Originally Posted by
DLJeff
People have successfully reeled with which ever hand they prefer for many many years - so in a way this is useless debate. Fishing history indicates there is no right or wrong answer.
However, a bigger question is do you completely release the line when you make your presentation cast - or do you form a loop with your finger and thumb that lets the line slide through during the cast but still allows you to maintain control of the line throughout the cast? If you release the line completely, you often have to flounder around and find the line with your non-rod hand before you can remove slack and start stripping. For some fish, especially salt water, it's important to be able to control the line and immediately remove any slack as soon as the fly hits the water. This valuable technique is followed closely by keeping the tip of your rod in the water when you start stripping. This prevents a sagging loop from forming between your rod tip and the water and keeps slack from forming in your line. I see too many anglers strip with the rod tip a foot or more above the water and their fly moves half the distance they want it to and when they strip strike, they are 50% effective because they have to remove that sagging loop of line first before they move the fly.
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