# why do Australians wind with the wrong hand ???



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

I just wonder how it came to be that Australians wind a spinning reel with the wrong hand (left handed people excluded).
It would naturally be fixed with evolution but the shops sell reels to the kids with the handle on the right so what chance do they have.
The first thing i did when i gave my kids fishing gear was to swap the handles to the left so it becomes natural.

I thought the only problem with having the handle on the right was that you have to change hands after you cast but i recently noticed someone changing hands to net a fish which meant if it ran you had to swap it back, it all looked a bit awkward.

So does anyone know why it ?


----------



## M477viking (Jul 5, 2008)

:? not sure how that came about with threadlines but you really have no option with baitcasters. If your right handed you use your right hand and if your left handed you use your left. simple


----------



## L3GACY (Sep 2, 2007)

I'm a leftie so I guess in your line of thought I do things the "right way". I think that whilst it is a definite advantage to cast with one hand and wind with the other it probably doesn't matter for the average rec fisho.


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

L3GACY said:


> I'm a leftie so I guess in your line of thought I do things the "right way". I think that whilst it is a definite advantage to cast with one hand and wind with the other it probably doesn't matter for the average rec fisho.


what about if you are casting at a bank or tree and want to start winding before it hits ? or casting at surface fish that may take it on landing, surely that would get messy ?


----------



## zipper (Feb 27, 2008)

i'm a right hander but wind with my left, use my stronger arm for holding the rod


----------



## L3GACY (Sep 2, 2007)

keza said:


> L3GACY said:
> 
> 
> > I'm a leftie so I guess in your line of thought I do things the "right way". I think that whilst it is a definite advantage to cast with one hand and wind with the other it probably doesn't matter for the average rec fisho.
> ...


Obviously I wouldn't know since I don't get the chance to experience it but what I was saying is that some people just wouldn't care so much.


----------



## BJM (Oct 5, 2008)

I'm a leftie too...but to me, it would just be plain weird winding with the left hand !


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

L3GACY said:


> keza said:
> 
> 
> > L3GACY said:
> ...


I know Jon, i was just discussing not criticising.
I have a problem if i go on a charter boat and end up with a trolling reel, it just feels to weird. Once you start with one hand i doubt you could ever change.


----------



## Swamp (Nov 20, 2007)

swapped all my reels to left hand wind last year. It takes getting used to but make fishing easier.


----------



## Guest (Nov 4, 2008)

there I was thinking I was alone...


----------



## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

I'm right handed but I do it with my left hand (and fish LH too).


----------



## garmac (Oct 5, 2008)

I am right handed and do it the "wrong way" according to this theory.

I prefer to net using my right hand, would feel unco and risk losing fish netting with my unco left hand. I can control my rod quite well with the left so no problem for me.

As soon as fishing becomes that serious it wouldnt be fun anymore. 8)


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Swamp said:


> swapped all my reels to left hand wind last year. It takes getting used to but make fishing easier.


AHHH that's what i was wondering 
Must have been strange changing over.


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

kraley said:


> I dunno.
> 
> Why do kiwi's have webbed feet?
> 
> :ducks:


because they brought in laws to protect the sheep


----------



## kiwipea (Jun 17, 2008)

"because they brought in laws to protect the sheep"

When did this happen !!!!!! Quick tell me


----------



## Swamp (Nov 20, 2007)

keza said:


> Swamp said:
> 
> 
> > swapped all my reels to left hand wind last year. It takes getting used to but make fishing easier.
> ...


Managed to rip one of the handles of the reel when i first swapped because my winding action wasn't very smooth. 
It took a lot of hard work over summer to get used to it :lol: , casting and retrieving lures 2-3hours a day 3-4 days a week ;-)


----------



## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

I wind with my dominant (right) hand. Dominant v non dominant might have been more telling 
I'm thinking about changing though.
The "Stronger" hand holding the rod does not work for me though, my left (non dominant) is actually stronger due to being used for all the "dumb" work - lifting and carrying.


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Junglefisher said:


> I wind with my dominant (right) hand. Dominant v non dominant might have been more telling
> .


i think you are right, i'm amazed how many lefties there are.


