While some would consider the once "industry standard" reel to be outdated, many of us still prefer the smooth action, reliability, and ruggedness of the pre 1990 French made 300. Like a good ole S&W model 10 revolver, the Harley V twin engine, the Fender Stratocaster guitar, and the Remington 870 Wingmaster shotgun, I just have to appreciate them for the technological marvels that they are, and continue to be. Yes, there is always newer, bigger, faster, prettier, and more bells and whistles, but not always "better". Long after the fancy ones fall apart, break, or go out of style, the old industry standards keep hanging around getting the job done for generations. Gotta love 'em.

I have a 300A from 1988 that I bought new, and an older 300 from 1962. The older one is paired up with a vintage fiberglass Garcia Conolon rod. I had never taken the reels apart for major service, so last week I did some reading, and found some really good Yamalube marine grease, and completely took them apart, took the gears out, cleaned everything and re-greased.

The old blob of factory grease was still functioning, but was starting to dry out, especially in the older one. The gears, shafts and other mechanical parts are like new, and the actions function as smoothly and flawlessly as a well broken in model 10. I spooled them and my spare spools up with some modern copolymer line, and am hoping to be pullin' some lunkers out of the OH River this year.

Josh P



One of the fishing spots along the OH River where I live, and my horse - Trigger

I used those for years, but, like many others, "upgraded" as time went on.

Your photo's gave me flashbacks.

Good flashbacks!

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Ogy

Those are nice old reliable reels. Glad your still using them and
getting enjoyment from their use. What do you fish for at your
"honey hole" ? Catfish or Crappie? I saw the minnow bucket.


chuck

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They hold no Quarter

I have a few and use them all of the time. Two were my Granddads and are the reels I learned with. One is a half bail.

I also have other vintage reels like Pscador and DAM but I don't use them anymore just because the Mitchells are better.

Added; Check out Mitchell Mates. Lots of good info.

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Dum vivo cano

I'm a fan; still fish with mine. It was new in 1964, same for my four piece Eagle Claw spinning rod (with the aluminum case). I've got a few newer ones but that one still goes along when I head out.

I still have mine! Bought it in '66... maybe '67, in a WalMart in Richardson, TX. I've retired it in favor of newer reels, but only for sentimental reasons. I still keep it mounted on a rod and loaded with line... never can tell when I'll need it!

Hog

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Isaiah 55:8-9
Phil. 4:13

I mostly fish for the big cats in the OH River, but there is the chance of nabbing a Pike or Muskie. Bass and Trout in the local streams and lakes.

JP

They sure are versatile with the quick change spools. I've caught countless species with mine. Both fresh water and salt.

They made millions of them. They're not worth a lot of money but they give some of the best memories.

The French got this one right!!!

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Dum vivo cano

I bought my mom and dad each one of those. Believed they were originally called Abu Garcia Mitchells, back many more years than I care to remember. As far as I know they both used them 'til the day the went to the fishing hole in the sky. Had a couple of them myself back in the day. Fond memories.

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Dick

Bought my 1st in about 1970, still use it. Also have one NIB, I intend to give it a workout come retirement. Still my favorite reel, and one of the best, IMHO.

The very first thing I ever bought in my life with money I made working, was a Mitchell 300 reel, and a 7 ft, light action Garcia Conlon rod. I got it at Miracle-Mart in Sandston, Virginia, about 1964-65.

I worked a week in a tomato field, setting tomato plants by hand, back-breaking, stoop work, for $5.00 a day to earn $40.00. That rod and reel set me back about $35.00.

I still have it. The rod has had new guides put on and has been rewrapped, but it still works as well as it did back in the day. I've spent a grand total of $7.00 fixing the reel (the tunsten line roller fell off once). I forget how much it cost to rewrap the rod.

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John 3:16 .

I still have a couple of the Garcia 300 reels from the sixties and caught a lot of fish with them and am guilty of setting them aside years ago when something new came out. I think I will get them out and maybe start using them again.
Thanks for the reminder and pictures.

