Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Although I'm a Penn gal and an ardent devotee of the original SS Spinfishers, these classic Garcia Mitchell high-speed reels (406 & 402) are extra-special to me because they take me back to the days when I was still a green teenager learning to surfcast off the beach in Fire Island... a long, long time ago.     But with a lot of TLC (and life-saving assistance from Fred) they are good as new and ready to do battle again!   



Now I just need to find some suitably complementary rods... hmm. 

~A~

bryan found a bamboo rod a while back.  bamboo would be pretty cool! 

Those are Beautiful Aiala!

Quote from: alantani on February 08, 2015, 11:05:10 PM
bryan found a bamboo rod a while back.  bamboo would be pretty cool! 

Chief, I've never owned (or even fished) a bamboo rod. I'd love to find a vintage Garcia Conolon, but most of the survivors are two-piece long surf rods or much too light. I have every intention of using these reels to catch respectable fish (WSB? Halibut?) so I'd better find some decent rods for them to ride on.   

~A~

Quote from: Shark Hunter on February 08, 2015, 11:05:50 PM
Those are Beautiful Aiala!

Thanks, Mr. Shark! Coming from you, that's high praise indeed. 

~A~

Stunning Aiala. Garcia Conolon might be a stretch, but there allot of reasonably price spinning rods out there.

Tim

http://www.tackledirect.com/tsunami-airwaves-elite-braid-spinning-rods.html

http://www.tackledirect.com/okuma-cedros-coastal-spinning-rods.html

Nice reels.

I have some old split cane flyrods Alan.

Super good skills, Aiala!

Being practical (you stated you were going to use these) --

If surf fishing with the 402, and staying in vintage, a Conolon would be cool looking -- but I do not think practical -- but I would consider a glass Fenwick in 10' -- 2 piece would work, if solid and not loose.

Also a modern Ugly Stik in 10', glass --

If boat fishing, a 7' HD Fenwick or similar would do well.

On the 406, same thing -- except a little lighter rod would work.

Tim is right, there are plenty of new rods out there -- although be careful, I have had some issues with poor quality on some major brands -- since most of them are made in Asia now.  Unless you get into the CS, Seeker, etc. lines.

If you can spare the $$$ in your budget -- have JON V. build a couple of rods he would recommend for these reels.  He would match the beauty of these fine old high speed Mitchells -- with a couple of Lifetime beauties.

Again, great work.

Best,

Fred

I like your style Fred. Jon could match those reels,real nice

 Its not in mint condition but looks ok. If this is what you're looking for, you can have it for postage. I just have to find a tube to ship it in. The Shimano reel doesn't fit it right anyway.

That is so generous of you, thanks a lot! Regrettably, your Conolon seems to be designed for a spincast reel, and in any case would be too light for the fishing I'm envisioning.

I'm tempted to invest some bucks in a quality tuna-capable spinning rod... maybe even have a custom one made. But again, I do appreciate your kind offer. 

~A~

Beautiful reels, to be cherished!

Aiala, maybe this would work as well...Great price, have a great day  Tim

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Okuma-CC-S-701XH-Cedros-Coastal-Spinning-Rod-/221476613916?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item339108ef1c

Ah, the classics

Ooooohhhhh purty.

RE: pairing:

For my 302/402s, I often pair them with a relatively new Daiwa Eliminator 10' 2-piece rod, model NO:EL S1002MHRS.  Super light, and balances really nicely, rated to 40#, I think. 

this rod:
http://www.fishandsave.com/cat/101/Spinning-Heavy/products/44331/Daiwa-Eliminator-Surf-Custom-Design-Model-No:EL-S1002MHRS-10%27-MH-2PC

If you can find that, its a good'un. 

When I'm feeling vintagey, I've got an old Roddy that used to be a 12' one-piece.  I cut it down to a two-piece rod to fit it into my car. Works great for pier crabbing with snares, but it's a bit too noodly for surfcasting or heavier fish.  I will say though, it is really dramatic when you're pulling in something