Paul: As a right handed person who reels with his left hand, I could argue that especially for large fish, it is more important to control the rod with my master (right) arm than it is to control the rod with my (subordinate) left arm reel and control the reel with my master (right) hand. I am in control of the rod 100% of the time and no changing of hands which I find cumbersome.
Neville (Nev)Gosling Greater Vancouver, BC Canada -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Paul Marriner Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 7:17 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [VFB] LHW & RHW While I'm sure to get plenty of static, there are sound reasons for right-hand reeling when right-handed. Not for small fish, but for larger species. Spinning reels are anti-reverse, most fly reels aren't. If you palm the spool, or even have to frequently wind and release, your best hand is the most sensitive. If I have to tail a fish I'm more coordinated with my right hand. The rod changeover from right to left hand is virtually instantaneous and has never given me a single problem in more than 40 years of fly fishing. If you look in books for pictures of older salmon reels (single action) you'll see that virtually all of them are right-hand reel; there was a good reason and it wasn't to accommodate left-handers you can be sure. Of course YMMV. Cheers Paul www.galesendpress.com -- Paul Marriner Outdoor Writing & Photography. Owner: Gale's End Press. Member: OWAA & OWC. Author of: A Compendium of Canadian Fly Patterns (co-author), Stillwater Fly Fishing: Tools & Tactics, How to Choose & Use Fly-tying Thread, Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies, Miramichi River Journal, Ausable River Journal, and Atlantic Salmon.