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James

I'm in. I picked this one up in the late '80s or early '90s, I can't remember exactly when. It's on a Fenwick lightweight rod. Used it a few times and it's sat in storage ever since. I grew up fishing so much I got burned out on it and took a couple decades off. I need to get back out on the water one of these days.

I've got three or four. Two belonged to my dad, one is mine, and I think one came from my grandfathers stash. They are great reels, very reliable, but I have had issues with forming birds nests with them.....occasionally!

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Even older, even crankier....

Glad to see that others like them too. You can do those old reels a huge favor by cleaning out the old grease, and adding new. Here's a good article written by a fellow who seems to know what he's talking about. I got the Yamalube and did both of my reels, and it's not that hard. There are some vids on youtube to help.

Lubricants & Greases For Your Mitchell Reel | MITCHELL REEL COLLECTORS CHRONICLES

Josh P

If I'd known the Frenchies made it, I'd have tossed it out! My personal favorite is a Mitchell 330. But somewhere back in the mid to late 1960s I came into a 300. Not all that much different, the 330 is just easier to use.

So in the early 1970s, I wrapped it all up nice and purty and gave it to my father for Christmas. The very next year, I got it back! It kept going back and forth until he passed away in 1980. I've still got it someplace. Haven't seen it in maybe 20 years, but I'm sure I kept it, if only for the extra spools.

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Dick Burg

1962 Garcia Story ~ Mitchell & Abu Fishing Reel - YouTubeHere's a great video from the good old days. Check out the other videos they have also.

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Dum vivo cano

Can't imagine NOT having a Mitchell 300. Just like you said, it's like a S&W model 10.

Yep, still have my dad's Garcia-Mitchell 300 and also his 308 ultralight. Haven't used either of them for years.

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72

I still have two of these fine reels, many good memories.

Yes I was checking out the 308 ultralight model. I can see one of those in my future, on a light duty rod.

JP

My very first spinning reel! I bought it with money from my paper route about 1960, ordered from a Herters catalogue. It replaced an old Phlueger Rocket casting reel I asked an old fishing "mentor" of mine what to do with the Phlueger Rocket, he told me "Hang it on the wall for fish caught" I did and still have it around somewhere.
Steve W.

Still have a couple of 300's from the 1960-70's. Also love the Garcia Ambassadeurs. Both have always served me well for light tackle use. The reels I treasure the most are several old Heddon Winonas inherited from my dad. Really old school but the smoothest casting reels I have ever found. You can chunk 'em a country mile with just a flick of the wrist.

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S&W Armorer
Lost in the 50s

Still have some, even though I haven't gone fishing in about 3 years. I have either 2 or 3 new bail springs in my tackle box. They just weren't the same after they went to the the plastic gears back in the '80s. We blew up a couple of the new ones and quit buying them. Still look for the old ones at yard sales.
Larry

I did not start using Spinning reels till long after the 300's..

However my favorite bass fishing real is still the Garcia Ambassador 5000 series.

I am still using the same ones I bought in the 1960's before I graduated High School.

I still fish 300s. I fished a 308 Friday morning. Ultra light rod, 4lb test line and a farm pond...

One of the people who taught me the ins-and-outs of
fishing, told me that I should get a Mitchell 300 to
augment my Zebco 33 that I use for large-mouth. I ended up
with two of them, and they just keep on working. They're
so reliable and well built, that I've worn out half a dozen
Zebco's, and the Mitchell's still work like new. Used one to
catch a 17.5 lb. sheephead with 6-pound test. No problem!
(the slime alone weighed 2 lbs.) TACC1

Still have 3 - 309's, the only spinning reel I use. I like them because they are a true left handed reel and hence it is very easy to pick up the line with your finger because it's closer.

