Left Handed Fishing Reels

It always begs the question, "why do almost all spinning reels have the handle on the left side and most bait casting reels have the handle on the right?" It just didn't make a lot of sense. With a spinning reel, you cast with your right hand and hold the rod with your right hand and reel with your left hand. With most bait casting reels, you cast with your right hand and than switch the rod to your left hand so you can reel with your right hand. What is that about?

When I am fishing, most of the time I want my strongest arm holding the rod. That would be my right hand since I am a rightie. The only exception is when we are trolling for tuna and after reeling in several tuna, it is nice to get a break and reel a few fish in with the other hand. The arm holding the rod gets a serious workout. So in my tuna trolling set-ups, I have both left and right hand retrieve reels.

I remember years ago when I first started learning how to use bait casting reels. We were casting spinner-baits in the brush for largemouth bass and I was being taught by a pro. I learned to underhand cast a spinner-bait so it would very quietly enter the water without a splash, but the idea of switching hands to reel just didn't feel right. And with the pistol grip rods we were using, my left hand was a bit weak on the hook set. I went and bought a couple of left hand retrieve casting reels and all was right with my world again. These days I use both left handed and right handed fishing reels, but my first choice is a left handed fishing reel. It isn't so much the idea of switching hands as it is just a matter of my right arm is a little stronger and more coordinated so I want to hold the rod with my right hand. I am better with the hook-set and better when playing the fish that way.

The above photo shows some of my left handed reels. In the left column top to bottom is a Penn 321, Newell L229, Newell L533, and a Penn 113H. In the right column is an ABU7001, ABU6001C, ABU6501C, and another Penn 113H. Most of the major reel manufacturers are now making left handed fishing reels in some of their more popular models. There is a demand to be filled. Besides the reels I have shown, some of the other brands with left hand reels are Shimano, Daiwa, Okuma, Pflueger, and Quantum. Some manufacturers only make limited runs of left handed fishing reels but you can find these at your local tackle store. You just sometimes have to ask as they may not be in the display case. For salt water big game fishing there is still only a handful of choices. But in time with the growing popularity of left handed reels more and more manufacturers will step up to the plate.