Here's a question. Why do right handers reel spinning reels with the left hand and baitcasters with the right? I am a righty but I fish baitcasters "left handed". I reel my spinning reel with my left hand also, but that just makes me a normal right handed fisherman   Is it wierd for anyone else to switch back and forth from left and right handed reeling?  For years I have had friendly disagreements with all of my fishing buddies because I am backwards. I was just curious as to how many righties fish baitcasters left handed. Most of my family does and it makes more sense to me to cast with your strong arm, set the hook with your strong arm, and not switch hands in the middle of a cast. Which brings up another question. Wouldn't it be easier for flipping, pitching etc if you didn't have quickly switch hands when the lure hit the water? If there is a quick strike, I'm ready to set the hook cause I don't have to switch hands.

A lot of the pros on the bass fishing circuits do flip and pitch with a lefty. And some just pitch with the rod in their left hand.

That's a good question, more to follow....

I never thought about it but thats how i fish also on my baitcasters i reel with right and spinning reels on the left, that is just more comfortable to me............JOHN

I got this from Penn...In the old days, (before they started making Left hand retrieve BC reels), it was common knowledge that due to the smaller "radius" of a BC reels handle, it would be easier for most people to reel with their "strongest hand" because MOST people are more dexterous in their predominant/writing hand. Also, "old timer's" rods did not always have a trigger! Trigger BC rods are a fairly new concept, (like 50-60 years only!). It's easier to control the strike of a fish while grasping the reel than the rod. It is a "dexterity" issue that various company's (years ago) did actual research to find out. Now as for spinning reels...
They were originally developed to allow for the use of artificial flies, or other lures for trout or salmon, that were too light in weight to be easily cast by bait casting reels. Therefore, with the rod in your RIGHT hand you can easily make continuous casts, with your predominant hand, and reel/retrieve with your weak hand (left).

Several years ago I started using bait cast reels after a lifetime using spinning reels. I'm right handed. I practiced with my bait casters and used them to become proficient. When I'd use my spinning and fly cast reels it felt weird to switch my cranking hands. So I converted my fly cast and spinning reels to right hand retrieve for consistency. Now cranking any reel with my left hand feels strange and my technique is far better using the same hand to retrieve on all my reel types.

I follow the whole right hand dominant, dexterity concept. Likewise I talk with the phone in my left hand. My right hand can dial the numbers.

For myself, my right hand handles the landing net, so right hand cranking means it's free to grab the net.

I've never done anything but the standard approach...spinning reels with the left hand...baitcasters with the right. I can drop one and pickup the other and everything feels just fine...so am I boring...or lucky?
                                                                                                           

Baitcasters with a left sided crank are relatively recent and many of these reels come with a right hand crank only. Don't know about anyone else but I normally cast my baitcasters two handed so which hand I crank with is kinda immaterial. Just happens that my trolling rods are all right crank and spinning reels all left.

Boring or lucky, sometimes I wish it was more comfortable for me to reel with my right hand. There are a lot of nice reels out there that I don't even look at twice because they don't make a left hand retrieve model. The really funny thing is I am super right handed. It's a miracle I can reel a fishing reel with my left hand. The only other thing I can think of that my left hand does is keep my watch from falling off of my left wrist. That dexterity thing makes sense though. I like low profile baitcasters so I can grip the reel in the palm of my right hand.

Well I'm a Righty that likes to reel with my left hand just find it easier!! to each his own!

I'm 65 and when I was learning Bait casting reels, they only came with a right hand cranks and conversly, when spinning reels came out, they were only left hand hand cranking. I got used to that. I have tried a left hand casting reel but need to work on it because the way I hold the rod, I find myself with my hand up next to my body body. I have my fly reels mostly set for left hand reeling because I learned to operate "under the rod" reels that way.
The wierdes thing I have seen is people who get a spinning reel and operate it essentially "upside down and backwards". I have seen similar things with other types of reels but not so often.
In the end, I guess it is what works for you.

Barresi, forgot to mention in my previous post, I have a "trigger" bait casting rod that is older than I am. It is square steel, about 4 feet long and has a hardwood handle and the guides are probobly imitation agate. The trigger is steel and part of the reel seat mechanism.

Don't use bait casters. Have no use for them. But when I use spinning reels, right hand holds the rod (since it is the dominant arm) left hand cranks.

I also used right hand baitcasters when I first started fishing but it always seemed odd that I didn't have to change hands with a spinning reel but I did have to change hands with my baitcasters. About 25 years ago I bought my first left hand crank baitcaster and taught myself to use it. It just seems more natural to me now. If you would try a left hand crank baitcaster for a full fishing season you would end up scratching your head wondering why you didn't try it earlier. My opinion anyway. Ebay has a bunch of left hand crank baitcasters for reasonable prices if anyone wants to try it.

Can't you switch the handle to the opposite side on most spinning reels?

Every spinning reel I've owned except one, you could switch the handle around. From the time that I was a little kid, my dad and uncle had left hand retireve reels, spinning and casting. That's what I learned on so as I got older that's what I stayed with. I didn't realize until later that left handed casting reels are only available on some models, and most people retireve bait casters right handed.

So, can you switch the handle's side on baitcasters? I don't use them but I am curious.

All of the spinning reels I've come across you can switch the handles from left to right, As for baitcasters, I've never seen one that you can switch. It's almost impossible to switch baitcasters retrieve from left to right and right to left. The actual frame would have to be modified to do that. On the retrieve side, there's too many gears and drag disc to do that.

Another note guys...when spinning reels first came out, they were just like baitcasters...left and right hand models. Then someone must have realized how easy the handle could be reversed, and that was the end of that. This is an original Mitchell 301, the "left handed" sister to the famous 300.