Jeff

I've owned a 308 and a 408. I think the latter has a faster retrieve or is a newer version of the 308. But I lost the 308 and other tackle in a move during my divorce, and gave my son the 408. Going by memory on the faster retrieve

I bought the 308 used from another airman during my first year in the USAF in the 1960's, and it caught a lot of fish. Not suited for heavy duty, but I never lost anything I managed to catch on it.

MY only current spinning reel is a very smooth Shimano, but I have fond memories of the Mitchell 308 and 408.

I think the 300-series are/were the best basic spinning reels of their times, and still hardly obsolete. Of course, even a bamboo pole and a string with a minnow or jig aren't really obsolete...just very limited in where they can be used. But the 300-series can certainly be called "classic" in the full sense of the word.

Great memories here. Bought one in 64. It's been out at the lake cabin ever since. Still works.

My dad gave me his Mitchell back when I was in high school. That was my only reel for at least 15 years. Still have it and use it occasionally. It came with a Herter's fiberglass rod which I restored. I broke the rod in two fighting a northern the very next time I used it!

My Mitchell does not say "300" on it -- does that mean mine is a pre-300???

Well....I like my Shimanos

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Forum consigliere

I became reacquainted with fishing when I was in the Army. We could rent a boat, motor and trailer from the Base R&R Office for $15, so fishing was a cheap distraction. When I came home I was talking to a friend who was an avid fisherman and he asked what kind of reel I used. “Just a cheap $30 Mexican reel I picked up at the PX”, I explained as I showed him the Abu Garcia 5000 I’d been using. Thought he was going to have a heart attack laughing.

Still own two Mitchell 300's, one was always attached to a small 4 1/2 light weight rod, used while trout fishing the Baker up in Warren NH and surrounding streams. This set up replaced the fly rod many times.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

Used my Mitchell 440 that I've had since the mid 60's two weeks ago.

The 440 has the fast retrieve and the "new" automatic bale.

Still a sweet reel.

Yeah, but how many of you own a 301?...Yeah, I'm a lefty.

I've been thinking about fishing again this winter. That late model Taiwanese Mitchell I posted earlier in the thread just ain't gonna cut it. Found this near-mint 410, the deeper geared roller bearing version of the classic 300, on eBay the other day and got it for a steal. Serial dates it to 1968. Now I need to mate it to a classic rod.

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SWHF #448

I used several of them Like 20 years a go & still have the 300's big brother The Saltwater Mitchell 302 great reels I wore the 300's out,Now using mostly Shimano Stradics & A Penn Slammer 260

I spent 1969 on Amchitka Island in the Aleutian Chain of Alaska helping prepare for an upcoming atomic weapon shot. That island was full of small to large lakes. We discovered that all of the leeward lakes had Brown and Rainbow Trout. I promptly had my wife mail me a good spincast rod and my two Mitchel 300 reels. I had 4 lb. test on one and 6 lb. test monofilament on the other. The largest lake had some fairly good sized trout, I used the 6 lb. equipped reel on that lake. The water was so clear you had to stand back from the edge while casting so the trout wouldn't get spooked by your image or shadow. The Mitchell worked wonderfully for that year. We used only spinning lures with the Meppes line of lures being the most successful. .....

I had a Garcia, when I was a kid. I caught a 5 ft. Kingfish with it....but took an hour to get it on board.

A great little reel! we used them when staying at the beach house for a week because they are cheap. But they are tough and have great cranking power even if the retrieve ratio is not that great. They spend all day getting soaked in the waves and pulling in some really strong fighting fish. Every night after the days fishing ends we tear them down, hose them down with reel scrubber (which removes all dirt salt sand and grease) then reline them if necessary and re lube them. All this takes only about 10 minutes per reel. We save our pretty and high dollar reels for drier conditions. Those little Mitchel reels are real work horses. Very simple in design and simple to clean and maintain.

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Real men love cats!

Glad to see that this old thread came back after almost 4 yrs., and that so many people have fond memories of their old Mitchell reels.

