Mitchell Reel Forum

It's widely known there was an unscrupulous entity creating fake DL reels for profit. Though I've never personally handled one. Even boxes. See photo. Admittedly, its a beautiful box, but not produced by Mitchell. Maybe that is why this 330 has gold accents.

Sandman

: DL Fake Box.jpg (19.55 KiB) Viewed 191 times

One, I concur with Bill. It is not a rare reel. The Mitchell 300 spinning reel was the most prolific spinning reel ever made. Nearly 14M were produced spanning four decades. Which is an indicator of its quality and thus popularity. By 1959 there were over 1.5M produced. While in typical used conditi...

Rob, we can know the year of manufacture (pretty close) by the characteristics. If you post good photos we can tell you.

Baby powder and high magnifier is the best method to read serial numbers. Which only goes so far.

Sandman

Bailarm, yes, Fred Meyer always had a sporting goods section where they sold fishing gear. They still do. They advertised themselves as "The One-Stop Shopping Store". Even though I grew up with several Fred Meyer's near me, I don't think I ever purchased fishing gear from them, since there...

And we'd love to see them and know the serial numbers.

Sandman

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Rob, welcome to the Mitchell Reel Museum! Yes, that is what is going on. All the types of reels in the chart above were numbered sequentially, no matter the model number. A logical assumption would be that they started with #000001 in 1959, but no serial number below about #003000 has been discovere...

6lb Channel Cat on a six foot, 5wt 1970s Fenwick fly rod.

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Bill, attached is the 308 Pro schematic.

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Here is a pair of 1958 versions.

Sandman

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Mark, that serial number is a very low 306/307 number. If correct, it is a first year production of 1958. There is a good chance you are unable to read a preceding number indicating a later production. There were always the digit 0 preceding that low of a serial number. Does your reel have a yellow ...

First, I should mention James Partridge also created an outstanding Mitchell UL reference, in the form of a book. For clarity, Julien's is the best 408 'on-line' UL info I've seen. Bill, I'm glad to share the schematic from my 308 Pro. It came with it, as the package was MIB. As far as I know, the 3...

Ted, you found Julien Cohendy's website. He is/has been a member here. Christian Lhermitte introduced him to me. We have corresponded. His website is fabulous and the most comprehensive 408 documentation I know. The exploded views are remarkable. Anyone interested in these reels should visit his sit...

Thanks Wallace, and welcome back! The over 1000, 308 reels I've recorded, has taken even longer. Ted, that's a beautiful reel and should fish quite well. I think your research is spot on. While I can't verify yours was the last year before heading to Asia for production, it makes sense from the char...

Thought I'd share a nice 408. I've recorded over 300, 408/409 reels and this is the lowest serial number I've seen. Does anyone have a lower SN? I acquired it several years ago from a local online ad. There were only 2070 made the first production year of 1963. Given the sequential numbering of ULs,...

I see an old looking head and faceplate, a line guide screw from pre 1963, an A/R lever from pre 1963, a crank handle from the eighties and replacement body (no SN) from the seventies...this reel may span four decades.

Sandman

GLW, welcome to the Mitchell Reel Museum. Your 308 has a serial number indicating a 1966 production year. Glad to answer any other questions.

Sandman

timben, your Salt Water reel dates to production year 1955. It would of had a yellow/black Garcia sticker. The 302 model number was not engraved on these until 1956. The serial numbers were sequentially numbered, so yours was the 43,474 produced, inclusive of right hand crank (303) Salt Water reels....

Stripped threads in the bail arm post: I might try filling with JBWeld and/or an epoxy and turning in the screw as a perm fix, knowing the head is a lost cause.

Sandman

The 308 with SN 118212 is from 1961. Third year of production for that model. Considered a second version with some desirable early parts.

Sandman

Late 1954. Salt Water half-bale serial numbers range from about A1000 - A4000. So only 3K produced, or so. I've recorded about 20 and don't believe I've ever seen one is as nice of condition as yours. Commonly, they have a modified foot and significant paint loss. I surmise that not many remain, due...

Manitou, welcome to the Mitchell Reel Museum. Your Salt Water is an exceptional reel. Glad to answer any questions.

Sandman

Reynolds’s, yes, there are two tricks to get the dawg and spring back in the correct position. First, as shown in twills first photo, place the a/r lever in the engaged position (as when the dog clicks on the main gear). Next, place the dawg and spring in position without slipping the dog down onto ...

Hi Zed… #1) The bearings could be grinding….I’ve found the most common grinding noise on the 308 is the pinion gear meshing with the main gear. This gear design is not the quietest ever and if someone changed one of the gears along the way, that increases the likely hood of poor meshing. You won’t k...

Zed, :text-welcomewave: to the MRM. I’ve had that happen a number of times. The pinion is stuck in the body housing. I’ve had to tap the pinion gear with a dowel from the inside of the body. Have to use just the right size dowel and it will be at a bit of an angle, but it has always worked. Never hu...

