Baitcasting: who switches hands?

[Fat Boy]

Who switches hands from the cast to the reel?

I'm kinda old school and weird.  With spinning tackle I cast righthanded and reel with my left.  When casting using a baitcasting set up, I cast with my right and switch hands, and reel with my right.  Why?  Well, I learned that way when there were very few quality baitcasting reels available in left handed models.  Now, here's the weird part, when I flip and pitch, I use my left hand on the rod to pitch, and my right hand stays on the reel.  A lot of folks flip and switch, but I learned that way and it just seems faster and more fluid to me on short distances.  But with a spinnerbait, I still switch on short casts.

Weird?  Yep.

How about you all?  Do you cast and switch, or just keep it like it is?

[Santo180]

I'm a lefty and I use my right hand to retrieve.  My baitcaster has right hand retreive so I don't switch hands ever.

[bigredfishing]

right hand controls the rod, left hand does the reeling.  Same on all my reels; casting, spinning, fly.

[Outdoorsmen]

Who switches hands from the cast to the reel?

I'm kinda old school and weird.  With spinning tackle I cast righthanded and reel with my left.  When casting using a baitcasting set up, I cast with my right and switch hands, and reel with my right.  Why?  Well, I learned that way when there were very few quality baitcasting reels available in left handed models.  Now, here's the weird part, when I flip and pitch, I use my left hand on the rod to pitch, and my right hand stays on the reel.  A lot of folks flip and switch, but I learned that way and it just seems faster and more fluid to me on short distances.  But with a spinnerbait, I still switch on short casts.

Weird?  Yep.

How about you all?  Do you cast and switch, or just keep it like it is?

I do the same thing

[icemole]

I learned by by switching hands and continue to do it that way. I did try a left hand retrive after they came out but it just felt wrong (spinning I don't switch cast RH and reel  LH)

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

I'm a lefty, and cast with my left, reel with my right, no need to switch.

It just looks awkward having to switch hands.

[Catfish78]

I'm kinda old school and weird.  With spinning tackle I cast righthanded and reel with my left.  When casting using a baitcasting set up, I cast with my right and switch hands, and reel with my right.  Why?  Well, I learned that way when there were very few quality baitcasting reels available in left handed models.  Now, here's the weird part, when I flip and pitch, I use my left hand on the rod to pitch, and my right hand stays on the reel.  A lot of folks flip and switch, but I learned that way and it just seems faster and more fluid to me on short distances.  But with a spinnerbait, I still switch on short casts.

I am the same, I tried to use a left handed bait-caster but it just felt odd so went back to the old way.

As they say; if it aint broke, don't fix it. 

[bassjunky]

I cast and reel with my right hand on both spinning and bait casting set-ups. I did not realize it was unusual, until some friends pointed it out. Good thing is that most of my buddies cant borrow a rod when on the water as the reel is set up wrong for them.

For any long casts I usually switch hands while the bait is still in the air, this allows me to be set up when the line hits the water

[TheDL]

I "switch" hands, but in a different way.  I am right handed (writing) person, but I cast with my right hand (spinning), then put the rod in my left hand after the cast and reel with my right hand.  Everyone says that's wierd, but it's just how I did it from the the start and anything else feel wrong.   Oddly enough, with a big trolling rod (bait caster) I hold the rod in the right hand and reel with my left, again, not sure why - just feels right. 

[TheDL]

hmm, just read the poll - it seems we're not that odd at all, the highest percentage (35%) answered that they cast/reel with the same hand

[Fat Boy]

I cast and reel with my right hand on both spinning and bait casting set-ups. I did not realize it was unusual, until some friends pointed it out. Good thing is that most of my buddies cant borrow a rod when on the water as the reel is set up wrong for them.

That's funny...I never thought of that advantage

For any long casts I usually switch hands while the bait is still in the air, this allows me to be set up when the line hits the water

This is the big argument lately, especially with pitching, that by switching hands you might miss a quick biting fish.  It's never happened to me though because I also switch when the lure is in the air, and also when I flip/pitch the rod is in my left hand so I never have to worry about that.  It's just the way I learned.  And really, I never lose contact with the rod/reel even when I cast.  KVD flips/pitches and switches hands...didn't seem to hurt him much! 

Another argument is that someone who doesn't switch gets more casts in, and I don't buy that either.  Ever watch Jimmy Houston tossing a spinnerbait?  He's a casting machine, and he switches hands.  The lure isn't out of the water much at all.  The key for him is he casts from several different angles efficiently and accurately.

[slipperybob]

I prefer to switch hands because I like to palm the reel.  There's no way for me to cast effectively with the reel palm.  Also I like to use both hands on my casts.

[the jigs up]

I am right handed. I reel with my right hand for both my spinning and baitcast reels. Most of my friends think it's backwards. The only time I reel with my left is when I am using my noodle and fishing tight spots in the river. It just works better for flipping the line in and out of tight spots and then not having to switch hands. It feels a bit weird but much more effective and less stressful. It is so easy to hang up in the rivers I would rather concentrate on my line.

When I cast my spinning I switch hands to cast but before the lure hits the water I have switched back and am ready for action.

With my baitcaster, I can and do cast many different ways (left, right handed, sideways, overhead, backhand, one handed and 2 handed) whatever the situation requires. I love my baitcaster for that reason, when I am in a grove I can cast and reel without hesitation and can cover a lot of water that way. For those of you that struggle with the baitcaster keep practising and you will learn to love it. Set up is crucial for every type of lure and condition.

I also flip with my baitcaster and hold the rod with my left hand and reel with my right.

[SISIF]

The answer choices aren't exactly stated right with the question... but when I cast and retrieve, I cast it with my right, then switch the rod to my left to reel with my right hand. My left hand isn't as coordinated it feels weird to reel with it. One thing I noticed is if I'm casting a heavy lure like 1-2g, I gotta make sure when switching hands I don't close the spinning reel or that lure in mid flight can yank the rod out of my hand.  Luckily when it happened the rod was close enough to shore to rescue.

[jibbs]

i cast with my right and reel with my right...