Since I posted that thread, I purchased an old fixer upper house which had belonged to a fellow in his 80s who had passed away several yrs before. One of the best things about the place was that there was a treasure trove of tools & vintage fishing equipment in the basement. Several old Mitchells, some newer modern spinning reels, some very nice rods, and some tackle. Probably the best thing was a Fenwick Yellow Jacket rod. I've seen where those have sold for high dollars. I traded a little bit of the tackle and a rod or two to friends who helped me work on the house, but kept most of the good rods and reels.

Then, last summer, an older fellow whom I trade antique license plates with, gave me a dozen or so rods and reels. Mostly Zebco pushbutton reels, but one one nice old Mitchell 300 that just needs a bail spring. I must have 25 or 30 rods & reels now. I've been thinking of building a ceiling rack to display them on my garage ceiling.

Nice to think about fishing for a few minutes while I'm sitting here in the middle of winter.

Here's a good cleaning tip for cork handles that I learned when I was cleaning up the rods and could not get the black grime off of the handles. Use the green Scotch Brite scouring pads, available in grocery stores. They will remove years of black dirt buildup in less than a minute. Makes them look like new, with little effort.

Happy fishin'.

JP

Fished for Northern Pike thru out Quebec with may dad 1963 to 1968. Still have two of the 300's. Still remember those fishing trips like it was yesterday.

As with other replies The 300 was my first good reel. A childhood 'friend' had never been fishing and wanted to try. So h e went with my Dad and myself to a lake. Boat was a wooden rowboat. During this trip the 'friend' managed to lose one of my Dads' rod and reel over the side (not recovered), and then break my 300, arm that joins the body to the rod. When he embedded all 3 hooks of a treble hook of a Shyster spinning into his fingers, my Dad started rowing back to the dock. Never said a word, just rowed to the shore, unloaded the boat into the car and drove us home. My Mom asked him how the trip was, hevsaid he now knew why the boys father never did anything with his son! He also said never again with this boy to me!
As an aside we switched to the German Dam Quick series of reels. Still have those, models 330, 440, and later ultralight 220 for trout and panfish. The Dam Quick reels were a definitive step up, though not as light weight, German engineering at its finest. Combined with Fenwick rods I thought It was fishing at its finest!

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Wherever my mind isn't
Jim

I have several from small to large surf reels. My Dad and I fished all the time with them, many a fish came floppin to shore. 300's and the 402's were my favorites.

Good memories there!

Mitchell 300s are the "new" reels in my tackle box. I usually use a Siegrist Record finger bail model. Its bail spring broke, and I bought a stud that you attach after removing the bail. Before retrieving the lure you use your finger to move the line over the stud. Then you can start reeling. A little awkward at first, but you never have to worry about bail springs again.

I still have two 5000's one wide spool and one narrow and I have a like new 300 from the 50's, still have the extra spool and the little cup it came in.

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Don

My father was hired by Garcia as an exhibitor for their booth at the NY Sportsmans' Show, held each year in the 50s and 60s at the NY Coliseum in midtown Manhattan. He had a bunch of Garcia reels, including several 300s as I recall. Once he got hooked on spinning tackle, he pretty much stopped using conventional reels for most of his salt-water fishing.

Way back in the day, the 1950s and all through the 1960s, my dad, I and about 6/8 other relatives spent many, many weeks, fishing the lakes in Northern Wisconsin, Minnesota & Canada.

I started with a Mitchel 300 given to me by my dad and never used any other reel. by the third year of this period, I personally had 10 Mitchel 300 Reels. I always had two each set up and ready to go for Groupie, Walleye, etc., two for Muskie and Northern and two for trolling for Lake Trout.

They served by well, catching a whole lots of fish over those years. I do not recall ever having a major problem with any of them. Sadly they are all gone, as of the 1980s, having sold them off and giving a few to relatives.

I remember Mitchel having a booth at the Prov boat show, back in the 50's you would give them your reel and a buck, they would clean it and mail it back to you.

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Don