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Do you use your dominant hand to crank?
Right handed, right hand retrieve. 5%  5%  [ 4 ]
Right handed, left hand retrieve. 87%  87%  [ 71 ]
Left Handed, left hand retrieve. 4%  4%  [ 3 ]
Left handed, right hand retrieve. 5%  5%  [ 4 ]
Total votes : 82
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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:53 pm • # 41 
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Joined: 11/10/12
Posts: 83
Location: Golden State
My right hand is dominant. I cast with my right and reel with my left. For fun and practical use I am learning to cast with my left hand when my right gets tired from casting. I do plan on keeping my rod and reel setup the same though.


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:48 am • # 42 
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Joined: 03/05/13
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Location: Seattle, WA
I retrieve left, reel left. But everytime I catch the fly line on the reel handle (when I'm not catching it on the butt end of my rod of course) I think, "maybe that's why people prefer a right-hand reel".


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:12 pm • # 43 
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Joined: 07/10/13
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Location: Belgium
My right hand is the hand who gives so my left hand takes.... :rollin


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:15 am • # 44 
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Joined: 04/15/13
Posts: 246
Location: South Africa
Panfisher if you meant me, the reel is VERY easy to change the retrieve, simply take the spool off, flip the large cog over(has an R stamped into it) and if the R is not shown its left hand retrieve otherwise its right hand retrieve. Very simple and effective reel this BBS 1. Am considering going back to right hand cast, left hand retrieve, right hand reel/palming. I find it easier to retrieve and give action to the fly with my left hand and strip set if required, but for the 'added co-ordination' I've grown up predominantly right handed so will see whatever works without looking down hey. ;)


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 2:36 am • # 45 
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Joined: 06/19/15
Posts: 50
Location: Idaho
Unsociable wrote:
Anyone try those 'automatic' reels?


Wow, yes but that was about 40 years ago. I cast right retrieve and reel left. With the automatic reel I would operate the lever with my right and strip line in with my left. I may have to dig that up and play with it a bit however it's definitely not ULFF material!
Thanks for forcing my memory banks to work out a bit.
Shawn


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 7:05 am • # 46 
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Joined: 05/15/15
Posts: 20
I have to agree with flflash about using your dominant hand for accuracy while casting. Being ambidextrous I, as well as my daughter, will switch hands to cast if the need should arise and then switch hands to strip line. We are so used to it that I never really took notice of it till this past weekend.
Friends invited me for a charter boat trip in the Long Island Sound. We were diamond jigging for bluefish. They gave me a few tips and explained what to do and "how to use the reel" (yeah, right?). Did not expect to catch anything. Boat stops, lines drop, I retrieve and Bang ! Fish on ! Friends were laughing hysterically as I'm trying to "palm" the reel, hold rod with my right hand, switch rod to left hand to reel, etc. At one point I was turning the backlash knob thinking it was the drag ! Fish just kept running all over Long Island Sound ! When that didn't work I figured, "might as well see if this big "star" at the base of the handle does anything", yay me I found the drag ! Finally landed a 30" bluefish. As my friends are taking a photo of me holding the fish one of my fellow New Yorkers walks up and says, " Nice fish.... What are you a F-----g fly fisherman ?" Too funny !


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 7:13 am • # 47 
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Joined: 08/29/14
Posts: 82
Whichever feels comfortable and works for YOU. There are no rules.


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 2:50 pm • # 48 
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Joined: 10/05/13
Posts: 30
Location: Franklin,Nc
I myself I find it just a whole lot more comfortable to cast right handed and crank with my left.


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 11:40 am • # 49 
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Joined: 02/07/14
Posts: 382
Location: The southern tip o' Texas
FWIW I read years ago that for big, brawny saltwater fish that necessitate reeling in a lot of line after long runs, your off hand doesn't have the strength to handle the task. I call BS on that.

Do what feels natural to you, and don't worry about the "right" or "wrong" way. Having been fly fishing since the fifties, I've seen more folks reel with their off hand than their dominant hand. For me, it feels more natural to reel with my left (I'm right handed) on reels suspended beneath the rod and with my right on reels mounted above the rod.

I have 600 yards of backing on my 12 weight rig. I recently pulled it all off, then remounted it later the same day. What I learned from all that cranking was that a fly reel's handle was never designed for that kind of cranking, and my fingers were cramping before I finished. During a long fight with a lot of line out, I have always alternated between cranking and palming, and never had a cramping issue. The issue has always been the strong arm (actually the wrist), holding the rod. Even two-handing the rod when I can, my rod arm is what always requires the most strength in a long fight. Now I'll be the first to admit that I have not caught enough big fish on flies to consider myself an authority on the topic........ but I'm trying. And I'll be casting with my right arm while reeling with my left hand, and if a fish eats my fly that I can't find the strength to reel in with my left, I'll write it off to good fortune and be happy.


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:30 am • # 50 
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Joined: 04/15/13
Posts: 246
Location: South Africa
It's always very interesting seeing everyone's different take on this, I've pretty much settled into what's comfortable for myself, reel left handed cast right handed. Sadly in South Africa most reels imported (now not fly fishing but bait casters) are right handed, so for me it's quite important to be able to change the setup of the reel if possible.


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 Post subject: Re: Retrieve hand
PostPosted: Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:29 pm • # 51 
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Joined: 12/31/13
Posts: 309
Location: Magnolia, Texas
Cannot stand a right hand retrieve reel and won't buy any. Right hand cast, left hand strip/crank. I've had a few RH only reels and ditched them. Makes 0 sense using your weak arm/hand to hold the right to fight a fish - holding onto the rod is THE most important part of fighting a fish, or in fishing in general. Should be done with the strong hand. It's not like it takes herculean effort to crank a reel, strip line, or pick your nose (unless your boogers are make of neutronium or something.) If a person is coordinated enough to tie their shoes, or dress themselves, and strong enough to lift a fork with their weak hand, they can crank a reel with the weak hand.

Thankfully more big game reels are coming in left hand retrieve, so one day if I break down and get into that craziness, I can have a setup that works for me, instead of this hand switching nonsense.

ALL of my gear rods are lefty retrieve, all of my fly rods are lefty. I think that whole hand switching stuff was a sinister left handed (see what I did there?) conspiracy to mess with right handed people. They created the perfect setups for THEM, and then told all the right handed masses that it was the way to do things. Ned Flanders probably had a (left) hand in it.


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