Thursday, May 28, 2009

Thursday Review: A New Mitchell Reel Collector's Forum

Thursday Review: A New Mitchell Reel Collector's Forum

There are a lot of good web sites on the internet for Mitchell collectors. A new forum called Mitchell Mates, launched about two months ago, promises to be one of the best resources for the history of Mitchell, the most popular reel in the world.


Mitchell Mates, the brainchild of fishing historian Wallace Carney, is a nifty new forum on all things Mitchell. While still in its infancy, and likely to add a few forums in the future, it already has forums on general interest, servicing Mitchell reels, Mitchell Franken-Reels and Look-A-Likes, Conolon NARMCO Fiberglass rods, old movies on Garcia-Mitchell-Abu-Conolon, Articles, and a wish list. A pretty impressive list of places for anyone looking for ABU-Mitchell information.

One of the things that strikes me as interesting about this forum -- and Mitchell reel collectors in general -- is the massive interest globally these reels command. Users from almost every corner of the globe frequent Mitchell Mates, and are ready to offer answers on any number of questions. I recently queried the body politic on Abu-Garcia leather bags. I got a ton of useful information in the blink of an eye.

Wallace Carney's "Mitchell Mates" is a Yuku forum open to anyone, although only members can post. Membership (like other similar Yuku homes like the Classic Fly Rod Forum and Fiberglass Flyrodders) is open to anyone, as long as they follow a few rules.

You can access this forum by clicking here. I've always fished Mitchells (300 and 308s) so they hold a special place in my heart. Additionally, I've run across interesting information on Mitchell in my research that I'll be uploading there soon. You'll definitely want to bookmark this site; if you buy any tackle, you'll certainly be running across some Mitchells, and the Mates can help you separate a $30 Mitchell from a $300 one.

-- Dr. Todd

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