This was a known problem out of the factory on early full bail 302 reels. The fix was to extend the shoulder on the crank handle to alleviate this. So you either have an early 3O2 handle or the handle or bail wire got bent somehow.

Sandman

becka, welcome to the MRM forum!!

I've had that happen when plastic arbors are spooled by a machine at a sporting goods store. The machine winds the line too tight on the spool crushing the plastic arbor. I've loaded all my spools manually ever since.

Sandman

Kim, a quiz....thought someone more knowledgeable then me on classic egg shape history would of answered by now....not my specialty, but I'll give it a shot from memory. Somewhere about 56' - 57' Mitchell produced the Rapid, which was the first high speed version of the 300. I don't believe they wer...

Correction to my last post, "new date code of March, 1975, further proves/indicates". This should of read March, 1974. Apologies for the typo.

Sandman

Ham, didn't mean to confuse, but I did take your thread in a related direction to the question of when the new date coding begin. Definitely pertinent to figuring out when your reels were produced and whether your reels began with a D or 0. So, the importance of me finding a reel with a new date cod...

Your welcome. Welcome to the Mitchell Reel Museum!! Got my curiosity up, so I did some some digging through my reels and found one even earlier with the new date code (D071203). This one is March 12th, 1974. So, it looks like the thought that the new date code began in the 1975 production year doesn...

The reels themselves are not rare. The fact that they stayed together their whole life is uncommon, but doesn't relate much to value. Would help value a bit if they were mint in box. Mostly, its just a fun fact that they have survived together as brothers...Value is mostly attributable to condition ...

Aloha Justin, I was on the big island last week visiting. Beautiful island. While there were UL reels that had six digits preceded by a “0”, the “0” would not of been followed by as low of a number as 140XXX (they were numbered sequentially) and also had a no dashed model number and second version b...

Very interesting. While there are a few known examples of reels with the same serial number, that is not my first inclination here. A couple reasons why. I believe the number "0" as the first numeral is actually a "D" indicating a 1974 production year. These reels characteristics...

Thanks Don. PM’ed you and Phil back.

Sandman.

That serial number is not from the ‘50s. Later ‘60s makes sense. I’ll check my records when I get home from vacation. The 0 was added at the front to prepare stamping for the eventuality of one million reels. Other characteristics would indicate production era. Photos are best.

Sandman

Notches face the bearings. And Yes, the retaining screws go into the notches. That is why the notches are there.

Sandman

Sea Hunter, Bill described the function of of the anti inertia break well. They were not factory installed until around 30,000 (A30000) reels, or so. They can be added and many were.

Sandman

Pretty sure the only model that has a red plug with that serial number is an early Salt Water (302 or 303).

Sandman

The only cast mark found on very early (1960, beginning about 009000) 308 reels is LM1 and progressing to LM2 in 1961. The very first 308 reels (about the first 9000) did not have a casting mark, with the exception of one in the 003400 range that I have found. After 009000, they all had this cast ma...

Schrack, here is a dating chart for all ULs.

Sandman

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: UL FROM 1959 TO 1986.jpg (359.47 KiB) Viewed 1912 times

Ted, it looks like someone painted a Bearing Buddy bra. The one below is aftermarket so it has no markings.

Sandman

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Nice 2nd version John. Definitely a first version spool. I've attached Wallace's Transfer gear versions for further identification. Like Bailarm mentions, it's good to see the clicker spring intact. Mine has one arm broken. Sandman Screen Shot 2017-05-25 at 12.16.12 AM.png Screen Shot 2017-05-25 at ...

Glen, check the axle guide for smooth gliding. It may be locking up at some point.

Sandman

Agree with Ted. A very early third version indicated by the very squared off foot and non-chamfered crank handle counterweight which seems original to the reel given the overall condition of all. In general, a well preserved early third version. Would be cool to see the main and transfer gear. Start...

Yes, a little…that SN is from about 1962-63…I can tell you more definitively when I get back in town. From the two photos everything looks stock from those years including the spring loaded crank handle counterweight, crank handle grasp, bail arm, line guide screw, drag nut and model number engravin...

Redwave, the 5 on the housing occurred about the same time they changed from a 4 coil bail spring to a 5 coil bail spring. Most believe this is what it denotes (housings with a five are made for 5 coil springs), though I don't think I've ever seen proof of that, it stands to reason. All UL housings ...

You may want to give that person a nice Christmas present this year, those reels, in excellent condition fetch around $100 on ebay.

Sandman

Congratulations! Arguably a centerpiece of a Mitchell collection.

Sandman

Glen, not a particularly rare reel...I wouldn't worry about selling it to a collector unless it is in NOS or near mint condition, then there may be a collector who wants it.

Sandman

Stick, thanks for the handle photo. That is the early no-shoulder handle. I know what you mean about it being shiny. mine is too. The later handles has some sort of coating or anodizing that made them more of a flat sheen. There were three different yellow Garcia stickers used on these reels. The fi...

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