In-line reel retrieve

[Fadetoblack188]

Looking to pick up a black Betty inline reel. My first inline.

I am a righty.

My spinning reels I crank with my left hand. And my jigging saltwater reels conventional reels I crank with my right hand. My bait casters for freshwater I crank with left.

What hand should I be cranking an inline reel??

Thabks

[Dave R]

If you are right handed, then you want to crank with your left, like you do with your spinning reels.

[Kevin23]

Same as a spinning. So you would get left handed.

[esox_xtm]

Hold the rod with the hand you work the lure the best. Crank with the other.

[800stealth]

Hold the rod with the hand you work the lure the best. Crank with the other.

Agreed... There is no real correct answer we can give, it's your rod, your reel, and your hands... Do what feels right to you.
I'm right handed and hold rod in the left and crank with the right, I've been told I'm doing it backwards. I usually walk away from that conversation lol..

[jimhaney08]

I would also suggest rod in the right hand and crank with your left.

[esox_xtm]

Agreed... There is no real correct answer we can give, it's your rod, your reel, and your hands... Do what feels right to you.
I'm right handed and hold rod in the left and crank with the right, I've been told I'm doing it backwards. I usually walk away from that conversation lol..

I grew up with an old steel True Temper rod and direct drive Langley Streamlite reel. Standard baitcast deal crank on the right. Got some older and it was a much nicer glass (something or other) rod and a spinning reel. Even though the handle was convertible it came on the left and I learned to deal with it. After a couple decades of exclusive spinning gear I got into musky fishing and that mainstream was baitcasting. Now I'm trying to re-learn casting and cranking with the other side. Even kept both right and left casting reels and would switch off.

Eventually I learned that though I could cast and crank as efficiently with either hand, I always worked lures better with my right hand than my left. Sold all the righties and bought all lefties. Perfectly happy.

So... which hand are you most comfortable jigging with? The rest is learnable.

[fishermantim]

Looking to pick up a black Betty inline reel. My first inline.

I am a righty.

My spinning reels I crank with my left hand. And my jigging saltwater reels conventional reels I crank with my right hand. My bait casters for freshwater I crank with left.

What hand should I be cranking an inline reel??

Thabks

Your free hand.

Only you will know which hand feels most comfortable.

[curtrein]

Just a heads-up. I recently just got a black Betty. Originally tried to spool the reel and was winding but the spool wasn’t spinning to load the reel with line. You’ll most likely have to tighten your drag before you spool. On these reels you need to rotate the star drag until it feels “loose”. This, counterintuitively puts you at the tightest drag setting where you’ll be able to normally spool your line. If you tighten the star drag until it feels tight, you’ll be at the loose setting and if you try to reel at this setting you won’t make any headway with the spool. It doesn’t make sense until you go through it.

[badger132]

I have tried both- I run 2 rods, 1 in each hand jigging, and thought that if I put the cranks to the inside, I could quickly set the hook, drop the other rod, and start reeling the one with the fish without switching hands. Alas, I am not that coordinated. Messed up with the left rod a lot.
Now I run all of them left hand reel, and mess up a little less.
I have decided that I just don't like inline reels. I seem to always hit the star drag, and end up reeling madly while the fish spools me.

[Sylvanboat]

I use this. It can be set up left or right hand. A blast to fish.