Hello fellow boat fishers.

Is there a right or wrong way to set up a boat for reservoir,loch,lough fishing?

My often boat partner is a lefty and I am mostly on the engine and a RH caster so we set up the boat to cast outside it as opposed to through it.I heard someone say recently when I fished a fly fishing competition for the first time ever the boat set up was the wrong way around The other fact which comes into play is I am a lefty when it comes to cricket or golf etc.It feels totally natural for me to steer the boat with my right hand and start the outboard with my left hand.Just yesterday we tried a reversal for another reason and it felt really weird so we switched back.In the recent comp I fished with a partner who was right handed and again I took the engine the way I am used to.It seemed no different except he was casting through the boat.Interested to know if it does actually make any difference.

Best JP

So c'mon are you a RHC or a LHC.
When you have 2 casters that are either RH or LH 1 will be casting through the boat.And it is whoever is capable of doing so.But the boat will tend to drift towards the stern,so you have to take that into consideration.IF you have a RH and LH caster .then it can and should be set up that both are casting outwith the boat.It does not matter which way round,but remembering which way the boat will drift.

Jim

__________________
The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Just caught up wih this one. I am left handed and when I did a lot of boat fishing in and out of competition I would take the engine end. Then, with the engine to my left the right hander in the front would be casting over the bow while I cast over the engine. This also meant that we would be drifting in the same way that all the other boats.

Boats tend to drift towards the heavy end - ie the engine and if all the other boats are set up to drift with the engine to the left as they proceed downwind, you, with the engine to the right will drift opposite to them. As long as the boats are all spread out I don't suppose it matters that much, but if you get into a more crowded situation a boat drifting counter to everyone else can cause a few ructions.

Get your boat partner on the engine end and see how that works out.

Just caught up wih this one. I am left handed and when I did a lot of boat fishing in and out of competition I would take the engine end. Then, with the engine to my left the right hander in the front would be casting over the bow while I cast over the engine. This also meant that we would be drifting in the same way that all the other boats.

Boats tend to drift towards the heavy end - ie the engine and if all the other boats are set up to drift with the engine to the left as they proceed downwind, you, with the engine to the right will drift opposite to them. As long as the boats are all spread out I don't suppose it matters that much, but if you get into a more crowded situation a boat drifting counter to everyone else can cause a few ructions.

Get your boat partner on the engine end and see how that works out.

Hello Jim & Bobp

I missed the quip but seriously I cast naturally RH and shoot off the right shoulder but have always played cricket LH and cast off the beach etc LH.
It is a funny one I know and even shooting I find a left to right bird more natural to shoot.Definate lefty syndrome.

Bobp I hear you but my mate on the engine I had him row once on Blagdon Lake and he was like a water boatman I do not fish many comps only because business summer schedule is hectic but next time maybe the other fly fisher will take the engine or do you toss up for it normally? I just volunteered last time and this subject came up but did not seem to affect us too much with the armada.When we did try the other way around recently but still with me on the motor it felt so weird pulling the chord RH.Just as long as it is not Taboo I guess we will have to live with it for now.I am fishing a comp early June so will see how that goes.

VR JP

JP.

You sound about as oddball as me! I'm left handed, but shoot off my right shoulder. The fact that I'm blind in my left eye might have something to do with it.

The way you have your boat set up doesn't really matter as long as you are both happy with it. The only problem you will have is that as you will be casting left handed and your mate right handed you will both be casting over the middle of the boat. This is a situation that can be fraught with problems especially on a breezy day. Tangle city.

If you're fishing a boat comp and your partner is right handed he will want you to take the engine as soon as he sees you are a leftie and he will expect the boat to be set up to drift the same as all the other boats, ie engine to the left as you drift downwind. There is no way he is going to sit in the bow of the boat with the engine to the right, you in the blunt end and both of you casting over the middle. Similarly he isn't going to want the engine end set up for drifting as all the other boats as that will mean him casting right handed and you left and both of you over the middle again. This is a recipe for a very unhappy 8 hours.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter a monkeys which hand you use to pull the starter cord. I use either hand. It only matters that the thing starts!

Always put the southpaw, cack-handed, sinister wierdo on the engine.








It makes them feel useful while you change flies before the next drift.


Sorry Alex, coudn't resist.

Excellent Brownsville

Bobp you now have me confused or maybe it is the other way around

I fly cast RH.My mate is the lefty so we set up the boat to both cast outside not through the boat with yours truly on the engine but this is back to front for most you see drifting.We do it for the right reasons.Always check each other and give way to who is ready to cast.Just like you say otherwise it will end up like a Douglas Fairbanks knitting school.This issue only cropped up recently because although I have been boat fishing for quite a number of seasons I had never entered a fly fishing competition until this year and my boat partner for the day mentioned the boat was set up in reverse because evidently under normal circumstances the engine is to the left as you say.
Sometimes I go afloat solo and I still set up same way RH casting over the engine when normal broadside drifting.
I accept your point regarding starting the engine I just mentioned it felt really weird when I tried it recently starting the engine RH.Anyway as long as not a sin then no problem.

Many thx JP

Best JP

OK, a misunderstanding on my part.

You, as a pairing will drift counter to everyone else, but as long as you keep an eye on other boats so that you don't cut across their drift I don't see a problem.

In competition, and as most people are right handed and it most likely that the person you are drawn with will be, one or other of you is going to have to cast over the middle of the boat. You will set the boat up like everyone else, so who it is will depend on a number of factors. Your partner may have practiced the day before; he may be more familiar with the water than you; he may be more experienced in boats than you or he just might want to take the engine because that gives him effective control over the boat's activities for the day. Basically you should each have equal say in where to fish, but he who has the engine does have a slight edge over precisely where.

In your shoes I should defer to him if that is the case. You will be casting over the bow which gives you a distinct advantage in presentation, as well as not having to worry about hitting him with your flies etc. If he wants you to take the engine then you'll just have to get on with casting over the middle, but you could always apply the rule about changing ends every two hours as is your right in an International rules match.