Casting Efficiency?! left or right hand??

Willem · #1 07-11-2009, 12:53 AM

g'day all,
in need of some advice...

i'm right handed and all my life i have been casting with my right and then switching the rod to my left hand in order to retreive with my right.

watching most pros, i have noticed that majority of them cast with their right hand and retreive with their left.

i've assumed that most of them do this for casting efficiency (not having to swap the rod to different hands the whole time)
is this why most retreive with their left?

should i be training myself to start retreiving with my left hand? especially wanting to compete in a few tournaments in the year to come?

any info or ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Minnows · #2 07-11-2009, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willem

i'm right handed and all my life i have been casting with my right and then switching the rod to my left hand in order to retreive with my right.

Just stick with that mate, I do the same and so do many many anglers I know, switching won't really make it more efficient or save alot of time.

I tried switching wind hand once but had a bad experience hooking a cracking fish, it swam straight towards me and because of my uncoordinated left hand wind, I couldn't wind fast enough, slack line, then dropped the big fish

switched my reel back to right hand wind immediately.

cr@zy_deep · #3 07-11-2009, 01:10 AM

yep, casting with right and retriving with left for a right hander is the way to do it imo.

less mucking around changing hands.

and when you hook a fish you can use the power of you're stronger right hand to fight the fish properly.

i don't know how easy it will be to train yourself to wind with your left though. I was lucky enough to be taught that way to begin with so i've never had the hassle of having to get myself out of the bad habit of winding right handed.

give it a shot though and see how you go.

breno1967 · #4 07-11-2009, 01:13 AM

Totally agree with MinnowMan, if its working right cast left wind stick with it. Had a similar experience and felt like a gumby winding backwards.

cwlalan · #5 07-11-2009, 01:39 AM

I was a right handed b, I believe it's ok for bream with switching but once u hit a massive fish on light gear, u would want ur strong arm to hold the rod.. Holding 3+ kg for good 10+ min might be easy but if u keep hooking on those massive fish.. Eg snapper.. U might want to learn both hand winding .. Took me a few days to get use to now I'm all good with both hands!!

Minnows · #6 07-11-2009, 02:08 AM

I don't think it matters what hand is your strong hand, the ability to wind fast is far more important than having your "strong arm/hand" on the rod, I've battled tuna with my left(weaker) hand on the rod with no problems, we all know how fast they are and if I had my right (strong) hand on the rod and my left (unco) hand winding, there is no way I would be able to wind fast enough if it was speeding towards me, it would just lead to dropped fish.

If you want to switch then do so, BUT be prepared to lose fish in the beginning because of (like Breno said) "gumbyness".

Willem · #7 07-11-2009, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MinnowMan

I tried switching wind hand once but had a bad experience hooking a cracking fish, it swam straight towards me and because of my uncoordinated left hand wind, I couldn't wind fast enough, slack line, then dropped the big fish

.

exact same thing happened to me when i tried it. i only lost a small bream atleast.

well unless more people think i should train my left hand i might just stick to what im doing.

thanks heaps for all the help guys!!

any more opinions would be really helpful

DaiwaFreak · #8 07-11-2009, 02:41 AM

I am a right hander and I recently converted to LH reels. Once you get the hang of it, it's heaps better. You don't have to change hands, and because you got the rod in your right hand, you can work your lure better. Try using LH reels for a few hours and then you will get used to it.

Cheers,

Daiwafreak

cwlalan · #9 07-11-2009, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaiwaFreak

I am a right hander and I recently converted to LH reels. Once you get the hang of it, it's heaps better. You don't have to change hands, and because you got the rod in your right hand, you can work your lure better. Try using LH reels for a few hours and then you will get used to it.

Cheers,

Daiwafreak

+1 u got my point

Surface Breamer · #10 07-11-2009, 03:11 AM

I hope no one takes this the wrong way but every time I see this topic come up (and it comes up often) the only guys who say it makes no difference are the ones who can't get out of the habit or using their right hand to wind.

I have honestly never seen anyone who has made the switch and stuck with it say it wasn't better and then gone back to RHW. I switched with spinning a few years back and last year switched with bait caster and I can honestly say it is significantly more efficient and you have more control. I can still fish the old way if I am borrowing someone else's combo and can't be bothered to change the handle but it just seems to waste so much time juggling the rod and I can't whip the rod around with as much control.

I can see that for older chunkier bait casters there is an argument that you need to change the position when casting and retrieving but with modern palming reels this is no longer an issue.

Seriously, just make the change and stick with it, after a few weeks it will feel natural and you will never look back.

Hooked · #11 07-11-2009, 03:23 AM

My rod always feels better in my left hand...

Danpachi · #12 07-11-2009, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MinnowMan

I don't think it matters what hand is your strong hand, the ability to wind fast is far more important than having your "strong arm/hand" on the rod, I've battled tuna with my left(weaker) hand on the rod with no problems, we all know how fast they are and if I had my right (strong) hand on the rod and my left (unco) hand winding, there is no way I would be able to wind fast enough if it was speeding towards me, it would just lead to dropped fish.

If you want to switch then do so, BUT be prepared to lose fish in the beginning because of (like Breno said) "gumbyness".

Is not only your strong hand but also the more coordinated one. im assuming when we all picked up our first rod and reel we immediately prefered the right hand for winding in the reel because it required more coordination than holding the rod. However as we continue to fish we understand the things that we need to develop in order to get better at fishing, i.e bait/lure preparation, knowing whch areas to fish etcetc.

Anyway.. you might be inefficient in winding with your left hand at the start but with practice it should be as good as your right hand. So changing hands may be slow for you to adjust to at the start, but it leaves your more coordinated hand/wrist to do the things that suit it better, such as imparting a better action to lures, having extra bulk to muscle fish in and also more co-ordination to guide the fish where you want it to go. JMO winding isnt as complex as the aforementioned things, so i reckon leaving your good/strong arm and hand to do the single job of winding in the reel whilst leaving the left hand to do more complex things isnt as good as making the short effort to change hands to have benefit in the future. because in the end, if you are righthanded, your left hand can never be as co-ordinated as your right hand.
Said that it doesnt really matter if you prefer your right hand for winding or holding the rod, you end up using what you prefer.

Dave1 · #13 07-11-2009, 04:29 AM

I would have thought that you learn to compensate for these things, eg. your left hand gets better eventually and therefore be as good as the right. I disagree that the left hand can never be as co-ordinated as the right, as with practice I have learned to write just as good with my left hand as i can with my right.

However I say this not having tried the the LHW method so might have to give it a go

Harro · #14 07-11-2009, 04:48 AM

I can't cast with my right hand. I write with my left hand so i am naturally able to cast with my left so it's not problem for me to wind with my right hand. Any one else do this?

DOOGZ · #15 07-11-2009, 04:54 AM

eventually you will be put in a position were swapping hands after casting is not an option. I have been in exmouth catching fish after fish and losing 0 jigheads compared to my dad and cousin (both experienced fishers) swapping hands and losing endless amounts of tackle. This is because the water was sub30cm and the change of hands allowed the heavy jigheads needed for casting distance to hit the coral which caused so much lost tackle.

Also fish smashing your lure as it hits the water, the changing over could cause slack line and an opportunity to spit the hook.

Also If you are naturally right handed new retrieves and stuff come so much easier to you. The left hand wind may take a bit of getting used to but its dominates in my opinion. It only took about 4 hours to become confident using LHW and i havn't looked back since.