What is a 'lefty' reel?
 

I am almost totally lefthanded. When I cast, the rod butt is in my right hand, my left is above the reel, guiding the rod cast. When I reel in, I use my left hand to turn the reel. This means the reel handle is on the left side. Yet I see some Penns, such as the 705Z, listed as lefthand reels, yet the handle is on the right side. Lefty conventional is total opposite of lefty spinner?:huh: Why isn't this standardized industry wide?

lefty conventional and lefty spinning are opposite

:fury: Because Lefty's are rare when it comes to fishing. Believe me I am one too. They are making more nowadays. It took me a while to find a freshwater baitcaster. Can't you switch the handles on the penn??

The idea behind right side crank on a "left handed" spinning reel is, you don't have to switch hands to retrieve after the cast.

With conventionals, it's more a matter of tradition. Originally, they were direct drive (1:1 retrieve) reels. Even after they started using "multiplier" gearing, they were still pretty slow, so they were made for an angler to reel with his dominant hand, for a faster retrieve. Same reason that most fly reels come set-up for right hand cranking.

On a spinning reel, the handle moves in a much wider arc, so cranking is easier with your off hand. You use more wrist on a conventional, while with a spinner, you can use the muscles of your forearm more.

I use left handed crank baitcasters because it feels a lot more comfortable and I can cast and reel without switching hands. Helps a ton in freshwater with spinnerbaits and in certain cases in the salt. It was tough finding larger left handed cranks but I was able to find a lefty squidder about 8 years ago, and a 7001 abu a few years ago. Abu makes them in many sizes, but it is tough to find other brands.

I dont like using conventionals since you have to crank on the right... I looked so hard for a conventional that cranks on the left... its a 50$ penn... I love the fact that I can set the hook and crank as if I was pin fishing, only problem is the gear ratio SUCKS!!! 2.1:1

Ivan,
I got a couple lefty conventionals I like; Abu 6501C3, Abu Record RCN61HC, and an Abu 7001i. I know the 6501 and the Record are 5.3:1. The 7001i is 4.1:1

Baitcasters and Spinning are just different for leftys a spinning handle is on the right for a left. And for baitcaster the handle is on the left. More and more leftys are showing up now though.