How do hold your rod?

[Noddy]

Only my second season fly fishing, did a lot of spinning and beachcasting a few years back.  As a right hander it seems natural to me to hold the fly rod in my right hand and retrieve with the left hand, with the reel set up for a left hand wind.  Thats the way I worked a spinning rod.  The beachcaster I tucked the rod under the right arm held the rod with the left hand and wound the reeel with the right hand, it seem the natural way to do it.

The reason I'm raising this question is I have watched a Paul Young program recently,  he holds the fly rod in his right hand, retrieves with his left hand, but has his reel with a right hand wind.  So at some point he must swap the rod from hand to hand, as when he hooks a fish he always winds the line back on to the reel. 

I don't think he ever looks cack handed, but this must be quite awkward.  I'm planning to look at some more of his programs its possible he was using a borrowed rod and reel.

[Hans]

Weird enough in most English speaking counties the reel is set up for right-hand retireve. The rest of the world is set up left hand retrieve.
In salmon-angling there is a reason to have the reel RH. You hold the rod under your right arm during the swing, and if a samon takes, sometimes it takes line almost immedeately.
Would the handle of the reel be on the left side, if wil almost certainly hook into your clothes.

But, remember, since you British drive on the wrong side of the road, it does not surprise me that you hold the reel mounted wrong as well. :biglaugh; :wink:
Cheers, Hans.

[V-4]

I'm left handed. Totally. Couldn't imagine trying to do anything technical with my right hand.
I hold the rod in my left hand when I'm casting and retrieve the line with my right hand. It all makes sense so far doesn't it?

Here's where it gets odd.
If I hook a fish then I place the rod in my right hand and strip line to control the fish with my left. If I'm going to use the reel to retrieve line then that's also done with my left hand as the reel's set up for a left hand wind.

I've never given it much thought really. It just seemed natural to do it that way.

Regards, Tim

[Ian_M]

Well Tim, meet another "lefty" that does it the very same.

Now that is strange.

[lnelson20]

Brought this up some time ago under the thread ''changed hands'' unusual one right enough,i am also a lefty,but don't change hands

All the best

Chris.

[Clan Ford]

Hold the rod in my right hand and retrieve with my left (even when Salmon fishing!) - I'm a right philistine!

Norm

[just_steven]

I'm a right handed switcher!  :shock:

I hold the rod in my right hand, retrieve line with my left and switch hands once i have the fish on the reel.

It would seem to make sense to have my reel set up for left hand wind, but it just feels awkward whenever I've tried it.

I think I must have been taught with a rod set up like this and it's just stuck. I know my brother fishes the same way, as I kind of showed him what to do with my old rod/reel and it seems to just have stuck.

Steve