITH MY LEFT ONLY WHEN I HAD FISH ON THE REEL. WHEN I FISH FOR SMALLER TROUT, i often use my left to strip in line and my right to trap line against the cork and hold and manipulate the rod; in these instances the retrieve of the reel is a post-release process ….
left handed person here growing up i have always held the rod with right hand and reeled with my left, my right arm was awkward to reel with. (cut the tendon in half in two fingers on my right hand) and now i am trying to change the way i fish because i have no where near the grip i use to have with my right hand.
The majority of tarpon fisherman I know wind with their dominant hand. When you're pulling on a tarpon, you use both hands, so the idea of fighting with your dominant hand is not an issue. I place my right hand above the cork on the butt section of the rod and pull harder with my right hand than my left. When I need to wind, I let go of the rod and move to the reel with my right hand. The importance of rapidly winding line onto the reel when chasing or fighting a tarpon cannot be understated. Serious saltwater fly fisherman own right hand retrieve reels (if they are right handed).
Hi Ted, thanks for the comment, this is always going to be one of those situations of what ever works for you... I am an obsessive saltwater fisherman whose prime species is GTs on the flats. Quite often in those battles, especially with a big GT heading for the surf that moment of switching and relaxing the pressure can be crucial, and winding to maintain tension the same. I know many serious saltwater fishermen that swear on left handed reels to fight fish right handed, so I really think it boils down to whatever you have the fastest retrieve with... for me, that’s the left hand. There really is no right answer to this, and I have been pleasantly surprised as to people’s strong views on it.. thanks for your input!
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing I can't wind fast enough with my left hand to do what you do. lol. We chase down tarpon with the skiff and have to wind very fast. The GTs seem to be caught more while wading, so maybe that has something to do with it. If you can wind fast enough with your left hand, more power to you.
I probably do it all wrong, but, I am right handed, cast right and reel right, but always fight the trout on the line with my left hand....I never have used the reel, only to store the line. I control the line with my left and can lock off on the rod, while putting on pressure with my right fingers.....big fish could be a different story I suppose. What ever works for you I reckon ;0)
Course fishing reels are set up for left hand wind because the hand in which you hold your rod, determines your handedness and it has nothing to do with winding the reel. A right handed fisherman holds the rod in his right hand and reels in with his left. A left handed fisherman (like me) holds the rod in his left hand and reels in with his right hand. If you watch any fishing videos on line, or go to any commercial fishery (for example) you will see the vast majority holding their rod, or pole in their right hand. When I was a child (I'm in my sixties now) you didn't get reels with reversible handles. I used to have to hold my rod in my left hand and strike, then switch hands to be able to reel in. I now live in Scotland and I'm thinking or trying fly fishing but I will need a fly (or centrepin) reel, that allows me to wind in with my right hand for the reasons already stated....
I dont know why, but when I fly fish for trout, I cast with my right arm, switch rod to my left arm to retrieve and pull line back with my right hand, then put rod in my right hand again to re-cast etc. Never really used the reel with the drag to retrieve when hooked up..
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing Your welcome. I have always though I was weird when I fly fish, but I have mastered the art of switching the rod to my other hand after casting. Good subject though..
Either...or. Doesn't matter to me. But I did once see a Scott STS 10weight and a Tibor Riptide go to the bottom of the Long Island Sound because dude was fiddle farting around switching hands back and forth while battling a fairly large Albie. I say do whatever works for you...not what some old duffer in the local trout shed says you should be doing.
I have a friend who casts right handed and then swaps to reel right handed, even when lure fishing with a fixed spool reel. This annoys me so much that I have to look away when he does this hand-change and bite on my shirt collar😂 He also has a habit of setting any reel's drag very lightly, which has given me the habit of reaching in a tighten in his drag as he plays a fish. This annoys him, thus we are even😎
I’m righthanded and reel with my left hand. Exactly for the same reasons as you mention: I prefer to fight with my right hand. Indeed awkward when you have to handle a multiplier and a (little) big game rod, but so natural on my fly rods (and previously my fixed spool reels as well). I’ve read the argument that reeling with your dominant hand allows you to reel faster and longer, which might be true, but I feel the argument of fighting a big fish is more important than reeling. Just my 2 cts.
