Handedness of fly reels

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kevinhaney1
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Handedness of fly reels

Post by kevinhaney1 »

First, let me state that I'm an extreme novice fly fisherman. I have a couple of reels from the 70s that reel with the right hand. I always thought this was standard for right handed folks, but I recently took a local fly fishing class and the instructor wanted me to put the reel on backwards and reel with the left hand. This feels unnatural to me, even though it makes theoretical sense since you don't have to switch hands when you hook a fish. Most pictures of old fly reels show them with a right hand wind. My questions is, has this always just been a matter of personal preference or was there once a standard for reeling with the right hand that's now changed to reeling with the left hand?

Kevin
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Ray Hencken
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Re: Handedness of fly reels

Post by Ray Hencken »

Reel with whatever hand feels most comfortable to you. Most early fly reels were right hand wind. However, with the arrival of spinning reels which are left hand wind when the rod is cast with the right hand, left hand wind fly reels became more frequently used by right handed fishermen.
I cast with my right hand and reel with my left hand. It is more comfortable for me and I can control the rod and the fish better that way.
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john elder
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Re: Handedness of fly reels

Post by john elder »

I am left handed so reeling right handed works best for me. As Ray says, do what’s comfortable. Most reels can be converted to right or left hand and early click pawls without drag will pretty much work either way. Line guides can often be flipped. If used as the fellow suggested, you would have to strip out the back unless you reinstalled the line in the other orientation. Depending on the reel, you may or may not have a useable line guide...what kind of reel do you have, Kevin?
ORCA member since 1999
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Specializing in saltwater reels...and fly reels...and oh, yeah, kentucky style reels.....and those tiny little RP reels.....oh, heck...i collect fishing reels!...and fly rods....and lures
kevinhaney1
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Re: Handedness of fly reels

Post by kevinhaney1 »

I have an old Herters reel (copy of Pfleuger Medalist) that you wind with the right hand. I guess that's why that seems more natural to me, even though I haven't used it in about 40 years.

On a related topic, anyone ever use a wooden Nottingham-style reel for a fly reel?

Kevin
Kevin Haney, Vintage Anglers
http://www.vintageanglers.com
Don Champion
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Re: Handedness of fly reels

Post by Don Champion »

My guess is they would be rather heavy and not balance the rod.
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Eric J
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Re: Handedness of fly reels

Post by Eric J »

Left hand winding for a right handed fisherman started with the advent of spin-fishing. Right handed bait casters switch the rod to the left hand, and so did fly fishers. The idea was to crank with your more dexterous hand. Many fly anglers still switch hands, but the majority crank left which is why right-handed fly reels are often sold for less than identical left-handed reels. Greater demand for the LHW reels. Some older reels don’t convert well, like the Pflueger Medalists and many old Hardy’s with the fixed agate ring line guides. The old Orvis CFO’s convert quick and easy.
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Midway Tommy D
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Re: Handedness of fly reels

Post by Midway Tommy D »

One of the reasons why automatic fly reels were so popular at one time was partially because right handed fishermen got tired of switching hands after the cast. I have both and still much prefer to use an auto rather than a cranker, even a left hand cranker. :)
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)

Tom DeLong, NE
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