I went to my buddies house to help me with my truck and I was looking at his baitcastersto to see what kind he had and he has two quantums. Can't remember the models but one was a kvd and he said he didn't like that one. Anyway he showed me a phleguer(however you spell it) it has the brakes on the inside of the side plate and has a tension knob on the outside. It's like a orange copper color. We took it outside and he put a weightless senko on it. I told him I was having a hard time deciding on left or right handed since I cast with my right and reel (spinning) left handed. He said try this one. I Casted it and bam birdnest. We got it out I Casted it again bam birdnest. After a couple of those he said it's easier to cast side arm starting out. So I changed it and I didn't birdnest. He said take it home and practice and see how you like it before you buy one. I came home and Casted and Casted. I got the occasional birdnest but I was getting pretty good if I have to say so myself. It's not hard at all to switch hands like I thought it would be,BUT I'm not sure how well I will be able to fight the fish and set the hook with my left. I guess it will come second nature vs holding rod with my right hand. I still would like to buy one of my own though. I just got tk get Wifey's approval.

In the grand scheme of things, you just have to go with what's comfortable and which arm/hand arrangement you have the most confidence in. I'm left handed and right retrieve is natural for me. As a righty though, you should be able to find some lefties pretty cheap if you decide to return your friends reel and look hard enough. There's also the flea market here and guys like Ron with Valley Sports that could help you out as well. It's all dependent on whether or not you want to continuously keep switching arms/hands, I imagine that can get a bit tiring after perhaps 6+ hours on the water any given day.

I started out basically just like you did. Messed around with a friends and then bought one later on down the road. It was right handed since that's what I learned with. I didn't mind switching hands but I thought to myself. Why use my weak arm to hold the rod,work the bait/lure, and set the hook. I've been so used to holding the rod in my right hand and reeling with the left why change it. I purchased a lh casting reel and that's now all I own. To me it's just much more natural feeling.