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Post 17 Mar 2020, 18:12 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/28/16
Posts: 930
Location: Northern WI
Recently was able to snag a 5 1/2 foot Featherlight with a Garcia Mitchell 409, both in great shape. The 409 sure is smooth and I’ve always been a sucker for yellow Eagle Claws, be they fly rods, spinning, or casting. I don’t do a ton of spin fishing but at least now the little bit I do can be done in style...




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Post 17 Mar 2020, 23:11 • #2 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Two nice catches. The Featherlight has the much esteemed mini-ferrules. Those are harder to find than 'normal sized' metal ferrules or butt-over-tip glass ferrules.


Tom


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Post 18 Mar 2020, 10:10 • #3 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
pretty perfect combo


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Post 18 Mar 2020, 11:08 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/05/06
Posts: 2087
Location: US-PA
Char:

Your outfit should meet mine.

The first rod & reel combo I ever purchased (with lawn cutting money): an Eagle Claw Trailmaster #M4TMUL-6-1/2 foot fly/spin rod with the "Mini Ferrules" and a Garcia 408.

I still have both, looking as pretty as the day I bought them, including the black, red & yellow plastic box the 408 came in and the original aluminum Trailmaster tube & bag.

I hope your outfit puts as big a smile on your face as mine does!!


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Post 18 Mar 2020, 13:19 • #5 
Master Guide
Joined: 01/11/17
Posts: 436
Location: Missouri Ozarks
Great combo and appear to be in great shape. Enjoy


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Post 18 Mar 2020, 13:59 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/11/14
Posts: 1784
Location: urban Colorado
excellent..

the rod that started me down this collector path was a dumpster salvage Eagle Claw fly rod of the same vintage with the mini-ferrules. I like the cursive Wright & McGill Denver Colorado on the rod..
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=48369



and still fishing my 1974 Mitchell 308, amassed a number of other light/ultralight spinning reels from 1950s to 1980s but the Mitchell is still clearly superior to my mind.


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Post 19 Mar 2020, 05:14 • #7 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
It gets worse.
The rod that took me from UL pier fishing with up to 4 girls to Japanese XUL was also Eagle Claw (matched with Zebco UL-1).
Image


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Post 19 Mar 2020, 07:15 • #8 
Guide
Joined: 08/19/16
Posts: 314
Location: Brazil
Char Hunter, you’ve got a very nice outfit there.

In the late 60s / early 70s I did quite well with a Mitchell 408. From the mid-70s until now I have had a 308, but the 408 is clearly superior. They both have good line capacity for such a small, light reel, but the faster retrieve ratio of the 408 is a definite advantage.

I also had a 5 ½ foot Eagle Claw Featherlight in the 80s, and it’s one tough little rod. Although Wright & McGill / Eagle Claw has made some rods that are not as good as others, we must remember that the company has been making fiberglass rods continually since the 50s, even when almost all other rod manufacturers stopped production of them. For that, Wright & McGill / Eagle Claw certainly deserves some credit.


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Post 19 Mar 2020, 07:48 • #9 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
I have a Mitchell 410, and it's a real step up from 300 (not quite a Penn). Not just the faster retrieve, but smoother function and the bail slap-damper.

As far as Eagle Claw, they never stopped offering UL glass that really shines in spinning and UL spincast (it's the matching fly rods that have quirks)


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Post 20 Mar 2020, 06:30 • #10 
Guide
Joined: 03/12/15
Posts: 269
Location: US-CT
i have the same reel- wonderful toy. I collect the old mitchells and fish them. they were among the best ever made. Mine are 50 years young and still work like the day they were made.
I paid 12 bucks for my mitchell 300's and 308's etc. back in the day. Money well spent.


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Post 20 Mar 2020, 07:06 • #11 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Mitchell had been saving their flip bail design for 12 years, before they finally introduced it (2 years before Hardy's patent expired).
It was good enough that Hardy copied their bail on their on their subsequent ball bearing Exalta model.
Image

I think you have to qualify Mitchell was among the best made at the time. Penn edged them for design and manufacturing quality, Mitchell moved away from their design, and the Cardinal is the reel that came out of all it with the time-winning design.


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Post 20 Mar 2020, 07:15 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Thanks for showing that and your other EC fly rod find in another recent post. It's almost like the bright yellow EC rods are a developmental stage in anglers, and then later a stage we don't want to leave completely behind. A few years back I had a stare down at an upcountry general store with a pair of bright yellow NOS EC rods, one spinning, one fly. Felt like I ought to have them as knockabouts and for old time's sake, but decided to let my Berkley rods remain in that role. Had already sold my Alcedo Micron and was back to garage sale Mitchells, Shakespeares and the like for spinning reels.


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Post 20 Mar 2020, 12:26 • #13 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/28/16
Posts: 930
Location: Northern WI
I’ve enjoyed reading about others’ experiences with similar rods and reels. Both Eagle Claw and Heddon I will forever have soft spots for for various reasons, most of them sentimental and because of the good memories they conjure up. Another factor is the beautiful cursive inscriptions found on both of them.


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Post 20 Mar 2020, 22:38 • #14 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/19/08
Posts: 2462
Location: Seattle, WA
Any question where I stand on the pair? :like :P


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Post 31 Mar 2020, 09:19 • #15 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/04/12
Posts: 705
Location: SE Pa
Nice !!


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