Mitchell Reel Forum

Can anyone assist me please,just acquired a Mitchell Match.Finger dab bail works nicely but when trying to close the bail arm,the mechanism does not fully engage when turning the handle and has to be adjusted manually.Not ideal if using the reel for its intended purpose.
Any ideas/suggestions gratefully appreciated,have tried the obvious cleaning etc but reluctant to dismantle completely when everything else is running smoothly.
Many thanks

Stu, check the bail arm locking mechanism switch/button
It may not be fully disengaged. Just a thought

Hi, I find a lot of Mitchell reels (all models) I get have a bent bail arm, an easy check is to remove the screw from the small end easy to do and try the bail arm if it works gentle bending to shape, if that does not work you have to dismantle the trip mech check and clean debris both sides including the bail arm cog, check the teeth on both for wear or damage, then clean the baffle plate, if there is any damage or excess wear replace the part, NOS baffle plates are now becoming hard to find, lightly grease and re-assemble. Hope this helps Allan

The Match bail closing failure is pretty common as some parts wear...it's as though a 'knee joint' doesn't fully lock out.

First parts to replace are the baffle with its nylon cam on the inside and the arm that contains the cam follower. Incidentally if the cam is white you need to replace it with the same, not a black nylon one, I was told. I believe the follower is still the same part though, which is a bit mysterious.

But you might find you need to replace the two arms on the outside too as the knee joint wears too......

Here in the UK there is a man with hundreds of parts who can fix these cheaply, I hope that is the case in the US too?

I hope these Mitchell service documents are of help..the red addition is mine to help with on-line fault diagnosis.

Thank you to all for your responses and sound advice.
I am pretty confident in servicing most of my Mitchell’s but the bail mechanism on the Match is my nemesis.
I am in the UK so replacement parts shouldn’t be an issue as long as I don’t replace with another one even more “tired”
Think my knee joints are also starting to show the signs of clambering up and down too many steep riverbanks too!
Tight lines

Ah, if you're in the UK you want Metal Mickey on eBay, actually match angler Mike Traynor. He has stripped thousands of Mitchells for their parts and is probably the main man to speak to about a Match reel.

Scroll down a listing to seller's details...., select 'complete information' and you have his telephone and e-mail details

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234024379288 ... SwyiJgrSBx

sorry for reviving this old post.
For anyone after Mitchell spares in the UK, I know
of two plus one in france

1/ https://jimsreelshop.co.uk james partridge knows a lot about mitchell reels and has also wrote books on the subject

2/ https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trkp ... lmicky1944

3/ finally this seller in france has a very large collection of spares and will deliver to the UK and possibly worldwide
https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/beaffairesfishing