Cheers, Paulo
I am so brand new to this, retired last year and met a lady at our campground and she taught me to tie a fly, so next step was to learn to fly fish.::she gave me one lesson and I’ve been you tubing the crap out of everything. I bought a rod and it was set up backwards to me...THIS VIDEO, hands down explains it all...love love love this, it’s preference...and I’m on my way, didn’t catch one yet...well I caught a tree...does that count??? I’m in baby!!! I’m hooked!
Fantastic Shirley! So glad it helped and crack on!
Right handed and reel with my left. I have always done it this way and it feels comfortable. Would rather use my strong hand to put pressure on a fish.
I started with my right hand and fished that way for years. When I got a casting reel for bass fishing, I wondered why I was casting with my right hand, then switching hands to retrieve. So, I started buying "left" hand casting reels so I didn't switch hands after casting. After that, it just made sense to use my left hand to retrieve on fly rods also. Now, all my fly reels are set for left hand retrieve.
Absolutely..
Pedro, you are spot-on with this discussion. I started out (1959) cranking right & casting right. It just didn't feel correct, but I did it anyway because a famous angling authority said "if you're right handed, you should crank with your right hand because it will be your dominate side and you'll be able to crank faster and thus take up loose line faster." After a football related neck injury, I noticed the strength in my left arm was compromised. I switched my fly reels to left cranking, and experienced no appreciable difference in cranking speed... and have stayed "right-fighting & left-cranking" ever since ... angling guru be damned. I can not imagine whipping a 50 lb cobia with my weak (left) arm. Switching back and forth when pitted against a billfish will likely place you at a significant disadvantage.
I'm right handed, cast right, and switch hands to reel with my right hand. I totally agree with your point of view, and have often thought that I am doing it wrong. But the simple fact is that it's awkward for me to reel with my left. I hope that someday I hook a fish big enough for it to make a difference! Same thought applies to why do I have 100 yards of backing? I've never even seen my backing while fishing. Someday......
Righty and reel right. I can do the other and in fact grew up with the handles on the other side as my mother reels left (she taught me to fish when I was 4). In my case, I reel much better with my right hand and haven't found the differential strength thing to be an issue for me. At the end of the day, do what you like. Not sure any of the other reasoning matters. Nobody should get bent over it anyhow! Thanks for all the great content!! Tight lines everyone.
Agreed! 😄
Well heck, came here for guidance and I am still in doubt, Just Kidding. I am predominantly left handed (I think), write left handed, eat left handed, but I am actually pretty good at eating with both hands, sometimes at the same time, which is a whole other topic. In truth I am a bit ambidextrous, for instance I play both tennis and Racquetball by serving with my right hand and then throwing the racquet to my left hand for back hand and forearm, unless the ball is way to my right where I throw it into the right hand for a forearm. Do you feel my pain? I have always fished by casting with my right hand, putting the rod in my left hand and reeling with my right hand. I have always despised the open front reels with the handle on the left, so I avoid them and use Spin Cast Reels, always with the handle on the right, Hmmm did I just answer my own question? Oh damn, my reel came preloaded, so now I have to unwind and rewind all that Backing, and fly lone off my reel. Maybe I just need to go back to eating.
Tim, thanks for this, made me chuckle quite a lot! 🤣🤣
Oh my! I think we must be related. Born left-handed, forced to write right handed. Throw and cast left handed while baitcasting and spin fishing. I played tennis right handed. I fly cast right handed. My only constant is reeling right hand. Use chopsticks with either. Sigh.
