The Clear Advantage of Right Hand Wind

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Published on Sunday, 29 November 2009 12:07

Written by Bruce Sandison

I am thinking about fishing and the weary days that still separate me from my favourite pastime. My rods have been examined and stored away. I have taken the line from my reel, cleaned it, and hung it up to dry. All my fly boxes are ‘sorted’; lost flies retrieved from jacket pockets various and returned to their proper place.

I have tidied my fishing bag - discarded nylon, half-eaten sandwiches, that chocolate biscuit that I was keeping for later, the unwashed coffee flask, and, most surprisingly, my driving licence.

 

I have also completed a task I should have addressed months ago; changing my new reel from its current left-hand wind setting to my preferred option, a right-hand wind. Doing so was surprisingly easy, even for someone who finds it impossible to read instructions and invariably destroys whatever is placed in his hands to be either adjusted or repaired. However, to be truthful, I can’t really claim credit for my success, because a nice man from Hardy’s telephoned and gave me instructions on how-to-do-it that even I could understand.

Anglers are creatures of habit. We rarely change the way we fish, from one season to the next and persist in employing the tactics and techniques that we have grown up with. In my case, I have always used my right hand to operate the reel in moments of need, such as when playing a fish; even although I cast with my right hand and have to pass the rod from my right hand to my left hand at the critical moment to play said fish. Granted, in my case, catching fish is not a regular occurrence, but that is what I am most comfortable doing.

I have never really thought about it, but, recently, other anglers have suggested that I am wrong, and that I should use the left hand to wind in, because, they claim, in doing so I don’t need to change the rod from hand to hand and that not doing so gives greater continuity and control. It might all sound a bit academic to those not afflicted by the disease of fly fishing, but, well, given this fishless time of year, what else is there to talk about or argue about – other that the idiocy of using boat seats but can we save that for another time, please?

It has always seemed to me that it is important, when playing a fish, particularly one that might possibly qualify for filling the glass-case of our piscatorial dreams that the right hand should be free to deal with emergences. After all, provided that you are naturally right-handed, that is clearly the best option. Presumably, if you are amongst the allegedly more clever species of Homo sapiens, and left handed, then you should cast with your left hand, and, upon hooking a fish, pass the rod to your right hand so that your best hand, the left appendage, is available for dealing with problems.

Yes, I know, this is getting ever more esoteric, but in my angling life I have sometimes found myself in the position of having to justify the way I fish to certain people who claim that they know better. I will not mention any names for fear of embarrassing my good friend James Paterson of that ilk. In truth, however, I suppose that it is not important. The only thing that is important, surely, is how something works for you. In any case, I guess that I am too mature to change the habits of a lifetime now.

A few years ago a friend of mine, who is right-handed, was fishing, alone, for salmon on Loch Ness. Exactly why he was fishing alone or, indeed, why he was fishing the north shore of the loch in the vicinity of Balchraggan, is not clear, but there he was, in a strong to gale-force wind plying his trade. And he got into a fish. After a few minutes, the top section of his rod separated from the bottom section. With great presence of mind, he managed to replace the top section, and, at the same time, keep in touch with the fish.

Which is when he noticed that for some reason the screws securing the outboard engine to the transom (the technical name for the flat bit at the back of the boat), had come loose and that he was in imminent danger of loosing the engine over board. Keeping the rejoined rod high, he tightened the screws and saved the day, and bill for a few hundred pounds for a new outboard engine. But by this time, the wind was blowing him every closer to the rocky shore. He knew that he had to land the fish and take control of the boat to avert disaster.

Which is when the landing net refused to open, flick it as hard and as often as he might. And he did. Resigned, but with the salmon still firmly hooked he grabbed an oar and guided the boat, bow first, onto the shore. He leapt out and after a considerable struggle successfully beached the fish. Exhausted but happy, he then heard loud cheering and hand-clapping coming from directly above his head. A bus-load of tourists had been watching the whole incident and were applauding. Modestly, my friend doffed is cap and bowed.

Now, I very much doubt that this story would have had such a cheerful end had it not been for the fact that during all of his travails my friend was able to use is best hand, his right hand, to cope with the catalogue of disasters that threatened to lose him his fish. Thus I rest my case.

Bruce Sandison is a writer and journalist and author of nine books, including the definite anglers' guide, 'The Rivers and Lochs of Scotland' which is being revised and updated prior to republishing.

He contributed to 'Trout & Salmon' for 25 years and was angling correspondent for 'The Scotsman' for 20 years. Sandison writes for the magazine 'Fly Fishing and Fly Tying' and provides a weekly angling column in the 'Aberdeen Press & Journal'.

His work, on angling, Scottish history and environmental subjects, has appeared in most UK national papers, including 'The Sunday Times', 'The Telegraph', 'The Daily Mail', 'The Herald', 'Private Eye', 'The Field' and in a number of USA publications.

Sandison has worked extensively on BBC Radio. His series 'Tales of the Loch' ran for 5 years on Radio Scotland and was also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC World Service. His series, 'The Sporting Gentleman's Gentleman' and his programme 'The River of a Thousand Tears', about Strathnaver, established his reputation as a broadcaster.

Sandison has had extensive coverage on television. He wrote and presented two series for the BBC TV Landward programme and has given a number of interviews over the years on factory-forestry, peat extraction, wild fish conservation and fish farming.

Sandison is founding chairman of 'The Salmon Farm Protest Group', an organisation that campaigns for the removal of fish farms from Scottish coastal and freshwater lochs where disease and pollution from these farms is driving wild salmonid populations to extinction.

Bruce  won 'Feature Writer of the Year' in the Highlands and Islands Press Awards in 2000 and in 2002, and was highly commended in 2005. Bruce lives near Tongue in Sutherland with his wife Ann.