righty vs. lefty

Guy wrote:
Thanks all,
Somehow I feel better about right reeling.
G



Sorry to rain on your parade, but ...

The most delicate part of landing a large fish, IMO, is getting the fish
on the reel, where you can use the drag of the reel and not worry about
snagging slack line when the fish makes a run. I want my dominant hand
-- my right hand -- to be on the rod, controlling the line after a
hookup. This is (again, IMO) the most compelling argument for left-hand
retrieve (for a right hander).

Of course, with small fish it doesn't matter. That's the time for a
long-line release. :-)

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Guy
There is a good reason for a right hand person to reel left handed. A right
hand person normally will cast and hold/work the rod with their right hand.
When your reel is set for right hand reeling and a fish hits, you will need
to change your rod to your left hand so that you can reel with your right.
A friend had his setup this way when we were fishing with a guide in Alaska.
My friend lost several good fish the first day. The guide advised he change
his reel to left hand reel. He changed the reel that night. The next day
he did great at getting fish in. It only took a few fish to break his habit
to reel with his right hand. I saw how much not needing to swap hands on
the rod improves the ability to keep the line tight and land fish.
Chris

"Guy" guytee2 at comcast dot net wrote in message
...
I am a "righty" (politics aside) and learned to reel right handed. After
abuse from some of my leftist fish partners that it was a waste of time to
cast right and exchange the rod to my left hand to reel right was the
"correct" method, I attempted the change. As much as I tried to reel left,
it felt awkward so I changed all my reels back to right hand reel. Just
wanted to know if I was in the minority.

Guy