I am doing something wrong.
About a year ago I bought a Mitchell 499 in really good shape, maybe never fished. However, it has little to no drag pressure. Maybe 5 pounds. I have taken the spool off and the drag disk is the standard 498 type of early versa-drag of the compressed cork looking material Mitchell used forever. The drag knob has the 4 prong fitting in tact and it settles into its notches on the plastic "housing" on the spool shaft, but there is no way this reel has enough drag to fish even 15 pound line. Can someone throw me a bone?
Fred, are you out there?
Thanks in advance.
Ron
Hi Ron --
If it is NOS, it is just likely a problem with assembly, or springs compressed for 30 years since new.
That has what is called a forodo under spool drag disc -- effective enough, could be upgraded, metal spool.
I don't do much with the large Mitchells -- but do have some spools without the drag knob assemblies and springs. But there are variations -- so a pic would be helpful.
Likely Keith has the experience and parts on these.
I will see if you still need help Sunday afternoon -- then will check in.
Need to hit the hay now, getting up at 4:00 AM for a quick 406 mile round trip to Emeryville, in the East Bay.
Back by 9:30 tomorrow night -- up at 6:00 on Sunday to head down to Church -- back after lunch around 2:00 PM. Rest on Sunday afternoon by sorting 2200 spools into ordered ziplocks -- according to brand, material, size.
Best,
Fred
maybe i've got the wrong reel, but i was looking at a picture of what i thought was a 499 and it's a pretty small reel. not surprising that 5 pounds is all you get. switching out the stock drag washers to carbon fiber would definitely make the drag smoother, and will definitely increase the pressure you can get before the drag locks up, but it is still a light and very fragile reel. i would think that most guys would fish this reel with 8 to 10 pound test line and a 25% drag setting of 2 to 2.5 pounds. a 5 pound drag setting is what you would use for a reel spooled with 20 pound test. with 5 pounds, i'd think that something inside would break.
Quote from: alantani on September 16, 2017, 04:24:05 PM
maybe i've got the wrong reel, but i was looking at a picture of what i thought was a 499 and it's a pretty small reel. not surprising that 5 pounds is all you get. switching out the stock drag washers to carbon fiber would definitely make the drag smoother, and will definitely increase the pressure you can get before the drag locks up, but it is still a light and very fragile reel. i would think that most guys would fish this reel with 8 to 10 pound test line and a 25% drag setting of 2 to 2.5 pounds. a 5 pound drag setting is what you would use for a reel spooled with 20 pound test. with 5 pounds, i'd think that something inside would break.
It's a big reel, PUM, that wasn't well accepted in the US. It was highly promoted and well accepted in Europe and Africa. As Fred pointed out, there's not much to the mechanism and it may be compressed because someone neglected to release tension, whether inadvertently or not, prior to long term storage. The biggest thing you need to take sight of is that drag weight was not a big concern in the '70s and early '80s, which from your description is when your reel was more than likely made. The common procedure was to adjust the drag just short of line breakage and play the fish.
Ron can you post a pic of drag stack. I'll pull down one of my 488's and see what's what. You'll be needing that reel on drum over here on the right coast. Reel can handle more than 5lbs. Yours reels on the wrong side btw lol
Nah, you all are suckers.
Do you have any idea how much enjoyment a left handed conventional reel user gets watching right handed people cast and then swap hands? I laugh my rear end off every day. I get to fight the fish with my dominant hand, reel with my non dominant hand and I never have to swap hands.
There isn't a drag "stack" just the one keyed drag washer between the click fitting (I'm sure Mitchell has a name for it) and the spool. I'll post pics later today.
Thanks
Ron
It's called "Ferodo drag plate" and is part # 81 482 (http://www.mitchellparts.com/schematics/m498mp.jpg). It's not a stack or anything comparable. It's a one piece drag washer that fits between spool and axle plate. Mitchell made a big deal about advertising the famous race car brake/clutch lining connection. The weak link is the plastic arbor cast integrally on the axle, that supports the drag & spool. They used to be $1.00 but they're quite a bit more than that now (http://www.ebay.ie/itm/MITCHELL-FERODO-DRAG-PLATE-REF-81482-APPLICATIONS-BELOW-/182759637983?hash=item2a8d52c3df:g:MnQAAOSw241YYIyV). They very seldom wear out, but they can get brittle and crack.
