Any righties use a left handed conventional?

[Three se7ens]

I use spinning most often, all left hand crank.  Grew up that way, and its just natural for me.  All of my conventional offshore stuff is right hand, which feels natural for winching in fish under heavy drag.

Where is gets interesting for me is small baitcasters.  I have a left hand tatula 100 and a right hand lexa hd 300.  The tatula I use like my light spinning reels, but the layout just doesnt feel as natural as my spinning reels.  May have something to do with the rod/reel seat/grip, but I havent really dug into it.  The lexa only feels a little akward because Im not used to working artificials with the rod in my left hand.  I see that as being overcome with enough practice, but I dont necessarily feel the same way about the left hand tatula.   

[philaroman]

I just like keeping my best hand on my rod  

Seriously, using your dominant hand(ARM!!!) for the rod should help you SHORT-TERM!!!
especially, for repeated cast/retrieve & control for up/down jigging
(long leisure fishing w/ plenty breaks is "short-term")

HOWEVER, if you're going hardcore for hours, switching it up may help spread out the fatigue
& avoid that one jabbing pain under that one shoulder blade (I'd rather have many smaller aches)...
most R/H Bass pros use R/H reels, but keep a few lefties for close-up finesse work &
quick-response situations when lures get hit as soon as they hit the water & switching hands looses fish

[Gobi King]

I had to drive in Japan and Malaysia and there the vehicles drive on the other side 

I took me a while to get used to get my left hand used to the stick.

Then the same when I would fly back to Nebraska.

Good point Phil, I need to reteach my right hand to reel again, holding the hold is not the issue. That is one of my angst with the Makaira reels, I need to fish with those.

[jon_elc]

i grew up using left-side spinning reels, casting right-handed.  I used to use the shimano quick-fire trigger spinners.

While i've used right handed baitcasters and conventionals (and have a bunch of these hand-me-downs from my dad), a couple of weeks ago, i tried to switch my spinning reel to the right side and i was all sorts of awkward.  it was HORRIBLE.  my next purchases of conventional and baitcasters will be left hand retrieve.  plus my left arm isn't as quick or strong as my right (which is also slow O.O ) for hook sets.

[jurelometer]

Here is how I see it:

From an ergonomic perspective, the greater difference in right vs left  for most folks is in the hand/wrist vs. upper arm/shoulder.  If you need to continually wind under heavy load, the dominant hand is more effective.  But when  casting, especially one handed, the dominant hand is much more effective  as the casting hand, both for control and for the ability to wind right away without switching hands. If we take personal preferences and individual anatomical differences out of the picture,   I believe it  breaks down like this from a strictly ergonomic perspective:

Fly reel:

Best:  handle on dominant side-  not much winding going on unless you are playing a big fish and turning that silly little knob under load.  But more importantly, the reel shields the knob from the shooting line during the cast, causing less tangles, especially if you twist the rod so that the knob is pointing a bit upward.

Most common configuration:  handle on non-dominant side  .  If the handle is not facing away from your body, and it is not causing problems, it probably means that you don't have the need and/or ability to cast very far.

Spinning reel:

Best:  handle on non-dominant side.    Since spinning reels typically have a high retrieve rate, and since many have gears that  are not capable of being wound under heavy load,  there is no benefit to placing the handle on the dominant side.

Most common configuration:  handle  on non-dominant side.

Conventional casting:

Best:  Handle on non-dominant side.   Lots of casting going on, so better to have the dominant hand managing and working the rod on retrieve.  Until you reach the point where you are thinking about using a fighting belt or railing the rod, winding with the non-dominant hand is not a burden  for most folks.
   
Most common configuration:  handle on dominant side. ( this lefty joins Ron in thanking y'all:) )

Conventional non casting (esp. bluewater):

Best: handle on dominant side.   No casting happening, and may have to wind under load.

Most common configuration:  handle on dominant side.

----

This is not to say that familiarity, anatomical differences and  left vs. right availability (new reels and parts) does not come into play.  With the exception of fly reels (get with the program folks!),  personal preferences may still be be the most important factor.   For example,  left hand  spinning reels are fine for me, but winding left hand conventional reels makes my brain hurt ).   

---

Getting back to the original question:  Yes, a left hand reel would probably be theoretically better if rapid hookset is important,  but switching may be more difficult than you think.   After three days of using a left hand wind conventional, I never got used to it and had to fight the urge to pitch it overboard, but we are all brain-wired differently. 

One other thought:  If you are also speed winding after the hookset,  it may be that the difference in retrieve rate is the key.  That heavy swing on the hook set feels powerful on the rod end, but in deeper water, the effect on the hook side is minimal (the resistance from the water must be overcome before the load gets to the hook), and it is the winding or the fish reacting to the initial sting that actually sets the hook.  Don't know anything about tautog fishing, so not this may not be relevant in your situation.

