Garcia Mitchell 300

[BrianSnat]

When I started fishing the Garcia Mitchell 300 was THE spinning reel. It didn't only seem to be the best spinning reel around, it was the practically the only reel that any serious spin fisherman around used.

My first reel was the 300, so was my second. Some years later my rods were stolen out of our boat along with my beloved 300s. I bought another 300. I think it was just Mitchell then, the Garcia name was gone. So seemed to be the quality. It wasn't quite the same. I soon became a Shimano fan and never looked back.

Last weekend I was at our old lakeside cabin where there has been an old rod with a GM 300 on the wall since the early 70's. It's my dad's old outfit and has been used by anybody who visited our cabin and needed a rod and reel. Let's say it received a lot of use and abuse.

I hadn't used a 300 reel since I converted to Shimano in the early 80's and I never gave the old 300 a 2nd glance - until last weekend.

I saw the old reel and decided to give it a "spin". Loaded it up with fresh line and put it on my one good rod (Shimano Crucial).

Ya know what, it is still a very nice reel. Smooth drag, solid feel. The only downside is the clicking noise when the anti reverse is engaged. Heck, I don't think the thing has been oiled in 20 years and it still is going strong after all of these years of use and abuse.

It was also an inexpensive reel. I could afford one by saving up a few months allowance. I wonder if the inexpensive reels we buy today will still be working so well in 40 years. After taking apart a few Shimanos and seeing the plastic inside, I doubt it.

Anybody else still using an old Garcia Mitchell 300 or have memories of using one?

[Goose52]

I used the original made-in-France Garcia Mitchell 300 in the 1960s and as you say, it was the standard reel that eveyone used. It came with a spare spool and had a unique level wind mechanism that laid more line in the center of the spool than on the edges - very nifty. Literally millions of fish have probably been caught with Mitchell 300s and I have a feeling that because of the trend of frequent model changes from most reel makers today, the 300s catch numbers may never be equaled.

I don't have a 300 today, but I do have a mint 408 (ultralight reel - same basic design as the 300) that I bought in the mid-60s that is on a mid-60s Garcia Conolon 6 1/2ft hollow-glass light-power spinning rod. I fish it every once and a while just for grins. The reel is still great, smooth and solid; I enjoy fishing it (the glass rod, not so much...). The "click" from the anti-reverse that you mentioned doesn't bother me but the anti-reverse is not the modern "instant" type and you have the backplay that we're not used to today. Also, you can't manually close the bail on these older reels and that throws me off as well.

My Dad (87) still uses his 50s and 60s-vintage 300s and has never bought a more modern spinning reel. I've seen other older anglers still using theirs. They just seem to last forever with little to no maintenance. And this from a reel with mostly only bushings and not ball bearings. Someday, I will probably end up with my Dad's 300s and I will fish them too...

On cost, the suggested retail for a 300 in 1964 was $37 although they were discounted quite a bit under that. Still, even if you could have got one for only $20 back then, an inflation calculator that I just used says that's about $140 in today's dollars; so, they weren't that cheap. I know I saved for a while to get my 408 at some point prior to 1967 but I can't remember what I paid.

Also on cost relationships, the current Michell Avocet Gold retails today for about what a vintage 300 retailed for nearly 50 years ago. The Avocet is a great little reel that new is probably the equal or better than the vintage 300. A great example of modern materials and manufacturing technologies holding down the cost. NOW, will an Avocet last 50 years like an original 300......I guess only time will tell !

[Crabcakes]

I have one in front of me right now. Made in France. Just caught a nice channel cat on it last month. Bought on that auction site for 15.72. Can't beat that deal.

[DaveT63]

I ran across an old Made in France 300 a couple months ago.  Still in great shape and works like the day it was new.  I'm looking at putting it on a rod and using it, as it certainly does bring back the memories.