Right Hand or Left Hand Baitcaster???

[toadie_79]

Hey everyone, I am thinking of buying a baitcaster but I am not sure if I should get a right hand one or a left hand one. I have mainly been a spin reel user most of my life so I have always casted with my right hand and reeled with my left. It seems a little awkward to cast with my right hand and then switch to my left so I can reel with my right. Too me it makes more sense casting with one hand and reeling with the other. What is everyones thoughts/opinions on this? Pros and Cons.

On a different note, I am thinking about getting a Lew's Tournament Pro baitcaster and pairing it with a fenwick hmg 7 feet medium-fast tip. What do you think of my choice?
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[Revival]

Definitely Left.

I am right handed and was in the same situation and went with the left and so glad i did. It just feels more natural being that i used spinning reels most of my life. The question i asked myself is, "What hand do i want holding the rod if i am fighting a monster?"

I have heard good things about the less but never owned one. I know sportsman has quite a few of them if you want to see and compare them in person. Also heard good things about the Fenwick.
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[wolfs4evr]

DITO!!! I have no idea why one would want to cast and swap hands... Never understood that at all. (Especially when it comes down to pitching and flipping.) I believe it more comes down to the beginning. You could only get BC reels in right hand retrieve. People got use to the whole arm swap thing and just continued that way passing it down from generation to generation. Now that most reels are available in a left hand retrieve it is a no brainer to go with that.

This reel?
[url "http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lews_Tournament_Pro_Speed_Spool_Casting_Reel/descpage-TPSS.html"]http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/...l/descpage-TPSS.html[/url]

If so I have one. Planning on getting more. Great reel!!! Bummer the 5.4:1 is a right hand retrieve only though. I use it on my medium depth crank bait rod. 8-15 foot divers or so.

On the TW site...

I see a 7' med/mod fast. I'd couple that with the Lews 6.4:1 for cranks.

I see a 7' medhvy/fast. I'd couple that with the Lews 7.1:1 for any single hook applications (texas rigged worms, carolina, etc, etc)

For your first BC set-up and with Mead in mind the cranking set-up is the way I would go. I use my cranking rods 50 times more often than any of my plastic rods.

If you are planning on using your first BC set-up for plastics and you are stuck on Fenwick I'd go to the Aetos line of rods.

Personally... Dobyns rods or nothing for me
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[lvfishingdude]

i am the exact opposite. I am right handed and use my left hand to retrieve on a spinning reel.

On a baitcaster, I have to use my right hand to retrieve. Tried a ton of left handed bait casters and could never get comfortable with them.
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[fsh4fun05]

Left, 100% If you started out using a right hand bait caster than that's what you are used to. I started out using a lefty spinning and bait casting. More and more the lefty models are coming out in different retrieval speeds and models.
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[TheWhizzle]

Right handed baitcasters were awkward to me at first, so I tried a lefty and never got comfortable with it.

My biggest problem was the circumference of the reel handle motion.

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The smaller reel handle of a baitcaster makes a motion with a smaller circumference, and that was the biggest problem I had adjusting.

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The circumference of a spinning reel handle motion is much larger.


I still prefer right handed spinning reels and right handed baitcasters.

Like Wolfs said though, flipping and pitching are the exception to the rule for me. I do prefer a lefty baitcaster for those techniques only.
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[gstott]

I felt the same way about the left hand models, and that's what I use. I also now have 3 Lew's reels. They're really good reels for the money. I also have a Fenwick HMG and love it too. Sounds like a fantastic setup to me []
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