Mitchell 300 - Large VS Small Spools

Started by basszilla, January 23, 2017, 03:24:24 AM

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basszilla

Somehow I've ended up with only one large spool and a bunch of small ones for my vintage 300s. I'll be fishing with 6# and 8# mono lines. Are the small spools practical for this when bank and pier fishing for crappie and bass? My only previous Mitchell experience was with a large spool, but even that was about 50 years ago. If I try to put 100-120 yds on the small spools, will it encourage lots of tangles and other problems? What about drag effectiveness with the larger diameter hub? 100 yds on a small is a much larger diameter than on a large. Sorry, I know this is really a novice issue, but that's what I am, just getting started again. Should I keep the small spools or get rid of them?

???




Ron Jones

THe small spools will be perfect for what you are describing. I fished 300s with as big as 20# test on the large capacity spools for pier fishing in the surf. The small spool will fill out nicely with 8# mono and be just the ticket for bass and panfish. I caught hundreds of them using that exact setup.
Ron
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

foakes

Hi Jack --

Basically, it is your choice.

For me, I seldom use a deep spool -- since so much line is wasted that I will never get down to.

The shallow spool is fine for my use.

What I might suggest for your reels would be to spool up an extra spool for each reel with fresh line.

This way it is just a simple press of the button -- switch spools -- and ready to keep fishing.

Could put 4# on one -- and 8# on the other.

Depending on what you want to end up with -- I could just trade you out for what you might need.

I have around 700 Mitchell spools -- of which about half are for the 300 size reels -- so no sweat.

They come in aluminum or plastic -- both are fine.

If using the deep spool -- just load up the first half with dacron for a filler -- simple, cheap, and effective that way.

Best,

Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

basszilla

In that case, I won't even use the large spool. I'll start out by loading the small ones with 4, 6 and 8#. Fred, I got a laugh from all those boxes in your hallway. Our spare bedroom looks like that, except my boxes are filled with vacuum tubes.
;D


foakes

Quote from: basszilla on January 23, 2017, 06:27:31 AM
In that case, I won't even use the large spool. I'll start out by loading the small ones with 4, 6 and 8#. Fred, I got a laugh from all those boxes in your hallway. Our spare bedroom looks like that, except my boxes are filled with vacuum tubes.
;D

Twice a year, or so -- I try to re-evaluate the inside upstairs shop.

Parts & Tools that are really necessary to the everyday deal -- need to come to the forefront -- and easily accessible without using a flashlight on a step stool -- or on my knees.

Stuff that I haven't touched in a year -- just needs to go out to one of the 2 shops in the barn, or the overseas container, or gone.

Been working on a little better storage control system for the most used parts -- Quick, Mitchell, Penn, ABU, Daiwa, Shimano, etc. -- so when matching and replacing parts -- I don't have to move, stretch, hunt, dig -- just pull out a part and keep going.

I have a very understanding wife.

Best,

Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

CH


Quote from: foakes on January 23, 2017, 06:45:25 AM

....... I have a very understanding wife.

Best,

Fred

LOL...well that's obvious.

I'm lucky that way too.
Can't imagine life without this gem of a woman.

Now if I could just get her to organize and catalog my "projects and spares"..........  ;D
L2F/F2L
DAM Quick Addicted

basszilla

A couple more questions about these - do all the Mitchell 300s ('70s and older) have a drag washer under the spring? I have two spools with teflon, but the others have nothing. The spools with no washers are older and probably had fiber originally. Is there a way to tell for sure which spools use which material, or doesn't it matter?


Midway Tommy

The 81-825 & 9101 small (shallow) spools did not have a teflon or fiber washer. The 81-826 & 9102 large (deep) spools had a fiber washer. Both the 9121 small (shallow) and 9122 large (deep) spools came with a teflon washer. With that said, there can be some inconsistency in what you might find from spool to spool of the same depth/line capacities.   
Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

Whit

Well there is one alternative, and that's to put some thick line (no matter what kind) on a deep spool and then top it off with a shorter length of the light mono.  I actually prefer the deep spools because they are metal, where the small spools are plastic.   Not a big difference, but if you ever use the reel to take on some of the bigger species, you'll like the ruggedness of the deep spool.

happyhooker

Sometimes the obvious is invisible.

Have some 300s, a 400, etc., but my wife is left handed, so I wanted a backup setup for her.  Got a nice Mitchell 301C.  Figured I could spool up some 8lb. test for her & swap spools between the 301C and my 300s.  NOT.  We all know the 300s spool line the opposite way from most reels, but it slipped by me that the 301C will spool the opposite way from the 300s!  So, spools with line on can't be used between the 301C and the 300s.  I figured that out while trying to get a spool that had line put on with the 301C to work on my 300A; talk about DUH!

Midway Tommy

Quote from: happyhooker on July 21, 2017, 02:46:11 AM
Sometimes the obvious is invisible.

Have some 300s, a 400, etc., but my wife is left handed, so I wanted a backup setup for her.  Got a nice Mitchell 301C.  Figured I could spool up some 8lb. test for her & swap spools between the 301C and my 300s.  NOT.  We all know the 300s spool line the opposite way from most reels, but it slipped by me that the 301C will spool the opposite way from the 300s!  So, spools with line on can't be used between the 301C and the 300s.  I figured that out while trying to get a spool that had line put on with the 301C to work on my 300A; talk about DUH!

Ha! I had something like that happen to a Cardinal 4 & 6 about 40 years ago.

I was going on a fly-in trip with 5 other guys to northern Saskatchewan abut 250 miles north of Flin Flon. I'd never flown in before so I decided to have new line put on both my reels and 2 extra spools. I never even thought to check them and when we got to camp and went out the first evening with the guides I tied a spoon on and quickly found out the dingbat that spooled my reels spooled all 4 of them backwards.   :o  Talk about ticked off!  >:( Had to let all the line out while trolling along and rewind them all back.  ::) I laugh about it now but it sure wasn't funny at the time.  :D 
Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)