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Post 04 Feb 2011, 17:11 • #1 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
I'm sure anyone checking out this forum is not only a classic glass rod fan, but also they are a classic reel fan.  There is another discussion forum that you should be aware of The Mitchell Reels Forum.  The forum is devoted to classic Mitchell spinning reels.  There is a heavy emphasis on collecting, but also on fishing with them.  For the do-it-yourself fisherman, there is a great section on servicing Mitchell reels.

https://www.mitchellreelmuseum.com/forum/

For the glass fanatic, there is a forum devoted to Garcia Conolon and Narmco rods.  Their forum is well worth checking out.

Tom

(the latest and greatest link as of 11/21/19)


Last edited by jgestar on 21 Nov 2019, 02:27, edited 2 times in total.
removed faulty link that has changed since the post


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Post 06 Feb 2011, 07:49 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/11/05
Posts: 1008
Location: US-NY
I agree. I joined myself not long ago. Check out Wallace Carney's repair/service videos on You Tube. Great job.


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Post 09 Feb 2011, 11:44 • #3 
Emeritus
Joined: 06/27/07
Posts: 1496
Location: US-NC
Tom, I appreciate that. Wasn't aware and will check it out.


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Post 31 Jan 2014, 23:22 • #4 
Sport
Joined: 07/16/11
Posts: 63
Location: BC, Canada
Thanks for the heads up!


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Post 22 Mar 2014, 22:35 • #5 
Guide
Joined: 01/03/14
Posts: 223
Location: boston area
I also joined. lots of info. I am a Mitchell guy from way back. Love them. 400s with 5 to 1 gears. Great for plugging.


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Post 25 Sep 2014, 18:09 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/11/14
Posts: 1784
Location: urban Colorado
thanks - have an ancient Mitchell 308 Prince, made in France, that is still my primary spinning reel.. ask me anything about servicing this one ;-)


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Post 26 Sep 2014, 14:19 • #7 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/06/12
Posts: 578
Location: Winter Haven, Florida
OK... Can you put 408 innards in a 308 and have a 408? Thanks.


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Post 08 Nov 2014, 18:48 • #8 
Sport
Joined: 03/03/10
Posts: 93
Location: US-TX
yes u can\

used them for years

jjw


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Post 08 Nov 2014, 20:17 • #9 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/06/12
Posts: 578
Location: Winter Haven, Florida
I'd forgotten I posted this. Thanks for your response.

RVC


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Post 29 Nov 2014, 16:46 • #10 
Guide
Joined: 03/05/13
Posts: 241
Location: US-TN
I have several 308 and 408's. Lots and lots of hours on all of them. One of the 308's has noisy gears so I just put it up. Can only use one at a time anyway.


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Post 31 May 2016, 10:57 • #11 
Guide
Joined: 03/26/16
Posts: 162
Location: Permanent vacation
So I bought a 408 and now I'm afraid to clean it. I'm pretty aggressive with fly reels and even take apart the occasional double gun but I just don't know a thing about spinning reels. I had one of those uptight, 20 year "fly fishing only" delusions . . .

Anyway, it looks like there are some good videos on YouTube showing 308 disassembly as well as a 408 schematic floating around online. Will that get me through? In other words, is the 408 just a 308 with different gearing so that I can use the video as a guide without too much interpretation?

I'm pretty excited to get this rig out - I also bought a Cargem Mignon ultralight (and I mean ultra!) and have dug out all my lures from childhood. It'll be fun to hike into the little mountain lakes that have frustrated me with their limited backcast room and wreak havoc with all the stuff I compulsively accumulated as a youngster. I particularly look forward to drinking beer while fishing, which appears to be one of the main benefits of spinning gear. I need to look into bobbers and folding chairs . . .

Do any of you guys make wood plugs? I've turned some for a friend who chases stripers and am toying with the idea of making some trout sized ones . . . seems like they'd be appropriate for the old gear.

Thanks,
Chip


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Post 31 May 2016, 23:36 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/11/14
Posts: 1784
Location: urban Colorado
no mean engineering tricks in those old Mitchells.. the 308 videos should get you through. If problems, post here with pics or to that forum, can probably figure it out between us.

used to whittle my own plugs and carve the diving lips out of plastic cassette tape boxes.. couldn't afford to buy rapalas, so we made imitations..