-J

[Recoil Rob]

Well I bit the bullet and ordered a LH Siegler SGN, we'll see how it goes.

[oc1]

Now that you have bit the bullet and said that you just have to get used to it, you are not allowed to go back to your old equipment.   

[theswimmer]

Recoil ,
I use both for everything .
Most conventionals I use righty but I will spin right or left and fly fish right or left.
For the large conventionals I fish them right but smaller reels I fish both right and lefty .
I just do what feels good. At least that's what Miss Mari says........

[Ron Jones]

I guess I take a different approach than most. My primary concern is fighting the fish. I habitually prove those who believe that lifting the rod above your waist will break the rod wrong, I believe the term is high sticking and it is the only way I know to control a fish. I have more dexterity and strength in my left arm and so I must crank with my right hand.

The old man taught me over 40 years ago...

The rod brings the fish in, the reel holds the line.

The Man

[Three se7ens]

I guess I take a different approach than most. My primary concern is fighting the fish. I habitually prove those who believe that lifting the rod above your waist will break the rod wrong, I believe the term is high sticking and it is the only way I know to control a fish. I have more dexterity and strength in my left arm and so I must crank with my right hand.

The old man taught me over 40 years ago...

The rod brings the fish in, the reel holds the line.

The Man

Especially with light tackle, you gotta keep the rod up to not lose fish.  As long as your drag is set reasonably for the rod, you dont have to worry about breaking a decent quality rod. 

[oc1]

I habitually prove those who believe that lifting the rod above your waist will break the rod wrong, I believe the term is high sticking and it is the only way I know to control a fish.

Semantics. There should be a dictionary for this stuff.  I thought high-sticking means the rod is pointed straight up and the fish is straight down.  When this the case, the tip is pulled down against itself and the power can not be transferred to the butt.  This should be the only way to break a well-made rod.

If the rod is pointing straight up and the fish is perpendicular to the rod, then the power is transferred to the butt while the tip bends and is pointing at the fish.  Since nobody is strong enough to break the thick butt section and the butt section is taking all the load, the rod cannot be broken.  The same thing you are saying. 
-steve

[Newell Nut]

Back to the main topic I have fished conventional right handed and spinners left handed all my life and it works great. Recently a friend had a fish on a spinner with right handle. He handed it to me while he grabbed another spinner. I could not work that spinner right handed. It was simply too weird. The motion is entirely different from hard cranking on a conventional reel. I do not ever want to touch another right hand spinner.

High sticking will break a great rod. Fish don't break well made rods when the appropriate drag for the rod is used. Fishermen with poor skills break rods. They high stick or let the rod hit the side of the boat with a big fish on or line breaks and they slam the rod into the T top.

Dwight

[jurelometer]

I habitually prove those who believe that lifting the rod above your waist will break the rod wrong, I believe the term is high sticking and it is the only way I know to control a fish.

Semantics. There should be a dictionary for this stuff.  I thought high-sticking means the rod is pointed straight up and the fish is straight down.  When this the case, the tip is pulled down against itself and the power can not be transferred to the butt.  This should be the only way to break a well-made rod.

If the rod is pointing straight up and the fish is perpendicular to the rod, then the power is transferred to the butt while the tip bends and is pointing at the fish.  Since nobody is strong enough to break the thick butt section and the butt section is taking all the load, the rod cannot be broken.  The same thing you are saying. 
-steve

With the introduction of carbon fiber (AKA graphite) rods, the definition of high sticking seemed to get stretched to include any kind of bending that put excessive load on the tip section.

You can break the butt on a quality rod.  It happens fairly frequently with lighter, thin walled carbon fiber rods.  A common way that this happens:  load up the rod at the lower end (good), and then lean back (bad).  Extremely common with fly rods and big fish in saltwater, less common but not infrequent with carbon fiber conventional gear.  It has happened more than once to this guy I know (ahem) - nearly always pilot error as Dwight pointed out.     The thinner the rod wall and the stiffer the fibers, the  lower the margin of error.

High angle/long stroke without much load on the reel has its place, but it is just one way to fish with today's more more advanced equipment.  Low angle/short stroking  keeps the fish heading toward you, and also decreases the leverage that the fish gets from the rod.  This comes in handy if the fish/drag setting  is large enough that angler strength and endurance becomes a factor.  And of course there is railing the rod- where the reel does nearly all of the work.   Horses for courses.  I like to switch around based on the situation. 

As noted before,  my brain is not capable of switching winding hands on conventional reels- so this lefty sticks to right wind for all situations.

-J