What hand do you reel in with

[G Ritchie]

Do you reel in with the left or right hand and what are your reasons for doing so.

[buckfastvalley]

allways used my left hand to reel in. it just seems natural to reel with the left hand while holding the rod with the right hand.

[Speyducer]

As a Right hander, I have always held the rod, either as the fly swings round pending the pull/take, or stripping/winding in, or casting, or playing a fish in the Right hand, so...Left hand wind for me for fly reels.

However, as I now have a few Right hand wind (and not convertible) reels (Hardy Perfects - older models), & I have used one very recently in fishing (Hardy 3.75" Perfect (spitfire finish)), which was a joy to use, Right hand wind has not been a problem.

So I would say predominantly Left hand wind, but 'flexible'.

I do feel that I have better (more confident) control of the rod and any attached fish when holding the rod Right handed....so far!

Mike

[Tyne Angler]

Hold rod with my right and reel with the left. Not sure why, just feel more natural I guess.

[Willie Gunn]

Hold the rod with the non dominant hand and reel with the dominant it is the only proper way. Reeling with the non dominant is an Americanism, have you ever watched them eat, with the fork in their right hand no idea really.

[tynespeycaster]

Rod in right, reel in with left, for the majority.

Just feels right somehow.

[say]

I reel in with the non dominant hand (left), probably due to the fact that I started fishing as a wormer and spinner

When I started fly fishing with the single handed rod I tried winding in with my right hand but this required transferring the fly rod from my right to left hand.

Therefore it's left hand for me

[sinkingtip]

I tend to agree that if you are a right hander it seems to makes more sense and feel more 'natural' to wind with your left and vice versa.
The only argument IMO for having the reel wind around the 'other' way, and I am not even sure that it holds any real merit, is the simple fact that your dominant hand / arm will probably become the more tired of the two as the day progresses and on the occasions when you do get into a heavy fish, or are involved in the lengthy playing of a fish, the benefits of being able to comfortably and confidently transfer your rod to your non dominant arm become obvious.

As Mike says, be "flexible".

[charlieH]

I reel with my right - but I'm left handed.

I learned this way from the age of about four. Although I suppose my left handedness would have been evident at that age, it doesn't seem to have occurred to my dad or others who first got me fishing to set up my reel the other way round. I suppose I started out using other people's kit and it would have been too much hassle to switch it all over.

Although I arrived at winding with my non-dominant hand by accident rather than design, I wouldn't now wish to change. I think the business of winding a reel comes down to muscle memory - although basically less dextrous with my right hand, I have used it on the reel for so long that I can wind considerably faster with my right than with my left hand, and doubt that I could improve my speed significantly if I were to relearn now. On the other hand, when playing a fish for a really long time (not so much thinking of salmon now, but my few experiences with larger quarry) I've been quite glad to have the rod in my stronger arm, as fatigue has set in.

Another situation where winding with the non-dominant hand proved useful was when fishing a shrimp or prawn in Norway (and occasionally in the UK, too). We always used multipliers, and the usual method was to trot the bait along the bottom with the reel in free spool, so additional line could quickly be run out just by lifting the thumb. As such, I had my more dextrous hand on the rod, feeling the weight in contact with the river bed and able to control the line as it ran out, but with my right hand free to turn the handle either to retrieve line if needed (in order to continue to fish the bait round as the pool shallowed on the side one fished from) or if a fish took. Incidentally, on the subject of spinning, I use fixed spool reels RHW, so am consistent with all types of kit. I've never understood why people use one hand for fly and the other for spinning.

Frankly I think if there was a simple answer to which was better, it would have become clear long ago. For me, winding with my non-dominant hand seems to work OK - and if my table manners offend WG he's always been too polite to say so!

[Willie Gunn]

charlieh said:

I

- and if my table manners offend WG he's always been too polite to say so!

From what I remember you just used both hands to eat, but I was usually to drunk to notice.

[charlieH]

williegunn said:

From what I remember you just used both hands to eat, but I was usually to drunk to notice.

You're sounding like Rowley Birkin QC now.

