Mitchell 306 Pro?

[slosh]

I mentioned in another thread that I recently found (and didn't bring home) a Mitchell 306 Pro. I'd never seen one of these before, but from what I could tell it looked very much like a regular 306 -- non-skirted spool, full bail wire -- only with a nice rosewood handle knob. I passed on it for $15, because I only had a $20 bill and I found a nice Daiwa BG13 nearby for $10. Did I mess up?

[cbar45]

Tough to choose between those two. The 300 Pro's have bronze gears and a better line guide than regular 300's. Not sure if it's the same for a 306. 

[quang tran]

Not sure about 306 Pro but 300 Pro have roller bearings not bushing . I'm sure 406 have roller bearing

[Gfish]

I "think" the BG 13 would be the better deal, except I've never owned a Mitchell Pro 306 or any other Pro model. Is it just Mitchell(without Garcia) and is it made in France?

[quang tran]

Only Mitchell reel that I like to use now is 308 and 408 for crappie ,love a sound of drag  clicker on these reel but a cheap any other brand will have better perform .

[slosh]

I "think" the BG 13 would be the better deal, except I've never owned a Mitchell Pro 306 or any other Pro model. Is it just Mitchell(without Garcia) and is it made in France?

If I find it again I might get it just to crack it open. I can find nothing about this reel online lol.

It was made in France, non-skirted spool. Regular bail but I didn't really check out the line roller. Had the fancy 306 Pro emblem on the sideplates and the fancy handle.

[slosh]

Only Mitchell reel that I like to use now is 308 and 408 for crappie ,love a sound of drag  clicker on these reel but a cheap any other brand will have better perform .

I am in about the same boat, except I have put down the 408s after one of mine had a main gear failure. I think the later 308 high speed gear train is better.
I do use a 306 and my kid has a 406, both on cheap 7-8ft glass rods. These do fine for light bottom fishing in the surf, and catfishing on the boat.

[Donnyboat]

Hopefully Fred Oakes will chime in soon, he would know the difference, I think the Pro models have a thicker drive shaft, that make them a lot stronger, cheers Don.

[Gfish]

Well, the 2-non-Pro Mitchell Garcia 306's I've had were good large FW, med. SW reels. But the 302 from M.G. was to me a better reel, about the same size, with a nice heavy-duty spindle screwed onto the axel shaft for great spool support. They had an all metal drag washer system that maybe alota people didn't like, and replaced them with carbon-tex washers, usually removing the 2-click gear washers. I thought they were great.

[slosh]

I like my 306s/406 okay but would trade them for a Penn 710Z, Daiwa 1600C or 2600C, or a Dam Quick in that size class in a heartbeat. That said I have full faith in my Mitchells to handle whatever I throw at them, just with a little more clunk than I like and with some less-than-deal design choices (pinion bearing assembly primarily).

But they just work.

[quang tran]

I have a 306,a 386 ,a 302 few 300 few 300A ,few 900 I don't use these anymore if someone need them I will send them out

[cbar45]

I cut a carbon drag washer for the 386, but biggest improvement came from polishing the spool's drag surface to be as smooth and flat as possible.

Add me to the list of those who would like to see the inner workings of a 306 Pro.

[Midway Tommy]

The 306 Pro came out in 1985. There was also a 306 Pro PUM, 300 Pro, 300 Pro Anniversary ('91), 301 Pro, 300 Pro-Matic (auto bail), 308 Pro, 496 Pro, 496 Pro PUM, 496X Pro, 498 Pro, 498X Pro, 498 Pro PUM, 499 Pro and a few variations in the '90s of those I've listed. They were offered by Mitchell Sports after their purchase from Browning.