I'm a lefty. I started fishing on spinning gear, ended up branching out into casting gear, and I lost fish because of the confusion of switching between RH and LH retrieve, grabbing air like someone else said. I just switched the spinning reels. I transitioned to primarily tenkara and now I want to start getting into western gear, but both my reels are LH retrieve and can't be switched. I agree 100% with what you said, but mainly, I just compulsively want all my reel handles on the same side.
Thanks for commenting! 😄
Hi thanks for your reply,. Ok it's now what people are used to, bought on mainly by still water trout
Fishing . Still water trout fishing made it possible for everyone to enjoy fly fishing, and bought with it many fisherman who were used to winding a fixed spool real with their left. When I started trout fishing ,still water trout was very new to the UK. I lived very close to some of the original small fisheries one famous one belonging to a life long friend .
who was always experimenting with new breeds of fish. We all fished the fly mainly on chalk streams and south west Wales rivers ( towy etc )and yes we did often fish the fly at night even
In 1959-60 to tell the truth I never fish in the day for Sewin so it is very important to keep control of line in or out of the water.
In those days reels always came direct from the factory for right hand wind. You cast with the right and retrieve and hold most of the line in your left hand , to make it easier to move up and down the river bank. Actually the figure of eight
was part of this exercise , by holding all or most of the line in the left hand ( impossible to do on large lakes) this way you have complete control.
Also casting some of the older lines ( silk kingfisher etc greased) the line could not get hooked up on the handle, as it passed across the back of the reel. Just to add, Hardy introduced
The rim on the marquis in order to use your fingers as a drag , this is done better by the right hand, if you are right handed.
I also wind With my left hand when spinning, but with my right using a baitcaster / multiplier.
Just to add I have fished the Yokanger in Russia a few times, the first time using one of my Hardy marquise salmon reels , disaster!! as I found them not up to handling those fish . For my second trip I purchased an Abel salmon reel that did the job, but even though it's not the quality of
Hardy
Exactly my point, there are those on the channel that state it does not matter yet i disagree with them , your logic makes more sense then theirs. Right handed casters have not time to play with the rod specially when you hook on a large fish and this is when your strong arm comes in.
Thanks Juan! Appreciate your comment.
This is a legit discussion. Thank you. I've been looking at my empty fly reel, along with backing and line to put on it. I am a lefty who does most things (sports) right handed. Messes me up! I don't even know which way to reel the damn thing as it sits on my desk! This said, yeah, dominant arm casts and holds the rod. End of discussion.
I agree with your rationale on why people reel the way they do. Probably just the way they always have done it. I'm right handed (and cast right handed) and have always reeled with my left. Probably b/c my dad had his reels that way. I agree with your point that it only makes logical sense to do this. I've always contended that it is so silly that folks would switch hands. I realized this when I saw it on a tv show where the guy was fighting a big fish and he would pull with his right hand, while the left hand palmed the reel mid pull, then switch hands to reel down. He did this over and over throughout the fight. I thought it was bananas.
Never gave it a thought, I'm right handed and have always wound with my left which feels natural to me.
I deliberately set up my spinning reels to wind in left handed and my fly reels to wind in right handed. The argument about holding your rod in your strongest arm thus really doesn’t become relevant as both forearms are roughly similar in strength. There is something about stripping fly line with the left hand and winding with my right which feels more natural to me. At the end of the day it is all about which feels most comfortable to the angler. Fly fishing is full of dogma and those that are pushing a particular perspective. I agree with you that doing what feels most comfortable is critical as behaviour needs to be instinctive when fighting fish.
Thanks for the comment!
Well this gave me something to think about.
After four decades of fly fishing casting with my right hand and winding with my right hand (I find transferring the rod from my right hand to my left is easy and occurs without thinking about it), now I'm supposed to wind with my left, always holding the rod with my right.
Well, okay but I'm nervous about it. After all, I am an old dog and this is a new trick.
Thanks for the comment Stephen, I think at the end of the day everyone should do what makes them comfortable… I do think though that those starting out should reel this way so it becomes natural…. Thanks for joining the debate!
