I am a right handed caster. When using spinning or casting rods, I will make my cast and switch the rod to my left hand to work the lures.
However, on a fly rod, I will make my cast and continue working the fly with my left hand. Is there any set method in fly fishing as to which hand should hold the rod while working the fly. As it is now I will hold the rod in my right hand until I have to use the reel handle and then switch the rod to my left hand. It is something that I have always wondered about. Sometimes I will forget that I am using a fly rod and jerk a small fish right out of the water on a hook set.

when i began fly fishing i was taught to cast right and wind right handed. for many years that was the traditional method. not sure exactly why but one explanation i heard was that
since a fly reel is a one to one ratio you have to wind rather fast when the fish is on the reel and you have more coordination winding right handed. you can wind faster and smoother. i still fish that way. cast right handed and move the rod to my left when i get the fish on the reel. it is perfectly comfortable for me. it might be awkward for someone who does a lot of spin fishing where he winds left handed and holds the rod in his right hand. most modern fly reels can be set up for right or left hand wind. do what feels most comfortable for you. it is perfectly acceptable to cast right and wind left.

Ellis
There is no set method that I know of after 60 years of fishing with a fly rod. Find a method that you are comfortable with and that gives you control of your rod. Why don't you adjust your reel to reel left handed as most righthanders do with a spinning rod? This saves the need to switch hands with the rod.
Stan

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

Thank you gentlemen.

I would do what ever is comfortable with you. I am right handed and hate to switch hands to reel with a casting reel. I prefer to use left handed casting reels so I can cast with my right and reel with my left and all of ms spinning reels are set to reel with left hand,

Mike

I used to cast my fly rod right handed, and then reel left-handed. That meant that the fly rod was in my right hand all day long. However, I've started getting my fly reels in right hand retrieve. The reason I've started doing this is fatigue. I discovered that I can fish much longer if I hold the rod to cast with my right hand, then switch it to the left hand to fight the fish (and consequently, reel with the right hand). It sounds like it wouldn't make all that much difference, but when you spend all day making long casts with sinking lines, that bit of rest while fighting the fish helps a lot.

I do the same as you Andy and it feels fine so I will continue with a right handed reel set-up. Most of the fish I catch are small bass and bream and I use my line to bring them in. This year I plan to really get serious about fly fishing in saltwater so maybe I will catch something that will put me on the reel. Even the saltwater fish I have caught so far have been small.

Larry had the right answer reel wise. When all the reels were direct drive or lower multipliers the right hand was selected as the reeling hand because you can spin the reel 6 to 8 per cent faster with that hand, that is also why the handles were shorter than they are now, you can spin a small diameter circle faster than a large diameter circle with your reeling hand. Now that's pretty much a mute point with the high speed casting reels of today, so I use mostly left handed reels as Larry does.

Spencer

Lefty Krey says you should both cast AND reel with your dominant hand. The way he explains it makes a lot of sense!

Hi Ellis,

That's why they make fly reels that can be switched to reel with either hand. The only thing you might want to remember is when building fly rods for people that reel such as you is to put the hook keeper on the opposite side as the handle. Helps keep line from hooking on it.

Hank
On The Rocks Fishing
Wells, ME.

On a fly rod, I cast right handed and handle the line with my left hand including playing fish on the line. When I have to go to the reel, I switch hands and hold the rod with my left, winding with my right. The reason I wind with my right is that the reel handles are on the right side. I like them over there so they are out of the way of the line. A few years ago, I thought about this and actually switched a reel to a left handed wind. For some reason, when in the stream, it felt unnatural to me and seemed the line kept getting hung up on the handles.

I switched the reel around to my old normal way and decided that it was best not to fool around with Mother Nature.

Try ballancing the rod better with more weight at the end, maybe a heaver seat. Also try a larger handle. The ones they make today I think are to skinny. I make mine about 1 1/4 plus in size OD
Also the shape of the handle can be made to fit the hand better. Every little bit helps

Ellis. I am basically right handed. However, I always reel with the hand not holding the rod on the cast. I cast right handed with a spinning rod, left handed with a casting rod, and either hand with a fly rod. Some fly rods I cast better on the left (I first learned to cast left handed on the fly rod) and so set the reels up for right hand retrieve. If the rod casts just as well on the right, I set it up for left hand retrieve. This way I can equalize the fatigue over the course of a day and match the wind conditions, as it is often easier to cast on one side or the other. I consider it nonsensical to switch hands after you cast. If you are strongly right handed, set up your reel for a left hand retrieve. You will be totally used to it in a few outings.

I could never understand why someone would cast right AND reel right with any rod (unless that was all the reel choice available...perhaps on someone else's boat).

I still don't get it.


Sorry....

Keith

it's only my experience but I have seen people lose fish on the switch of hands because they didn't keep slack out of their line....I have seen this not once or twice but many times and many different people...I know this is only anecdotal but I just can not see any reason to swtch hands and those that say they reel better/faster/stronger with their dominant hands...well that surprises me since it is a gross motor action not a fine one and there should not be enough of a difference in your handedness for that type of motion.

just my two cents....which in this economy would only be worth half a penny

Howard