treecutter
Well-known member
I have an opportunity to purchase a pristine Mitchell 300 in Box Complete with 2 Spools & wonder if it would be a sound investment?.
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Mitchell 300
- Thread starter treecutter
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@Clive
Well-known member
Depends on the version and price. However, the word 'investment' isn't usually associated with fishing tackle 
treecutter
Well-known member
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mikench
Well-known member
Maybe if you didn’t use it and kept it pristine, it might increase in value. I’d rather have a painting to look at. I would only buy it if I intended to use it and was likely to enjoy doing so. It’s your money though and you cannot take it with you.
@Clive
Well-known member
No. I would invest elsewhere.
treecutter
Well-known member
When I said investment, I meant would it be up to regular use.
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mikench
Well-known member
I cannot comment but did contemplate buying one to find out what I might have missed. I decided against. I once bought a car without a heated window, no sinchromesh on first and second( if I recall) and no aircon. It lasted 2 months- ghastly.
@Clive
Well-known member
If it is made in France then possibly. If made in the Far East then unlikely. Mitchell's quality peaked in the early 70's. That reel is around 10 to 20 years later.
Personally I would buy Shimano, Daiwa or Okuma.
Kevin aka Aethelbald
Well-known member
People wax lyrical about old Mitchell 300's. I remember them from my school days as being 'agricultural' - like my dreadful, but all my dear parents could afford, 'combination' rod. I remain misty-eyed about the brand and suggested on another thread that I might get the newest Mitchell 300, only to be told that because they are nothing like the Swedish-made ones of old, they are no good (or words to that effect). My conclusion was to stick with Daiwa or Shimano - modern ones.
Up to you, OP, if you want a vintage reel, but I would only buy one to decorate the man cave.
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Up to you, OP, if you want a vintage reel, but I would only buy one to decorate the man cave.
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Alan Whitty
Well-known member
Imo they are a thing of the past, great reels in their time, not so now, they will stand a bit of use, but their gearing is monkey metal and the bail springs do go, I believe you can get their parts from someone down in Devon, but that is a guess, somebody here will know for sure...
Kevin aka Aethelbald
Well-known member
Love it!
You must be thinking Cornwall... one of the old tin mines.
@Clive
Well-known member
All reels were agricultural in the 60's, Mitchells less so than the likes of Intrepid and others. But as time went on ABU brought out better reels, better reels came in from Japan and Mitchell went backwards. If you compare the gears on the 1st to 5th generation 300s against that of a 1970's version you would see what I mean. Mitchell went bust. They were off the market for years. The new version is only a Mitchell by name. It isn't made in France and it isn't made by the same Mitchell company. That company does not exsist. Like a lot of things in modern life the name generates sales for nostalgic reasons so companies buy the rights to the name and stick that name on what is usually a poor product hiding behind a name synonymous with quality or reliability.
ABU also went to the dark side, selling out to an investment company who moved production of all but the multipliers from Sweden to China. And plastic replaced metal. The last fixed spool reels that were made in Europe were French Brettons and they went bust over 20 years ago.
So, by all means consider a modern Mitchell or ABU. But don't let their historic past influence your decision. They are not made by the companies they puport to be. The Mitchell 300 Pro has received good reviews from people who have just taken it out of the box. Read deeper though and there are reports from users about bail return problems. Also difficulty in sourcing replacement parts including bearings. As for ABU; just ask Ray about his new model 507.
Many years ago I was talking to a customer about why he had chosen a Ferguson ctv rather than a Hitachi. His reply was that Ferguson made damned good tractors.
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
ABU also went to the dark side, selling out to an investment company who moved production of all but the multipliers from Sweden to China. And plastic replaced metal. The last fixed spool reels that were made in Europe were French Brettons and they went bust over 20 years ago.
So, by all means consider a modern Mitchell or ABU. But don't let their historic past influence your decision. They are not made by the companies they puport to be. The Mitchell 300 Pro has received good reviews from people who have just taken it out of the box. Read deeper though and there are reports from users about bail return problems. Also difficulty in sourcing replacement parts including bearings. As for ABU; just ask Ray about his new model 507.