Hey Pete. I do agree that there is no right or wrong way here. What ever you are comfortable with. Not sure I agree with the need to fight big fish with the dominant hand though. I think you need to use your legs more than your arms when in a tough battle. Hope you’re battling monsters on Prov. Only a little jealous.
Grandad taught me , I am right handed and I retrieve with my left , I too have been told that I was wrong by an older gentleman on the river here in British Columbia , I told him never mind you will get it right one day and we both chuckled. I agree personal preference...
Agreed! Thanks for commenting…
Right hand dominant, I cast right and wind left. I don't see it as any different than using an open face spinning rod. The reel is also under the rod for both fly and spinning.
Thanks for the comment!
Nicely done, however I am the opposite of you and most out here. I cast right/reel right. One reason (although there are others) is ironically the same as yours, "arm-strength". I find that after hours of casting, the large muscles in the right arm become naturally fatigued. The left arm conversely, is relatively unstressed. So why not share the work?
Well I personally use my right or dominant hand for winding and line control, as no one can wind or control the line as fast and well with their weaker/less dextrous hand. I fight the fish with my left hand - and cast with it, because it's not that weak lol. I find that when you are battling a large fish for a prolonged period of time, if you are careful you can use both hands during the fight if need be. Having said all of that, whatever works best for the individual is of course best.
By the way, a regular Tai Chi practice is great for strengthening your non dominant hand over time.
Thanks for the comment and sharing your thoughts! 😄
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing Only a pleasure :) And many thanks for sharing - there's always much to learn from your excellent channel.
I'm all messed up. Natural lefty (left eye dominant) but my parents took the fork out of my left hand and forced me to be right handed. For what it's worth I use left hand crank. All my psychological woes are on my folks. 😜
😄 thanks for the comment!
I am new to fly fishing, and I bought a right hand reel and retrieve. I can understand the reasons for having the retrieve on the left, but I am _not_ _in_ _the_ _least_ ambidextrous. My right hand is simply faster and stronger. I'm only going to fish in freshwater for crappie, bluegill, perch, and bass. I just don't think my left hand will move fast enough to snag the fish. I also spin cast the same way.
Thanks for the comment, it’s very much horses for courses... 😄
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing Funny that you mention horses. I ride and show horses. I ride and show hunt seat (English) which requires equal use of both left and right hands. I never had a problem with that. It makes me wonder now. I cannot type on my computer with my left and right hand at the same time. I also was unable to learn to play a musical instrument because it requires my left and right hand to work "independently" from each other. Maybe I should play the Kazoo. 😋😋
I know this is a late comment. I'm right handed and reel left. I started fly fishing with an automatic reel (all the rage in the '70s) but when I got my first single action reel it just seemed natural to set it up for left hand retrieve, as I fished with a spinning rod which are typically weak-hand wind. I completely agree there is no wrong answer, but great job on the last word.
I cast right handed and wind with my right. When I first started fly fishing it was in the salt for bonefish and my left hand was simply not able to take line in fast enough when a bonefish was running at me. I have caught tarpon and I don't find switching the rod from left to right is any issue when either arm gets tired. So IMHO its best to wind with your most dominant hand. Perhaps when I get to the Seychelles the GT's may convince me otherwise. (I was to be in the Seychelles right now, but have had to reschedule for March 2021)
Me too Dick, gutted, but already looking forward to next year.... thanks for the comment!
I am left handed (and have been fly fishing since I was knee high then with only a hand me down split cane fly rod and line the latter on a crab line winder) and cast with my left hand, I strip line using my right hand and strip strike using my right hand then I swap to my right hand to play the fish winding with my left hand. I think most of the this is hard wired into our nervous system prior to birth and is jolly difficult to change and I have never found a problem even with the biggest tarpon/sailfish.
I think Peter is correct in that we reel in whichever way we first learned how to - essentially the most comfortable and familiar to us.
