Right after a struggle to get over a right fore arm injury and a right shoulder injury i have been dabbling with my left arm to cast,only a couple of goes but it doesnt feel that alien for a fella who is very much right handed.
My right arm which i use 100% of the time has a banjo string were a nice flexible bit of tissue should be I used a paint brush for 17yrs so ? scar tissue After a struggle to help it and it coming and going its crept back and coupled with a recent rotator cuff impingement i get sore after 2 hours or so.Any of you chaps got advice for the changing of hands? I know distance will be an issue but not bothered about that.

Anyhoo my trip to assynt is saturday so plenty practice with my left hand i see ahead

Mick

Practice without a rod, I know at first this may sound silly but pantomime the motion into your arm. Mimic the casting stroke with both arms at same time. You can use a rod butt or section for this exercise.

You can also try casting for real with both arms at the same time, try to get your left mimicing the right.

I switched to leftie for a few months after a hand op and found it quite easy to pick up. I could cast a decent line after not too long practice. The hardest thing isn't casting - it's striking into a fish. You'll be amazed at how slow the reaction from brain to left hand to strike is

You need to get familiar with the rod in your left hand, so take it out in the garden and side cast, overhead cast, roll cast etc. Get used to the feeling in your left hand and arm. At the same time practice the pantomime movements and you'll pick it up pretty fast

Hope that helps.

PS - If you have tailing loop problems, start rotating your wrist further at the end of the forward stroke, open your loop up. Not a good or recommended long term fix but if you find it compromises your fishing, especially with the left hand do that Don't make a habit of it though!

"You can also try casting for real with both arms at the same time, try to get your left mimicing the right".

Thats the best way. Try casting with your dominant hand with the rod and line but bring your non dominant hand over and lightly grip the casting hand. Now slowly bring the two hands and rod over to your non-dom side, still driving the cast with your dominant hand. Start to gradually introduce more non-dom hand until you are ready to go it alone one handed.

There are a few subtleties needed to get this to work but its difficult to put them in print.

Ta, Lee.

I am one of the lucky one's who are totally ambedextrous. I can cast with equal comfort, both left and right handed. It helps a great deal, especially when drift boating with a boat partner. For fly fishing rivers, it is a very usefull twist of fate as well, I can tell you.
My youngest son is the same, he kicks a ball with his right foot, but plays cricket left handed. The strange thing is, that he plays hockey right handed, and writes right handed.
my eldest son, is the opposite way around, he kicks with his left foot, and plays both hockey and cricket, the right way around, but writes left handed....... Talk about a strange family.....

Jaggy,

I am left handed, but had the same sort of problems, impingement on the shoulder and tennis elbow.
Anyway, I decided to learn to cst with the right hand last october/november and had a couple of lessons.
It took about six months to cast a full line with the right arm, but I am now trying to work out how to cast with a high bank behind.

Bizarrely, I swtch hands for the retrieve!

Andy