Other Articles By John Guldin • Tie The Japanese Beetle • Barefoot On The Bow -More info on saltwater fly fishing. • A Fly Fishing Certainty: No Exceptions -Want to be on the winning side of a 100% sure thing? Try this! • To Bead Or Not To Bead - That Is The Question -Here's an idea for those nymphs in your box without bead heads • The Dark Side Of San Juan -San Juan, Puerto Rico, has many attractions like surf, sand and sun, but for one man, it was the dark side that drew him there.

By John Guldin




In saltwater fishing, speed is a major consideration for many aspects of the sport. Speed is crucial in spotting, laying out 60 feet of line, and putting the fly into the "window" of a moving game fish all within a matter of seconds. Speed can also be critical when the hooked fish is streaking toward you and you must retrieve the slack line in order to keep the fish "on the reel."

The issue is whether it is quicker and, therefore, better to set up your reel for a left or right hand retrieve. The prevailing view is to use your dominant hand, which for most of us means the right hand. [In this article, "right hand retrieve" assumes the angler is right hand dominant. If she or he is left hand dominant, then, as my left-handed daughter says, you'll have to "look in a mirror."]

When such saltwater fly-fishing notables like Chico Fernandez, Sandy Moret, Steve Huff, and Tim Klein teach and use a right-hand retrieve, you cannot take the advice lightly. This was the case when my wife and I spent some time at Sandy Moret's Florida Keys Fly Fishing School in Islamorada, Florida, several years ago. Chico, Sandy, Steve, and Tim were the instructors for our two-day session, which, among many topics relative to saltwater fly fishing, included four one-hour classes of casting lessons and practice.

I was in Sandy Moret's casting class of five students. At one point Sandy asked me if I had ever considered switching from my usual left hand retrieve to the right. I had not. He told me that by reeling with my right hand, I would be able to take up line much faster than with the left. I agreed to try it. After class, I took my reel to Sandy's Fly Shop, just across U.S. Route 1 from the Cheeca Lodge, the home of the school, to have it changed over.

Following the school, we enjoyed two days of flats fishing with Capt. Rick Miller who put us onto enough fish to give the new right hand retrieve system a test. I wasn't convinced as to its utility - for me. Nonetheless, I stayed with the right hand retrieve for the better part of nine months before I switched back to the left side. If you go against the advice of recognized experts, you should have good reasons. Here are mine:

I have used a left hand retrieve all of my life for fly and spin reels. This amounts to over 45 years of fishing. Using my left hand to wind the reel is a habit I cannot easily break. I cast, hold the rod while stripping, hook, feather the line, and fight fish with my right hand and it seems unnatural to me to switch the rod from right hand to left hand in order to reel in. If there is any increase in speed with a right hand retrieve, I lose it by switching hands.

If you are just starting out, you should give the dominant hand a chance. Stretch out 80 feet of line on the grass and time the retrieval with each hand. You will probably find the right hand is somewhat quicker. Nevertheless, if you have been fishing for a number of years and find it awkward to switch rod hands to reel "righty," then stay with the left hand.

In the excitement of hooking a big fish, you will unconsciously revert to old habits and you do not want to, like I once did, find yourself looking for the reel handle that wasn't there!