However, one overlooked advantage (impo) for casting and reeling with the right hand, stripping left (like myself) relates to initial drag adjustment when fighting strong and fast moving saltwater fish. The first thing I do immediately after a strong fish puts me on the reel during its initial run is to swiftly set the drag with my left hand (while keeping pressure on the rod with my right) to as high as I dare without breaking off - important when you need to stop a fish heading for a reef fast. I find that after I've tuned everything in and gained control of the fight, I have all the time in the world to move the rod between hands.
I find that I change hands anyways depending on which direction the fish is running and how / in which direction I want to apply pressure. Fish runs to the left - I pull in the opposite direction with my right. Fish runs to the right - I pull in the opposite direction with my left. Big salties will eventually tire even the most dominant of arms - I find that switching it up keeps you fresh for longer, and if you straighten those arms and stick it in your gut even better!
Thanks for taking the time to write this, and I do agree with you… fighting a big saltwater species does often require resting of the arms…. Check out my video on Fighting Big Fish On The Fly…😀
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing Hi Peter, I love your videos and chances are I've already seen that one. Potentially more than once😅! I certainly wouldn't mind giving it another view - Good educational fly fishing content is difficult to come by on RUclips. Thank you for the good work!
This is the reason I cast and reel with my right, I learned my fishing in boats in the big English reservoirs, fishing for stocked trout, and in Scotland, Ireland for wild trout, sea trout and salmon. With "normal" size of trout one can just handline them with the left hand without using the reel, just as one most commonly see's other anglers doing on reservoirs and rivers.
Now imagine this; you are on your own on a decent sized loch/lough/ Rutland/Grafham etc, in a 14' boat with an outboard engine, oars, anchor, drogue, and decent size net. You connect with a big fish that suggests you "get it on the reel". It takes a fraction of a second to transfer the rod to your left hand thereby freeing up your right hand. I am much more dextrous and stronger with my right arm, so I can now, as necessary, pull up the anchor quickly and easily, get the drogue in quickly, start the engine if necessary (next time out you try with your weaker arm), use the oars, get the net ready.....works for me.
I'm unlikely to ever have the tons of money required to fish with a fly fly rod for GT's, marlin etc so cannot agree or disagree with AM's mention of strength of dominant arm.
Its all down to what suits you. The best thing to do is try both and see.
That’s funny, literally last night I switched my reel handle on to the left on my spin gear to stop hand swapping, annoys me when I make videos and looks at them haha! Anyway did a cast reached for the handle and grasped air! Twice lol! Switched it back after. On the fly I switch too. I blame my dad! Haha
I think our parents often imprint us with things like this! 😄
Interesting.. I'm right handed, cast right handed but reel right. All my other setups, spinning/casting are right casting and left reeling. Been like this my whole life. I'm gonna swap my fly reels to left hand reeling. Not sure why I was doing it differently with the fly fishing gear.
Thanks for the comment and glad it was useful!
I totally agreed dude. I have been trying to tell people this for years. If you try and catch a yellowtail kingfish, like we have down here in New Zealand, and you try and hold the rod with your weaker (usually left arm) and wind with your stronger hand, people look all over the show and get frustrated. I have always held my rod in my stronger arm (right) and wound with my left weaker arm. There is only one circumstance where you want you stronger arm to do the reeling: when you are strapped into a stand up harness & don't hold the rod at all (all the weight is supported by the harness and not your arms at all (legs do the pumping) & your left hand just cups the left side plate of the reel (IGFA rules)- in this case it is better to do the tiring handle pumping with your stronger arm, and all you left does is guide line evenly onto the spool or cup the side plate. Hence even though I am right handed I use left hand wind reels. Only my massive shark reels are right handed because I am strapped like I described above. I have also found that people who have to change hands after casting (casted with right hand & right handed reel), can often miss a bite when the fish hits the lure the instant it touches the water. If you are right handed but use a left hand wind reel, you can actually cast and fish with never putting it in you left hand at all, all in one motion with maybe the left hand just clicking it out of free spool (or putting the bail arm down if using a spinning reel). You are 100% correct, and like you say if people say this is wrong, that is because they only catch small fish. Holding the rod in my right strong arm- I can do an isometric contraction with my bicep and hold even a kingfish (amberjack to yanks) from stopping the rod touching the side of the boat, with the rod butt end my armpit, but if I try that with my weaker left arm and try winding-I just look like a spastic and it is not enjoyable. Hold the rod in your strong arm. Wind with your weaker. Common sense...
