I grew up using a spinning reel, so when I went to a bait casting set up, is was just natural to get a left handed reel.
Casting with the right hand and realing with the left just seems natural.

Roger

Unless people hold a baitcast reel way different than I do they are still going to have to do a double grab when they cast right and reel left. I palm my reels with my thumb up on top of the reel. my thumb wouldn't be able to reach the release the way I hold during the retrieve so it would make no sense unless you hold the rod down below the reel by the trigger. If you hold it down there you don't have as much control of the rod. So...... I'll stick to casting right and reeling right. For those of you that are thinking about if it would work for you grab one of your rods and hold it just like you would during a retrieve and see if you can cast from that position without shifting your hand a little. I've had this argument with several people that they could make more casts and have less wasted movements if they cast with one and reel with the other but unless you sissy grip the rod there is no way it's more efficient. When I cast right and reel right the reel goes straight from my right hand to my left palm before the bait hits the water and my hands are on the reel handles. A lot more natural movement to me than casting with my right hand, repositioning my right hand up on the reel to palm it, then start reeling. Just my long winded 2 cents and probably confusing and rambling.

Am Right handed cast right handed reel left. If zebco had not screwed up when they invented the spin cast reel everyone would cast right and reel left...

I have never owned a zebco we used spinning gear when I was young thus the rod in my right hand reeling left with no changing. If you were young and owned a zebco you learned to cast change hands and then reel.

I cast right and reel right.

I talked to Gary Klien abot this one day and he did not seem to think that it cost him any cast of fish. He has made a pretty good living casting right and reeling right.

Throw with right and reel with left on spinning and baitcasting. Started with left hand reeling on spinning gear in the 50's and never liked hand-switching on baitcasting. It's been great to be able to buy good left-hand baitcasting reels for years.

I have better control and it feels more natural with my right hand, but if I have to I can use my left

I'm left handed but I cast with my right, switch hands, and reel with my right. I can flip with both hands, but much more proficient with my right.

Cast left and reel right, but I'm left handed.

Cast right, reel left. Forced myself to stop hand switching and it feels more fluid not changing hands.

I tried the left side cranks once, did not feel
" right " . I cast with 2 hands 90 % of the time. So I
really don't do all that much hand switching.


MO

I read an interview with one of the original founders of Penn Reels. He said that in the early days of baitcasters, the gearing, ratios and such on the reels was so crude that they were really hard to crank. They put them on the right because that's where most people (right handers) had the strength and manual dexterity to operate them. Then, this just became the 'standard', even after improvements were made.

I know a couple of left-handed fishermen, and I think it's interesting that none of them actually use a left-handed reel... I think if you're a righthander who learned a baitcaster before, say, 1990, you probably throw right, crank right. More and more lefty reels are sold each year, though.

I'm a right hander. I started throwing right and cranking right and can do it pretty well even now. But after borrowing a friend's lefty reel one day, I realized I needed to make the switch. The main thing is hook sets--just way more powerful and quick for me with the rod in the right hand. Haven't looked back.

Of course, most of my fishing idols throw right, crank right, so there must be something to that!

Got a buddy that switches, and it don't matter his right is just as good as his left, now me.....now way got to have one hand for the beer

I cast with my right and reel with my left. I used to do both with the right but found I feel the rod and line better with my right hand and set the hook better with my right as well.

Not loosing any transition speed with switching was also a benefit for me.

But I shoot with either hand as well so it's not that foreign to me.

Most of my reels are lefties it feels natural as most have said and I have more control and strength but I also own right hand reels and do the hand switching I can be pretty good at both and I feel like it helps me since I am in the back of the boat and giving any situation I can do and cast with either are also what I have learned is that if my arm starts to get tired if we are running and gunning I just switch hands and it's like a small break. That's what works for me but I say do whatever feels natural to u