Change from left hand to right hand

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    Posted: 22 May 2024 at 6:08pm
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Hi guys

I’ve ended up with a problem in my left elbow which gives me a bit of pain when I go fishing, basically it’s tennis elbow and it’s because I hold my fishing rod in my left hand and wind with my right hand.

Doctor thinks it will take about 6 months to come right so it’s time to swap to holding the fishing rod in the right and winding with the left. I’m lucky I really only use spinning reels so can swap the handle over.

Has anyone here swapped over and did it take long until it started to feel normal.

Cheers Kerry
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote MB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 May 2024 at 6:31pm
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I'm right handed, hold the rod in my right and wind left handed. I could not imagine getting comfortable doing it the other way around. It just feels so wrong. That said, people learn to do all sorts of things after significant injuries, so I guess anything is possible!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kandrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 May 2024 at 6:39pm
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Originally posted by MB MB wrote:

I'm right handed, hold the rod in my right and wind left handed. I could not imagine getting comfortable doing it the other way around. It just feels so wrong. That said, people learn to do all sorts of things after significant injuries, so I guess anything is possible!
I’m gunna be an old dog leaning new tricks here, but I’ve had a go with the line tied to the work bench, holding the rod in the right hand won’t take long to get used to but winding with the left hand feels really gangly and uncoordinated. I’ll just have to change my reel handles over and get out there and give it a go.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Pcj Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 May 2024 at 7:19pm
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Originally posted by Kandrew Kandrew wrote:

Originally posted by MB MB wrote:

I'm right handed, hold the rod in my right and wind left handed. I could not imagine getting comfortable doing it the other way around. It just feels so wrong. That said, people learn to do all sorts of things after significant injuries, so I guess anything is possible!
I’m gunna be an old dog leaning new tricks here, but I’ve had a go with the line tied to the work bench, holding the rod in the right hand won’t take long to get used to but winding with the left hand feels really gangly and uncoordinated. I’ll just have to change my reel handles over and get out there and give it a go.
I'm left handed and wind with right.using left to wind feels wrong
"Times up"
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote smudge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 May 2024 at 11:02pm
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I'm left handed. I hold the rod with my left and wind with my right on both spin and overhead gear. That way I don't have to shuffle things around when casting, closing bail arms etc. My son Arron is right handed and he does the exact opposite for the same reasons. I've believed for many years that manufacturers got it wrong when they describe a reel as right handed. 

It will seem awkward at first but pretty soon I think it will become easier for you and once you have recovered you won't switch back.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote kimber7wsm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2024 at 5:45am
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I'm right handed. I use my left were possible. I figure if I'm hanging on to a horse I might as well use my strong hand to do the lifting. Casting is much better with right hand. I see all these blokes swapping between hands to cast, wind and hanging on to big fish. Makes no sense to me.

I buy as many reels as I can in left hand. But you can't buy a Tiagra in lefty.

So I have to use my right for game fishing. I seem to be able to swap winding hands seamlessly, don't even really think about it. So I figure you'll be fine.

Smudge is right about reel descriptions. 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kandrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2024 at 7:18am
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Thanks guys I watched a matt Watson video about hold rod in the right hand and winding with the left, he said it took him a couple of days to sort it and now only fishes that way

Looks like I’m just gunna have to do more fishing to practice
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote The Tamure Kid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2024 at 8:23am
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Hi Kerry,
I'm obviously not a doctor, but I wonder if it's not the holding of the rod but the snapping action of the casting, that is the issue. So swapping rod hand may not solve the issue unless you change your casting action?
I sometimes get a bit of that tennis elbow type pain at the end of a week of fishing, usually at the moment I really snap a softbait cast forward.
I am right handed and have my left hand on the rod butt, and my right hand at the reel.
I wind right handed because that's the way I learned (dropping bait on an egg beater). I've contributed to this type of debate before, my view being that I'm so much more co-ordinated with my right hand for subtle winding to tighten the line on the drop etc, and I'm not that weak with my left that I can't fight a big fish adequately on softbait gear. Might be different game fishing or jigging for kingies etc.

Anyway, all the best. That type of niggle is miserable.
I do typing/hand writing/mouse use for my job, and years ago had burning ligament/muscle thing in my right pen and 'mouse' arm. I could feel the muscle on top of my forearm twitch every time I moved my finger and hours of that a day caused the issue.
My employer's response was to tell me to switch my mouse hand, rather than any physio etc. So I switched the mouse to my left hand, which felt unco as anything to start, but it soon got better. So I'm sure you'll be able to do the reel switch adequately in a short while and you'll be handling 18lbers on light string with no probs!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote smudge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2024 at 3:02pm
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You bring up a very good point TTK. Maybe if Kerry stopped showing off and caught smaller fish like the rest of he wouldn't have injured himself in the first place. Ohhh I'm starting to sound like the safety department at work.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kandrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2024 at 5:11pm
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Could be a bit of Karma do you reckon guys
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Tonto2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2024 at 7:35pm
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Just pondering. . ... if you get a sore arm playing tennis is it called fishing elbow?
slowly going where everyone else has already been
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Kandrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2024 at 7:41pm
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It’s actually golf elbow to many tantrums and club throwing
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote krow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 May 2024 at 8:34pm
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I'm "normal" Wink and hold the rod with left hand and as a consequence my Left hand is stronger then my right on a grip test. Some would say that's from too much fishing but is there such a thing? No rude comments.

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote smudge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2024 at 5:59am
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Originally posted by krow krow wrote:

I'm "normal" Wink and hold the rod with left hand and as a consequence my Left hand is stronger then my right on a grip test. Some would say that's from too much fishing but is there such a thing? No rude comments.


That's pretty much asking us for rude comments Big smile
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kandrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2024 at 8:36am
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When I started this thread about which hand you hold your rod in, I thought just wait someone will take this into the toilet
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Keith C Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2024 at 8:43am
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Originally posted by Kandrew Kandrew wrote:

When I started this thread about which hand you hold your rod in, I thought just wait someone will take this into the toilet


And you took us there Kandrew. There was no mention of toilet humour until that post
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote strx7 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2024 at 11:00am
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I had this same injury about 3 years ago, golfers elbow, caused by the amount of stray lining with an overhead I had done over a period of about 2 months.  I had to wear a support on the forearm when fishing for the following few months and be cautious of how much of that style of fishing I did.  It took a while but it did come right., at no stage did I consider changing hands....
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kandrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2024 at 3:54pm
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Originally posted by Keith C Keith C wrote:

Originally posted by Kandrew Kandrew wrote:

When I started this thread about which hand you hold your rod in, I thought just wait someone will take this into the toilet


And you took us there Kandrew. There was no mention of toilet humour until that post
Wasn’t me Keith, that smudge fella started it
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote smudge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2024 at 3:58pm
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Originally posted by Kandrew Kandrew wrote:

Originally posted by Keith C Keith C wrote:

Originally posted by Kandrew Kandrew wrote:

When I started this thread about which hand you hold your rod in, I thought just wait someone will take this into the toilet


And you took us there Kandrew. There was no mention of toilet humour until that post
Wasn’t me Keith, that smudge fella started it

No I just carried it on. Some may say I have the mind of a 15 year old but that's not true. I'm not that mature.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Crochet Cast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2024 at 9:32pm
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I am right handed but reel with my left it’s natural to me now.

I do have a suggestion? The reel handle will naturally rotate so try moving the rod up and down while holding the handle still. This definitely won’t help with your elbow but will help train your muscle memory in your left hand. Muscle memory is just repeating a movement over and over.

The other thing to try is take the top section off one of your spinning setups and sit watching TV mindlessly just spun the reel.
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