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Post 01 Jun 2016, 10:12 • #13 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/12/16
Posts: 4093
Location: USA-CO
I made plugs too, along with jigs with heads made from lead that I melted on the kitchen stove. Nice idea on the diving lips; cassettes were a long ways from invention in my youth! I just whittled the plugs out of cedar, and carved in a hollow for the eyelet to give it a little dive and wobble. Never could get the hollow symmetrical, though, so the wobble was always eccentric. The pickerel didn't mind.


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Post 01 Jun 2016, 12:11 • #14 
New Member
Joined: 05/10/16
Posts: 4
Location: US-WI
My Mitchell affliction is centered on the 304 spinning reel. It was my first spinning reel and is my nostalgic favorite. I now own a half dozen or so plus the NOS parts to keep them running.


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Post 02 Jun 2016, 13:01 • #15 
Guide
Joined: 03/26/16
Posts: 162
Location: Permanent vacation
Well it sounds like I need to get my courage up, grab some screwdrivers and dive in - thanks for the encouragement guys!

I'd be interested to see some of your trout plugs. The stuff I've been working on is a lot of fun but nothing for a trout stream. It would be great to make lures I can use.

Thanks,
Chip

Image


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Post 08 Oct 2016, 18:56 • #16 
Sport
Joined: 04/16/16
Posts: 34
Location: US-MA
The Mitchell Reel Forum link goes to a page with a big red Malware warning!
I have a question that I will post on a separate thread.


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Post 18 Feb 2017, 20:59 • #17 
New Member
Joined: 01/02/17
Posts: 3
Location: US-LA
The former Mitchell Reel Museum website has generated malware notices recently.

If you are looking for it, I believe the website has been relocated to: https://mitchellreels.ourboard.org/

This new location does not generate the malware notices.

--
Rick


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Post 11 Mar 2017, 17:24 • #18 
New Member
Joined: 01/20/15
Posts: 8
Location: US-KY
The forum is up and running again ,as it did before the problems!


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Post 04 Jul 2019, 12:44 • #19 
Sport
Joined: 07/16/18
Posts: 94
Location: USA
This is the current link to the MRM Forum:
https://www.mitchellreelmuseum.com/forum/

Aside from reels, the Forum also has a rods section, Conolon & Narmco Rods Discussion:
https://www.mitchellreelmuseum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=90&sid=a0921a9351d84550863fd1f86a634b13
However, the rods section does not have much participation.

You can read text without registering, but registration is required to be able to see the vast majority of images (uploaded to the site, not an external image host).

John


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Post 11 Dec 2021, 17:23 • #20 
New Member
Joined: 12/12/09
Posts: 20
Location: US-FL
I love the simplicity and reliability of those 304s I use the 308 and 300s as well. I fish the Salt in SW FL. My go to method is tiny jigs and flies fished under a casting bubble while drifting the flats for Sea Trout.


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Post 13 Dec 2021, 12:14 • #21 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Since I fished through the gears in my 300 in four high school falls of jetty Spanish macks, I've been less than generous to the marque.

Though I have a couple of nice ones, including 410 with aftermarket alloy spool, and 440 (in the masthead photo), which is the only 70s Mitchell that would function in manual bail.
I've always wanted to tinker an 810 or 910, but never could prioritize the cabbage before the market blew up.

Image


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Post 17 Dec 2021, 13:04 • #22 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/20/17
Posts: 387
Location: Portland, OR
BD, sounds like you may of had the somewhat rare plastic transfer gear form the mid-fifties 300. Those warped under load and were quickly replaced with aluminum gearing.

This is an early 302 (before they were named 302) right after the extremely rare original production half-bail version of this reel. While you'll need some serious size to your rod and line to match the use, if you've ever handled one, you'd know they are astonishingly smooth considering their size and era (ball bearing pinion gear) and take extraordinary abuse.

Sandman



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Post 18 Dec 2021, 08:43 • #23 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
New in 1972, bro


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Post 18 Dec 2021, 12:35 • #24 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/20/17
Posts: 387
Location: Portland, OR
You must of had allot of fun blowin that one up on those Kings...


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Post 20 Dec 2021, 09:19 • #25 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
well, they were Smacks, but yes, we caught doubles on spec rigs.
A king would spool a Mitchell 300, but Spanish macks hit like a freight train and make hard, short runs.

Here's one on fly rod, TS250, 15s countdown, rod grip under arm pit, double-hand chernobyl strip
Image

It was kings that ended my Penn 4400SS with long-winded runs and high drag set.


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