[Willie Gunn]

charlieh said:

You're sounding like Rowley Birkin QC now.

We are definately are drinking to much I cannot even remember Rowley being there.

[robmason]

As ever Malcolm is completely wrong, but by way of compromise may I suggest both hands. In an ideal world it should change according to what shoulder one is casting off. Impractical I know. As it happens I'm useless with my left side so do everything with my right. Hold the rod that is. Confused???

[neptune]

reel with left as said by others its because im right handed & it feels natural

[tweed ghillie]

If you are right handed and hold your rod in your right hand while it fishes round, I would advocate a right hand wind. Why? well if your rod is configured to left hand wind, and a take occurs your reel handle is against your body if you hold the rod in your right hand, which opens up the possibility of the reel handle fouling your clothing and possibly losing a fish.

[robbie]

I reel with my left hand and rod in right. This is for reasons already stated by others: natural feel, stronger right hand holding the rod etc.
Tweed Ghillie has a point, however the cack handedness I feel when using someone's right handed reel set up is far more likely to cause me grief than the reel catching my clothing.

[Willie Gunn]

robbie said:

I reel with my left hand and rod in right. This is for reasons already stated by others: natural feel, stronger right hand holding the rod etc.

Why do you need a strong hand to hold the rod, stick the butt in your tummy, and the tip absorbs all the strain, 1 finger will do the job.

[robbie]

Do you hold a snooker cue with your left hand ? No real weight in a cue simply push it backwards and forwards.
I would suggest that the Rod is moved around and handled far more during the day than a Reel handle is turned.
If a rod is held in the right hand, and then transferred to the left simply to turn a handle that could quite happily been turned with the left hand- does not make sense to me.
I feel comfortable with the rod in my right hand and reel in the left. I know!! lets have a heated debate!!! oh alright then, how about a poll?

[Speyducer]

The dominant hand/arm is not significantly stronger...or at least, in scientific tests there is a only a minor difference in true maximal strength between the two sides ....<10%.

The real difference between the dominant and non-dominant sides is to do with active control and feel for whatever you are doing, some would say 'confidence'.

As the dominant side of the body has a better control, feel & confidence in that control, it is natural to use that side for the more controlling actions.

Much as a Right hander will hold a tool like a screwdriver or hammer with the Right, and hold the object to be hammered of have a screw inserted with the Left, then a Right hander (a mere 91% of the population) will feel more comfortable with the rod handle in the Right and reel handle being wound with the Left, as, there is more requirement to control the rod at most times than the reel.

Now, if it is 'customary' to teach fly fishermen to wind the reel Right handed, then it just follows that one must hold the rod, when reeling, in the Left. If such a learner/novice is told that this is the way it should be done, then it is easy for brain to adapt to these circumstances, and make the appropriate adjustments, and it later becomes 'natural' to fly fish that way.

So, apart from the natural Left handers, most of the Right handed fishermen who reel with the Right hand have been shown & taught to use the reel that way, or that reels are set up as Right hand wind, rather than come to use the most natural method of winding with the Left and holding the rod with the Right.

Be it never no mind.....fish as you are most comfortable, for there is no absolute correct way to fish, except in that comfort that you are actually fishing, and not whiling away the hours with some other less worthy pursuit.

Mike

[Willie Gunn]

robbie said:

Do you hold a snooker cue with your left hand ? No real weight in a cue simply push it backwards and forwards.

But the difference is that that is the hand you need for control, when playing a fish an inch here on there means very little but sometimes the extra spped you can generate makes the differeence.

robbie said:

I would suggest that the Rod is moved around and handled far more during the day than a Reel handle is turned.
If a rod is held in the right hand, and then transferred to the left simply to turn a handle that could quite happily been turned with the left hand- does not make sense to me.
I feel comfortable with the rod in my right hand and reel in the left. I know!! lets have a heated debate!!! oh alright then, how about a poll?

Yes you can cast with your right hand, you just change to reel in.

A poll when have they ever shown one thing is better than the other, more popular, yes, but hardly correct, just look at the mess the country gets into every five years.