FLY FISHING FAQ: I'M A BEGINNER AND I SEE THAT FLY REELS CAN BE LEFT OT RIGHT HAND REEL. WHICH HAND SHOULD I REEL WITH?
This is a good topic to start a bar fight with, so I’ll just put in my two cents worth and keep quiet thereafter. The answer is: Left or right! There is no right answer. One theory holds that if you are right-handed, you should switch the rod to your left hand and reel with your right. I never got the logic behind that, but here are my thoughts: If you cast right-handed you are necessarily performing complex tasks with your left hand like stripping line and double-hauling, so why not reel with your left hand and continue controlling the rod with your right? For me, it is quite natural to drop my line loops and reel with my left hand while my dominant right hand and arm play the rod. That’s how I’ve done it for close to forty years, so I’ve pretty much lost interest in any other way. My suggestion for a beginning fly fisher is just to start out reeling with one hand until you’re comfortable with the whole fly fishing thing, and then maybe switch reel hands for a season to try it both ways before you become too set in your ways. Read a more in-depth discussion on choosing a fly fishing reel in this Fly Fishing Place article.
Posted by Nick at 10/18/2010 9:19 AM 
Categories: Fly Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing FAQ, Fly Fishing 101
Tags: fly reels how to fly fishing fly fishing for beginners The Fly Fishing Place
Categories: Fly Fishing Tips, Fly Fishing FAQ, Fly Fishing 101
Tags: fly reels how to fly fishing fly fishing for beginners The Fly Fishing Place
I also reel with my left hand and cast with my right hand. To my mind, one should wind in with the opposite hand to your casting hand. The very act of changing hands whilst playing a fish increases the chances of losing the fish; believe me it has happened to me! That's why I changed to a left hand wind.
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