I almost always fish with a two-handed rod and I'm righthanded. My reason for having the handle at the Right side is that I have to land the fish with my right hand and then I need of course to have the handle on the Right side too if things "go south" :)
My situation kind of sucks sometimes. I do a lot of things ambidextrous. So some setups i fish right handed and others left handed. I cast a fl ugh rod with my left hand then, for retrieve and reeling i hold the rod with my right hand and do everything left handed. Sucks when a fish hits as soon as it hits the water. It is just what feels natural. I didnt really think of it until about a year ago. I want to practice to do it all right had or all left hand
Hmmm - strength and dexterity can't be put in the same bucket imho...I just watched the "big fish" video and a bunch more, and there is a significant amount of "switching and repositioning" of the fighting and retrieving hand........I retrieve RHS only because the part of my brain that controls my LH wind belongs to some fella that doesn't live in my body - it's so foreign that I would (and have) lost fish trying to wind LH....However, my left bicep is probably only 2-5% weaker than my right due to my "righthandedness..." so its natural to fight left and wind right - and i think that is key.....what feels right....or left......but mostly correct :)
Totally agree... what works for you is the best...
Any thoughts or tips on my cast, I cast with my left and retrieve with my right, have my reel set up as right hand retrieve and work a fish still with my rod in left hand and reel right hand, this is fine on still water but fishing my local river we are only aloud to fish the left hand banking of the river which is a nightmare for a left hander or at least in my case as due to foliage behind it makes it very hard to cast the line to a nice upstream 30-45 degree to nicely float the fly down with the river naturally..... Any tips other than use your right hand to cast and completely change the way you fish, its hard to explain but the way I look at it is if your right handed and slight wade in you can back cast down downriver but as a lefty your angled still over the banking.... Any tips would be much appreciated
I'm right handed , casting with right and reeling with left one, how I consider normal and natural....But...it happened not once to switch the rod in my left arm while battling big fish ,because my right arm was damn tired from casting..
IT IS ABOUT PREFERENCE AND COMFORT AND NATURAL DISPOSITION
IN OVER 40 years of FLY FISHING I’ve CAST RIGHT, retrieved RIGHT AND MANAGED THE ROD WITH MY LEFT ONLY WHEN I HAD FISH ON THE REEL. WHEN I FISH FOR SMALLER TROUT, i often use my left to strip in line and my right to trap line against the cork and hold and manipulate the rod; in these instances the retrieve of the reel is a post-release process ….
Thanks for commenting!
left handed person here growing up i have always held the rod with right hand and reeled with my left, my right arm was awkward to reel with. (cut the tendon in half in two fingers on my right hand) and now i am trying to change the way i fish because i have no where near the grip i use to have with my right hand.
The majority of tarpon fisherman I know wind with their dominant hand. When you're pulling on a tarpon, you use both hands, so the idea of fighting with your dominant hand is not an issue. I place my right hand above the cork on the butt section of the rod and pull harder with my right hand than my left. When I need to wind, I let go of the rod and move to the reel with my right hand. The importance of rapidly winding line onto the reel when chasing or fighting a tarpon cannot be understated. Serious saltwater fly fisherman own right hand retrieve reels (if they are right handed).