----------



## BJM (Oct 5, 2008)

Same, Unrelated - but we have a managers meeting last year, and of the 15 managers at the table - all but 6 were lefties
We're taking over I tells ya !


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

god damn, i tried to add in a way to sort out the lefties and i seemed to have wiped the poll
what a twat  
if you can be bothered vote again

actually i think i still screwed it up because you can only vote once


----------



## Feral (Oct 18, 2008)

Dunno but I love it!
I'm left handed but fish both left and tight handed. Learnt this when I got really bad tennis elbow in my left arm and could not hold a rod with a fish on it in that hand for nearly a year.
I now carry two rods, one with a left hand set reel, the other with a right hand set reel. (I do this with both spinning reels and bait casters) I cast with the hand that will always hold the rod, reel with the other. Swap about when I get tired of casting, or want to use the lure on the other rod.


----------



## Scouse (Aug 1, 2007)

I have always wound with the left hand, i find it odd that people use there right hand to wind for the same reason that you have to swap hands after casting.

Ian


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

I cast with my right (dominant) arm because if I cast with my left (manky spastic unco) arm I would tie myself in knots and have to constatntly pick trebles out of my head.

I also wind with my right (dominant) arm because again the unco spastic left side of my body makes it impossible to do otherwise.

ps. when I type bad things its done with my left arm. keza sucks. woops there it goes again.... bad left hand :lol: ;-)


----------



## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Its all to do with the earths rotation in the southern hemisphere Keza :? :? :?


----------



## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

I am not normally ambidextrous but I use both right and left, especially on the kayak. For the kayak I have one rod set for each side so both handles are facing me, that way if I hook up on one and have it in hand, I can still wind in the other without removing it from the holder. Always did this in boats and on the bank.
Have not answered poll as I cannot tick both.


----------



## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

Keza,

You're so viva la revolutione.... If anyone is going to make $1.06 million dollars inventing a semi useless super cool fishing thingy ma-jiggy gimmick, it will be you. ;-) 
I am Insanely jealous of you guys with a right brain that works.
I tried jigging left handed the other week, when my arm got tired and my hand was cramping up. Couldnt do it at all. wrong wrong wrong.
I think weights are the answer.


----------



## YakN00b (Jun 9, 2008)

I wind with the right because I made a point of always having my dominant hand free to reach for knives guns etc. I dont need to do that anymore but its a long time habit.


----------



## Southerly (Apr 20, 2007)

Cast right, wind right. Too lazy to change. Have no problem with quick retrieves except for skipped or flat casts there is plenty of time to engage reel and start cranking before the lure hits the water due to the arc of the cast. Useful when casting to tuna where a skipping flat out retrieve is needed.


----------



## RADISH (Oct 4, 2008)

I'm ambedexterous ( not to trying to be a smartie pants) so which hand is the right one for me ????.

The reason could be that kids ( or thiose new to fishing ) tend to yank madly when a fish hits the line and there's a greater chance getting the fish in without pulling the hook out if they yank with their "weak" hand. That's what my granddad said when he was teaching me how to fish. Then again he believed only devil children wrote with their left hand so that's not much help either


----------



## Plasman (Aug 27, 2008)

I'm right handed cast with left (& right depending on length of session) and wind with right.
I find that reel control is better with dominant hand also right hand free to land fish with net or grippers. I think i would have more air swings if i tried to land fish with the left.


----------



## revoyakker (Feb 26, 2008)

I swapped to left hand wind from the Aussie default two years ago after fishing in Europe. There, they almost universally hold and cast the rod with the right and wind with the left. It must give an advantage for the right handed majority because coarse fishing in Europe is built around finesse and efficiency.

Changing was easier than I thought, although I was a bit worried because my habit was ingrained by Luderick fishing with a centrepin. As it turns out, it is easy enough to control a reel with the left hand (even a centrepin) and keeping the rod on the right makes sense for a right handed person. I'm glad I changed. I now find it bizarre to think that I used to cast with my right arm, swap the rod into my left hand and wind with my right hand. What a waste of movement.