Many years ago I was talking to a customer about why he had chosen a Ferguson ctv rather than a Hitachi. His reply was that Ferguson made damned good tractors.
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
treecutter
Well-known member
I own a Daiwa 3010TDX already. I just thought it might be nice using a vintage reel
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@Clive
Well-known member
There can be a lot of pleasure using vintage reels. I have (too) many dating from around 1911. The Mitchell 300 Pro isn't vintage. It is from this century.
There are some really nice vintage reels from Daiwa and Shimano that you can pick up for little money. Or look for an ABU Cardinal 44 or 55 from the 1970's. They are bullet proof. Mitchells too are worth considering. In the 1950's through to the 1970's virtually all specimen hunters used Mitchell 300s and all the top matchmen had 440A reels. The 440A is the only Mitchell A reel that I would consider. The 300s are better before the 'upgrade' imo. And with old ABU & Mitchell reels you can still buy cheap spare parts and fit them yourself.
All of the Speccie anglers I sold reels to or bought reels from our shop were........ABU Cardinals. Mitchells - mostly Match or 440A - went to Match anglers.
@Clive
Well-known member
The Cardinal wasn't introduced until the mid 1960's and they only really became affordable to most anglers in the early 1970's. If you look back at the photos of Walker, Stones, Wheat, the Taylor brothers........ they all used the 300 right back to the 2nd version in the 1950's.
barbelboi
Well-known member
I still have a couple of late 50's 300s (loved them at the time) shoaled up somewhere in the roof space.........................
Keith M
Well-known member
Here’s a few of my old reels that I keep in the back of a drawer; apart from the Abu Cardinal 55 which I sometimes use when fishing floating crust for Carp; and the Black Cat centrepin which I sometimes use when fishing the lift method for Tench on our estate lake and very occasionally for near bank Carp (it’s not that good for trotting because he spool is a bit heavy causing inertia problems; even though it will spin forever if flicked).
In his book on Roach (Osprey Anglers Library) Dave Stuart mentions that he very occasionally used the tiny multiplier Abu Record 2100 ‘Just for fun’ when trotting for Roach which is why I bought this multiplier; only I tended to use it for large Chub on the river Kennet back in the late 70s using prawns.
I also have a prototype MK2 Black Cat centrepin as I was asked to modify the reel by someone who bought the dyes later; so that it would improve its trotting capabilities which wasn’t really successful, however I still occasionally use the prototype for Tench as well as my original shop bought Black Cat.
Keith
In his book on Roach (Osprey Anglers Library) Dave Stuart mentions that he very occasionally used the tiny multiplier Abu Record 2100 ‘Just for fun’ when trotting for Roach which is why I bought this multiplier; only I tended to use it for large Chub on the river Kennet back in the late 70s using prawns.
I also have a prototype MK2 Black Cat centrepin as I was asked to modify the reel by someone who bought the dyes later; so that it would improve its trotting capabilities which wasn’t really successful, however I still occasionally use the prototype for Tench as well as my original shop bought Black Cat.
Keith
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@Clive
Well-known member
Some of those are too good to keep in a drawer Keith. The 2100 Record is a beautiful reel and deserves to be fished.
I have 1, 3, 4 & 6. Plus a few more. They all get used.
Get 'em used
I have 1, 3, 4 & 6. Plus a few more. They all get used.
Get 'em used
In the mid to late 70's ALL of specimen anglers buying reels from 'my' shop bought Cardinals. Hardly ever sold a 300, some 320 & 324, and the most popular Mitchells - 440/840 - all went to Match anglers (as expected). Can't remember selling a 410 either. If I was sensible back then I'd have bought Cardinals for feeder fishing as well rather than buying what was popular with Match anglers.
Peter was a customer and raved about the cardinals (not sure what he actually had).