Hi Ted, thanks for the comment, this is always going to be one of those situations of what ever works for you... I am an obsessive saltwater fisherman whose prime species is GTs on the flats. Quite often in those battles, especially with a big GT heading for the surf that moment of switching and relaxing the pressure can be crucial, and winding to maintain tension the same. I know many serious saltwater fishermen that swear on left handed reels to fight fish right handed, so I really think it boils down to whatever you have the fastest retrieve with... for me, that’s the left hand. There really is no right answer to this, and I have been pleasantly surprised as to people’s strong views on it.. thanks for your input!
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing I can't wind fast enough with my left hand to do what you do. lol. We chase down tarpon with the skiff and have to wind very fast. The GTs seem to be caught more while wading, so maybe that has something to do with it. If you can wind fast enough with your left hand, more power to you.
YEs !!! Well said !
Thanks for the comment!
I only fish for trout I usually just pull the fish in I don't reel the line in much at all
Thanks for the comment!
I probably do it all wrong, but, I am right handed, cast right and reel right, but always fight the trout on the line with my left hand....I never have used the reel, only to store the line. I control the line with my left and can lock off on the rod, while putting on pressure with my right fingers.....big fish could be a different story I suppose.
What ever works for you I reckon ;0)
Aardvark McLeod Fly Fishing absolutely...big fish, dirrent story 😉👍
I have tried and can’t reel with my left hand..I am right handed and reel right..I am just stuck this way...but everything you say makes sense..
Course fishing reels are set up for left hand wind because the hand in which you hold your rod, determines your handedness and it has nothing to do with winding the reel.
A right handed fisherman holds the rod in his right hand and reels in with his left.
A left handed fisherman (like me) holds the rod in his left hand and reels in with his right hand.
If you watch any fishing videos on line, or go to any commercial fishery (for example) you will see the vast majority holding their rod, or pole in their right hand.
When I was a child (I'm in my sixties now) you didn't get reels with reversible handles.
I used to have to hold my rod in my left hand and strike, then switch hands to be able to reel in.
I now live in Scotland and I'm thinking or trying fly fishing but I will need a fly (or centrepin) reel, that allows me to wind in with my right hand for the reasons already stated....
Thanks for the comment…..
I dont know why, but when I fly fish for trout, I cast with my right arm, switch rod to my left arm to retrieve and pull line back with my right hand, then put rod in my right hand again to re-cast etc. Never really used the reel with the drag to retrieve when hooked up..
@@AardvarkMcLeodFlyFishing Your welcome. I have always though I was weird when I fly fish, but I have mastered the art of switching the rod to my other hand after casting. Good subject though..
Have you ever read the gilly or john hill the dorado???
Either...or. Doesn't matter to me. But I did once see a Scott STS 10weight and a Tibor Riptide go to the bottom of the Long Island Sound because dude was fiddle farting around switching hands back and forth while battling a fairly large Albie. I say do whatever works for you...not what some old duffer in the local trout shed says you should be doing.
I’m right handed and if the reel cannot be set up for left hand retrieve I’m screwed. Feels extremely unnatural to reel with my right arm
Amen Brother.
I have a friend who casts right handed and then swaps to reel right handed, even when lure fishing with a fixed spool reel. This annoys me so much that I have to look away when he does this hand-change and bite on my shirt collar😂 He also has a habit of setting any reel's drag very lightly, which has given me the habit of reaching in a tighten in his drag as he plays a fish. This annoys him, thus we are even😎
I'm right handed and reel with my left with fly and spinning rods. Baitcasters, I use my right.
That is the same for me, but didn't think about it until now. Then I thought perhaps it is reel position, above or below the rod.
Sounds good to me.
Thanks for the comment!
Left hand wind!! I grew up in the queen charlotts island with large spin cast reels and right hand wooden knuckle busters
wind right handed cant wind fast enough with my left when fishing for sailfish exercise your left more often to build it up problem solved
i can’t find a right handed fly reels to save my life😐
Most can be switched from left to right..
Ive always retrieved with my left hand, switching hands is not ideal for any fishing in my opinion
I'm both handed because nowadays everything is right handed & it SUCKS.
(-_-)