----------



## Brownie (Aug 15, 2007)

I was originally brought up into fishing using Alvey sidecast reels as a kid and didn't use spinning or baitcaster reels until in my mid 20's.
The alveys were always right hand wind (except for specially built lefties) and this naturally transferred to how I set up my spinner reels.
I always noticed that when the reels came out of the box they were set up for left hand wind and thought nothing of it till I saw Rex Hunt (I think) explaining about economy of winding with the left hand.

Still I did nothing about it and to this day still wind with my right hand. :shock:


----------



## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

i have tried to wind with my left, but it feels unco and strange...i know i will have to persist with it before it becomes comfortable...but overall it is a much better way to use threadlines


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

I'm right handed and I fish with the correct and proper method(left handed)

Anyone who doesn't do this is a wimp and poser and should probably leave the hall.


----------



## rawprawn (Aug 31, 2005)

YakN00b said:


> I wind with the right because I made a point of always having my dominant hand free to reach for knives guns etc. I dont need to do that anymore but its a long time habit.


This is a big part of it for me also (apart from feeling unco winding with my left). When you get the fish to the side of the yak you want your dominant hand free to handle the fish etc.


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

i guess it is what you are used to but i am right handed and have no trouble tail grabbing a fish with my left.


----------



## rawprawn (Aug 31, 2005)

keza said:


> i guess it is what you are used to but i am right handed and have no trouble tail grabbing a fish with my left.


Tail grabbing??? The fish I catch are usually too small to grab em by the tail


----------



## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

I'm with Brownie - I've always thought Alvey had a lot to do with it. With a relatively large, direct drive reel like an Alvey on a long, two-handed casting rod, it is fairly natural to use the dominant (right) hand to wind. Growing up in Perth in the sixties I saw lots of beach fishos, including my dad, migrate from Alveys to largish eggbeaters, especially Mitchel 303s, with the handle on the RHS. I'm a leftie, so I've always been virtuous, but, like most lefties, I'm a bit ambidextrous, so I can more or less cast with my right hand, including fly rods. Handy for teaching my right handed wife and kid.


----------



## Duane (Oct 20, 2007)

I have a theory that the more we paddle the more we would equal out the strength in our dominant and non dominant sides.

Co-Ordination is a whole other issue.....................


----------



## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

THis thread is flawed from the start - where did this rule that right handed people winding with the right hand are doing it wrong come from  

I personally think people using their left hand to wind are using the wrong hand.....interesting.....now means all those righties using lefties are weird :? :?

Being born with two hands means either is correct or we'd be born with stumps ;-) ;-)


----------



## seasquarie (Sep 25, 2008)

Here's a thought to complicate matters. I _used_ to cast and retrieve right handed until I got my Hobie Outback and started fishing with SPs in tidal rivers and creeks for flathead and bream. Constant adjustments to the rudder to stay pointed the right way while marking time in the flow dictated that I find a more ergonomic means of employing the rod so to speak. So, instead of switching hands to adjust the rudder I went from RH casting/RH winding to RH casting/LH winding. This was an easy transition for me since I am one of those strange types that writes RH and golf, cricket etc LH! I've tried to convince other Hobie drivers but they think it's retarded! :?


----------



## Joffa (Nov 8, 2007)

Now to mess with all of you.......mwaaha haha ha.....

Right handed...
Wind left handed with spinning reel
Wind left handed with a fly rod
Wind RIGHT handed with a baitcaster! I just feel more secure with the reel cupped in the left hand after casting.....dont know why!
Wind RIGHT handed with a boat rod (big overhead) despite being stronger in right arm (no smart @#$$ comments please!  )

Go figure....


----------



## murd (Jan 27, 2008)

Fishing creeks and rivers in the yak I had to teach myself to cast both left and right handed, wind right handed. I can do this with a baitcaster as well but it took a lot more practice and many birdnests. Years ago I had laser surgery on my eyes and the right eye didn't sharpen up as planned. So, I had to teach myself to shoot a rifle left-handed/aiming with the left eye, which actually became a bonus because it meant I could cover both sides of the yak if the crocs charged.


----------



## Blaen (Jul 4, 2006)

I am ambidecksur... ambidextio... ambidocur...

I can use both hands.

