This is not a very significant comment but I'll make it anyway. I've been fishing low profile baitcasters for years and have palmed them with the little finger behind the rod pistol grip and the other three forward. That works fine for me with the "old style" reels where the bottom of the reel does not go below the reel seat. All the newer reels now have gear casings that drop below the reel seat. I bought one and am having some trouble getting used to it - it seems like my index finger has nowhere to go that feels comfortable. I know that different fishermen have different methods of palming but I'm curious if anyone besides me has experienced any difficulty in making the switch to the "new style" reels and whether or not they altered their grips because of it. Any feedback will be appreciated. Like I said, it's a trivial question but it does make a difference to me over the course of a full day's fishing. Thanks

I never thought about it until I read this, so I grabbed a rod I have it home and it seems that I put my middle finger on the gear box and my index finger just goes along with the rod like I am pointing it at the end of the rod. I never had problems but I remember thinking that the new reels felt so tiny and toyish. Now when I pick up a round reel, it feels crazy awkward.

I ran a check on myself and I cast right handed but change and hold with the left hand . Middle and Index forward the trigger and other two behind the trigger. Gives me a comfort grip .

I had a similar question I posted last year. I only started bass fishing not too long ago so I didn't have to convert my grip from older style baitcast reels to newer, even lower profile, reels. Similar to RonL, I have my index and middle finger above the trigger, ring and pinky below the trigger with my thumb resting on the left side of the reel.

I have smaller hands so my fingers don't really jam into the gearbox as some others do. For example, one of my reels is a gen 3 Revo SX and many people complain about the gearbox of the gen 3 Revos being too low. Compared to other newer reels, this is true but like I said it doesn't bother me.

Lastly, it depends on what technique you're going to use your reel for. Simply put, I find many people hold their reel differently depending on if they're using a technique that's tip-up or tip-down. Balance of rod and reel is another thing. If you're going to be using your reel for a tip-up technique (i.e. T-rigs, jigs, etc) but have a tip heavy rod, you might feel compelled to put more fingers in front of the reel to counterbalance the tip heaviness of the rod. So basically make sure you have a balanced setup by either changing the rod or reel to balance your setup better (this was a problem that I went through).

So my solutions for you are to 1) try experimenting or changing your grip, 2) pick another newer reel where the gearbox isn't as low, or 3) replace the rod or reel to make sure you have a balanced setup.

Here is my old post, I thought it might help. http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/9173004/How_do_you_hold_your_baitcaster

Thanks to all for the feedback. Actually, it was my middle finger that didn't know where to go but I think I've found a place (bottom of gear casing) that will work.