mitchell 300
 

just received an new old Mitchell 300 from a fellow that was selling it. also got 2 extra spools with it. was surprised to find one that was for sale. got it as a backup for the two I have had since the 1960's. love those reels.

A friend of mine recently received a box of thing from a friend of his who passed. There were 6 or 7 Mitchel 300s in that box all in operating condition. Where I live in PA along the Susquehanna river we have PR 300s. Ie. a Puerto Rican 300, a soup can with mono wound around it with a hook and sinker on the terminal end.

I still use a 300 when I go fishing and I've had it for about 50 years, but I seldom fish any more.

I still have a few of them but they are retired since they got "tired". I used to use that old venerable 300 for large fish and a 308 for the small stuff. Since I fish almost every day even in the winter and have done so for decades I have gone through many different rod reel combos. My new favorite reel is the Pflueger Presidential in the 30 size. Much better bail spring and and more rugged bail than almost every other cheap to medium priced reel. They cost about 60 bucks but are smooth and work well.

I cut my teeth fishing for trout in CO with Mitchell 300s. Haven't used one in years though since mine all wore out and parts got kind of hard to find. I mostly use Shimano these days.

A few years ago I bought a new version of the Mitchell 300 and it was crap. Those old ones were really good and are collector items for many. I too like the Shimano line but their low end stuff isn't that good. For a while I was getting the FD1000 reels at Dick's Sporting Goods for 29.99 and they worked well but the bail springs go after a while that is why I switched to the Pflueger line. I could have tried to replace the springs but the assembly inside has some plastic parts which wear out. At that price it was just a throw away. The presidentials are twice the price but don't seem to wear out. I usually have 6 to 8 rod/ reel combos in my boat for different applications.

mine is 44 years old and still bringin them in