I fish and use a rifle either right or left handed, not that I have picked up a rifle since leaving the defence force.


----------



## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

I'm right handed and wind with my left, it's how I learnt to do it and it's what feels natural to me. I just can't get the hang of this crazy right hand winding stuff with baitcasters and trolling rods, it just feels wrong. I reckon if tackle shops swapped the handles over to the left more people would learn the correct way of fishing :twisted: :lol:

I used to do alot of fly fishing and I think that trying to learn casting a fly line not using your dominant hand would be a struggle.

Does anyone know why baitcasters and O/H reels are predominantly set up for right hand winding (or is this a dumb question)?


----------



## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

Flump said:


> Does anyone know why baitcasters and O/H reels are predominantly set up for right hand winding (or is this a dumb question)?


Ahhhh the sweet smell of proof that this is the correct way to wind  

Since majority are right handed and almost all reels are right hand wind it proves that those who are right handed and wind with their left hand are in fact not right but wrong :shock: :shock:

Therefore in conclusion it appears that those who profigate that right handers should wind with their left hand are severely mistaken ;-) ;-) :lol: (Failing this I will also rely on the CHewbacca Defence - Johhny Cochrane made it work for Chef :? )


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

i think the australian market switched the handles over just to be different.
Or was it just to p#ss the trout fisherman off.

I wonder how many trout fisherman wind with the right ?

I have noticed buying reels from OS that the reel may have 4 bearings but the same reel sold in Oz has 5 bearings. The Oz shop will tell you that it is because it is better quality but i think it is just because the Oz reel needs an extra bearing to enable people to wind with the wrong ( ;-) ) hand.


----------



## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I reckon you're all getting a bit too excited about not much :?


----------



## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

......or are you all just trying to rack up 50 posts to enter all the photo comps.....like me


----------



## Detritus2099 (Jun 8, 2008)

redman said:


> Flump said:
> 
> 
> > Does anyone know why baitcasters and O/H reels are predominantly set up for right hand winding (or is this a dumb question)?
> ...


Hey, if you want to hold onto the rod with your weaker hand when you get a bloody big fish on, be my guest.

Personally I will be winding with my left and hanging on to that GT with my right.


----------



## anthropomorphic (Sep 27, 2007)

Off-hand wind is the way to go. Since trying it (I'm a righty, wind with the left) I haven't looked back. There is no way I would ever buy a right hand wind reel again. 
Cast with right, (bc or spin) take up slack before the lure hits the water - beats cast with right hand, swap to left hand, wind with right hand and day of the week. You lose vital time and control.

I use different casts based on swordfighting techiques so not being able to cast left handed with any accuracy is no drawback. An offside snap or rolling slot casts flatter anyway.
Cheers,
anthropomorphic


----------



## fisherdan (Apr 17, 2007)

Why do Kiwi's ask so many questions.... 

http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13466&hilit=+which+hand


----------



## Dan72 (Jun 1, 2008)

I grew up winding right handed,then 25yrs latter I started fly fishing and started useing my left.Since then I've been north Barra fishing and got myself a lert hand wind bait caster, took a bit of getting used to,but now I prefer it. I changed my spin reels over but I still have my right hand wind overhead reels I just have to put up with, to expensive to replace.The best part of the Left hand wind is not swaping hands everytime you cast,when your flicking lures around thats a lot of time saved.
Dan


----------



## GregL (Jul 27, 2008)

I reckon its cos of being on the southern hemisphere - you know, how water draining out of a sink spins one way in Australia, and spins in the opposite direction in Europe?
Must be the reason.
Mmmmm....beer.


----------



## Zimbo (Nov 11, 2007)

Like earlier post (Ed) I think it was because that's how the first reel (small Mitchell in my case) I used wasn't convertible (right hand wind only). Have changed subsequently. Unfortunately not all reels offer both so still end up with reels with handles on both sides but left feels more natural now (I'm right handed). Nice trip down memory lane.
cheers
BP


----------



## homemade (Jan 24, 2008)

Being left handed i love the way reels come out of the box..............they are about the only left handed thing i can find except perhaps LH tinsnips............and perhaps american import cars. :lol: :lol: :lol:


----------