Quote from: Ron "Jones on September 16, 2017, 08:33:36 PM
Nah, you all are suckers.
Do you have any idea how much enjoyment a left handed conventional reel user gets watching right handed people cast and then swap hands?
Thanks
Ron
A few of the "smart money" right handers use left handed casting reels because they got used to casting with their dominant hand and reeling with their off hand while spin fishing. ??? Same thing in the fly fishing regime. :D
My cousin and I started casting conventionals in the late 70s. The old man loved pointing out that I had the advantage because I didn't have to switch hands. Made me right peeved when I realived I had been fishing with a right handed Mitchel 300 for the last 6 years!
Been a Penn guy ever since.
As an aside, I LOVE watching you all shoot a rifle from a bipod and tke your hand off the trigger to cycle the bolt. Don't know why you'd live like that, but I appreciate the entertainment.
Ron
Here's a pic of my nib 498 showing the Ferodo Drag Plate and the single drag washer under the Drag Adjusting Knob. Both appear to be the same Ferodo material which is a "new brake lining material" (from the manual). Asbestos?
(http://alantani.com/gallery/21/12788_16_09_17_7_04_49_21882877.jpeg)
The Ferodo Drag plate is fairly large. 0.8225" ID, 1.376" OD, .0675" TH
The under washer dimensions are 0.4565" ID, 0.7865" OD, 0.0625 TH
The washers were well greased.
(http://alantani.com/gallery/21/12788_16_09_17_8_25_22.jpeg)
The under knob washer is not shown in the schematic and only indirectly mentioned in the manual.
(http://alantani.com/gallery/21/12788_16_09_17_7_43_40_218871807.jpeg)
(http://alantani.com/gallery/21/12788_16_09_17_7_43_41_218891513.jpeg)
(http://alantani.com/gallery/21/12788_16_09_17_7_43_41_218871478.jpeg)
Quote from: Ron "Jones on September 17, 2017, 02:29:02 AM
As an aside, I LOVE watching you all shoot a rifle from a bipod and tke your hand off the trigger to cycle the bolt. Don't know why you'd live like that, but I appreciate the entertainment.
Ron
A few of us RHers don't have have to cycle the bolt until we stand up to walk to the game we took down with one shot. ;D Oh, and BTW, my 86 year old wrong handed mother shoots, fishes and used to golf right handed. :)
So,
I pulled the under knob washer, reinstalled it, put everything back together and it works perfectly. Don't know what I did different but it works.
Ron
OK,
So now that this thing is working ( I am falling hard for this reel,) I need to figure out what to spool it with. It has at least 12 pounds of drag at least by my "calibrated" hand and a big spool. I'm thinking 40 pound Power Pro with a long top shot of floro. I wouldn't want the PUM to see the braid unless something really good sized was trying to get away from me.
Anyone have better suggestions?
Ron
If you go braid be careful and watch things closely. That era reel wasn't made to accommodate braid. It's tough on the roller guides and also on the spool edges.
I would suggest a good 25 or 30 pound mono such as Berkley Trilene Big Game, or Izorline.
I still have a problem fishing braid on old reels -- the parts are not made for braid -- and damage to the guide and aluminum spool can occur.
And, I think a good quality mono switched out each year -- is a good bet.
I have a problem paying as much for a spool of braid as I do for the reel.
And, fresh mono of decent quality is the cheapest thing to insure bringing a fish to the rail.
Best,
Fred
I was never a braid believer until the Alan Tani 7 day to Cedros a few years ago. Hookups happen more often and the fight is way better when their is no stretch in the line. I know this reel isn't made for braid, maybe I'll go straight floro, but for me mono is only for soaking dead bait or bouncing pipe jigs in the not so deep.
Ron