All you folks who reel lefty...

[Randingo]

Do you change your hand position from trigger to palming? Or do you either palm the reel while casting or hold the rod behind the trigger when you retrieve and fight the fish? I've really never understood the supposed efficiency of left hand retrieve unless you palm the reel when you cast. I pitch and flip left handed and palm the reel for every situation possible (some casts have to be made right handed due to the angle of approach), and anytime I need to make an overhand or roll cast left handed I palm the reel as well so everything is already in the position I want it in when I engage the reel. I know lefty retrieve baicasters are a big deal here, but I guess I can't figure out the mechanical advantage... Educate me, please.

[Teal101]

I slide my hand from casting to bait working position. I usually cast with the hand more behind the reel then slip the hand upwards to palm. With the TD-Z pitching reels I never move my hand. The efficiency comes from not having to hop the rod from hand to hand. Its not 100% seamless with a lefty, but it is much fast and less cumbersome. It's also more natural to me since I started reeling lefty with spinning reels as a kid.

[GOOD YEAR 71]

Same here, Teal. I'm left brained, as such I'm right dominant. Overhand, underhand, sidearm, inverted sidearm, pitch, jig, whatever. But I'm an anomaly of sorts as I've been lefty to the tune of either 38 or 39 years.

The last decade or more has been vogue to reel lefty, to my amusement, but the cold truth is it's simply a matter of comfort or preference. You ask about hold position, we've all got our sweet spot depending upon technique. Bottom contact, for instance, I don't palm my reel or hold the rod. Tuck the butt in armpit, middle/ring/pinky under blank, pointer/thumb holding line at the guide (though knob with left for stability). Of course, it's easier to use a spinner and simply hold righty, always between ring/pinky for me, and line between left pointer/thumb but that's a different story...

To answer your direct question, I see no mechanical advantage. Benefit is not moving assembly right to left or vice versa. Why one would bother is beyond me, I don't get it. One chance to drop my assembly in the drink every cast? To what end?

[-Boris-]

I slide my hand from casting to bait working position. I usually cast with the hand more behind the reel then slip the hand upwards to palm. With the TD-Z pitching reels I never move my hand.

Me too - and almost all germans are using lefthand reels. Only left-hander are using righthand reels. This may be caused that nearly all angler start fishing with a lefthand spinning reel.

[Tim Kelly]

My hand is constantly in palming position. Don't need to move it to cast.

[adam lancia]

I slide my hand from casting to bait working position. I usually cast with the hand more behind the reel then slip the hand upwards to palm. With the TD-Z pitching reels I never move my hand. The efficiency comes from not having to hop the rod from hand to hand. Its not 100% seamless with a lefty, but it is much fast and less cumbersome. It's also more natural to me since I started reeling lefty with spinning reels as a kid.

Exactly this for me as well. I started reeling left handed with a spinning reel at a very young age and only picked up baitcasters a few years ago. I tried casting right, switching hands and reeling right but it seemed so foreign and inefficient to me. I picked up a cheap BPS leftie baitcaster to see if it the hand switching causing me grief or the actual baitcaster skills needed and it turns out it was the hand switching. I couldn't work the lure with my left hand either, it's a pretty simple (read: not very smart ) appendage and seemingly incapable of picking up a skill like that. Now had I been working on using my left hand for fishing as long as I have for basketball, things might have turned out differently.

I usually cast with my index finger or middle finger in front of the trigger and then sometimes move my hand to completely palm the reel. I have fairly big hands so I don't have to move my hand around much to feel like I have a good grip on things. I also haven't learned to keep the line between my index finger and thumb yet so that probably has something to do with not fully palming the reel very often.

[masterbass]

Yep, after casting I move my hand so I can palm the reel with my index finger under the line.

[cure-hb]

I don't switch hand after casting

[reznor]

It's simple.You don't make a hookset or move a jig with the reel.Your best hand on rod always.If you are right handed : left handle baitcaster.

[Randingo]

OK, so it's completely personal with no great advantage and technique varies. I grew up fishing spinning gear for 8-10 years before I ever picked up a baitcaster as well, but there was virtually no such thing as a left handed retrieve baitcaster back in those days. My second baitcaster was the original low profile Shimano-built Lew's Speed Spool. I overcame any sense of awkwardness quickly. I don't see any difference between repositioning my right hand from cast to retrieve and changing hands, and I've never had any problems working the bait or setting the hook with the rod in my left hand. At some point I'll add a lefty retrieve just to see if it will reduce fatigue over the course of a day of fishing something that requires a lot of rod work like a jerkbait to switch between hands throughout the day.

[SteveSchmelzle]

I made comments six months or so ago saying the reason there are so many righties, is because there just wasn't selection in the 80's and into the 90's for lefties.

so like the poster above, folks just got used to reeling right handed, and switching the rod from one hand to another.

I assist in a local shop, and when a young angler comes in for his first baitcaster, 7 or 8 out of 10 right handed anglers choose the left handed reel....

Many die hard right handed, right reeled anglers, will argue that switching rod from one hand to another is just fine...and it is.

but when they started using BC'ers, if there was the option of a left handed reel, i'm very sure 90% of these anglers would be using left handed reels.

Shimano is just daft when it comes to making left handed reels.

Much like Shimano will tell things like "most anglers like split grips", "most anglers like eva foam grips", "most anglers use right handed reels" ... it all comes down to one thing ... PROFIT!

Less cork = profit.
Lower tooling costs = profit

And I'm a Shimano fanboy btw, owning well over 40 shimano combo's.

It is just simply the truth....

[Bass1980]

My right arm is so much more dominant that's the reason I use LH reels. Fight fish with my Right and also cast with my right. Never a need to switch hands after a pitch. I'm bass fishing, not cranking on a huge salt water lure or winching in some tuna. How that for efficiency lol.

I'll finish off with saying it really doesn't matter because it's personal preference but if there is really a debate then LH wins on efficiency. Unless if you use RH reels and cast and pitch lefty. Then we're even.

[jjbassnforfun]

Preference works for me.

I cast with my right so I mostly use left hand reels. But I do use some right hand reels to give the right arm a break on long outings. Just hate switching the rod after a cast when speed fishing. So if I'm throwin cranks, I pick the lefty back up. For the most part if I need to wait for the lure to sink, I'll grab a right hand reel.

Totally hate how many manufactures don't have all the ratio's available for the left handers.

[paulito]

I choose lefty reels because I am right handed and want the rod in my dominant hand. That being said, I can cast better with my right hand. I palm the reel with my thumb ontop the reel, three fingers above the trigger, and pinky below the trigger. I do not need to move my hand from this position when casting. That being said, I can use right handed reels fine and land just as many fish. However, casting accurately is still hard for me when casting with my left hand, so when I cast with a right handed reel, I have to cast with my right hand, then switch hands. It is annoying and so I prefer the left handed reels. I keep right and left reels to reduce fatigue on a long day when the fish are just hammering, or when I am using reaction baits extensively.

[fishballer06]

My hand is constantly in palming position. Don't need to move it to cast.

Same here.