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Mitchell Match 440A

Mike Hodgkiss said:
Give it a go David , it will be fine . I have loads of mitchell spare spools [ I mean dozens ] if you want a couple .
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Thanks Mike i might take you up on that offer :). I am sure i will see you on the banks of the Ouse this year and if i am lucky at the Ousemeisters :cool:
(I'll trade you some of my Garlic Spam stash! :eek:)

Dave
 
Craig Sadler said:
I have had a number old Mitchell reels over the last 30 years including the 440. Mike Traynor in Nottingham has a small business repairing and providing spares for them. Reliable and honest with a good service by post. I have dealt with him a number of times over the last ten years or so. My 440 was serviced by him last February. The 440 is awful for trotting nowadays as the bail arm causes problems with the strike and then the delay in winding down. It is okay for heavy legering/feeder fishing but prefer the 300 as the bail arms mechanism on the 440 is temperamental and in my opinion over complicated.
Hope this information is of some interest. In the 1960s and 1970s the Mitchell and also the Abu 505/506 close faced reels were what I wanted as a boy when fishing my local rivers but I couldn't afford them!

Mike Traynor's address below.


michael traynor <hottapmike@hotmail.com>
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Hi Craig
I bought my dad an Abu 501 in mint condition off Ebay for christmas and i am tempted to get one myself. Cracking little reel!

Dave
 
Colin Bridger said:
Read Andy Orme's book "Barbel Mania". He recommends them. I have used them in the past and no problems, had my first double,12lb 02oz, with one.
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Seriously ,why would he recommended that reel? Other reels of that era would be better suited, Thought the bale arm assembly too twitchy, seems to be sentiment over sensible. It was the only Mitchell I disliked, and I was a big Mitchell fan, when they made good reels. Folk still struggle on with the 300" s why? Shimano's are better, like I say sentiment over sensible.
 
Neil Smart said:
Seriously ,why would he recommended that reel? Other reels of that era would be better suited, Thought the bale arm assembly too twitchy, seems to be sentiment over sensible. It was the only Mitchell I disliked, and I was a big Mitchell fan, when they made good reels. Folk still struggle on with the 300" s why? Shimano's are better, like I say sentiment over sensible.
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Can't argue with that Neil. Got a friend who loves old Mitchell's, but....well, he is just 'that sort of guy':D. Take the brilliant Chris Yates and his Golden Scale club...bunch of silly but wonderful eccentrics who just wish to preserve the ways and equipment of what they consider was a golden era, they love the nostalgia of it. I don't think even they, if being serious, would claim that some of the clunky old stuff they use is in any way technically superior to modern stuff...they just love it BECAUSE it 'clunks', and so represents that era :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Dave Taylor said:
https://barbel.co.uk/site/vbulletin/forum/members/dave-taylor-albums-dropbox-picture5566-image.jpeg

I found this one at the bottom of my old dad's basket. The bail arm didn't work so l took it apart and thoroughly cleaned it. It was a bit of a fiddle but it works a treat now.
A couple of questions,..I note that the reel has no number on the body, was this the norm?
Were there more than one type of "match" 440 manufactured over the years?

A few of my mates used to use them for general trotting, but I wouldn't consider them for barbel nowadays . Certainly an innovative reel in its day though.:)
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The reel in the photo is an "original" Mitchell Match, the gearing in these original reels was much better than the "440A" which could be distinguished from the earlier model obviously by the number on the gear case but also by the inclusion of a needless red plastic seal on the gear case cover.
I probably wouldn't use one for Barbel fishing myself, nor would I use one for trotting, the issues here are that the bail arm just isn't man enough, nor does it close fast enough for trotting.
I should just like to add that I do own 2 of the originals my self I grew up using these in my previous life as a match angler, it has to be said too that I preferred the ABU506M for my trotting, iv'e had a few barbel on that but I wouldn't use one as my first choice....
 
Mark Swaby said:
Great reel for backwinding a float down a swim,but not best suited for barbel fishing.The bail arm can catch the line when trying to auto close the bail arm and line can also wrap behind the spool.Most models had cast aluminium gears which often stripped teeth and seized up when casting feeders and heavy use so were upgraded by Brass gears and the last thing you want is a reel seizing up on you with a special fish on.Check your gears before they cost you. Yes Andy Orme recommended your reel but Andy fished very light lines when Barbel Mania was written.The 300 or 410 is a better suited reel for Barbel fishing if you want to go Retro.
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Mark, I think you will find that the original reels had the brass gearing, they economised with the 410A & 440A by using flimsy zinc gears...
 
Hi John,
The original Mitchell Match reels were the blue ones signifying they were "hi Speed retrieve" reels, they had the same body & gearing as the 410, they were I think 4:1 ratio, The black "Finger Dab 330's were only 3:1 retrieve, and had the same insides as the old 300, with no roller bearing in the spool housing, really too slow on the retrieve to be classed as a "match" reel
 
In my teens I had 3 mitchell matches, all used for float fishing. They were without doubt in my mind the best float reel available. I was coached as a youngster by some of the regulars in the all conquering Barnsley black team. They all used the Match, so i had them too. A big plus was the weight as it balanced most rods perfectly. However we never used the finger dab bail in its typical style ie pushing the bail down and casting, then turning the handle to retrieve, we didnt do it that way. We always hooked the line round the finger then dabbed the bail and cast normally. The retrieve was thus. Finger on top of the spool lift rod up, manually fold the bail arm doubt and pull the little hinge down to set the bail. The reason was to stop any chance of a tangle. Also to feel and play a fish from the strike etc. Alas personally I wouldn't use it for Barbel. The drags not fantastic, no line roller and in my mind its just a silverfish reel in my mind.
 
Garcia Mitchells were later models Dave . The first Mitchell reel with the innovative dab bail arm was the Mitchell Otomatic . Just google mitchell mates or Mitchell reel museum , there is a whole other world of Mitchell experts / information I am sure you will easily find out all you need to know .
 
David Maddison said:
Just out of interest what is the difference if any between mine and the models that say Garcia Mitchell? Is the Garcia Mitchell a later model?
Mitchell 440a Match fixed spool Reel Superb Condition Vintage | eBay

Dave
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The clue is the "A" after the 440.
The original Mitchell Match reels were blue in colour, and had "Match" engraved on the gear case, with no number.
The gearing inside the early reels was good quality Brass.
When they added the "A" they also added a seal around the gear case and cheaper zinc gearing, I think they only fitted the seal as the case wasn't as well manufactured.
Incidentally there was an even quicker retrieve model, the 840 Match with really high speed gearing, which only resulted in mega line twist.

Here's a proper one.....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MITCHELL-...812186?hash=item3abae71f5a:g:ed4AAOSw5dNWkPvM

And a better proper one...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-M...817859?hash=item43e8291f03:g:ln0AAOSwoydWlAJz

You might notice the counter weight on the spool housing opposite the "dab" mechanism, which wasn't fitted to the very early (Pre '75) models

If you like I could put up some pics of my 2 Matches & their gearing tonight?

Andy
 
Andy Bell said:
The clue is the "A" after the 440.
The original Mitchell Match reels were blue in colour, and had "Match" engraved on the gear case, with no number.
The gearing inside the early reels was good quality Brass.
When they added the "A" they also added a seal around the gear case and cheaper zinc gearing, I think they only fitted the seal as the case wasn't as well manufactured.
Incidentally there was an even quicker retrieve model, the 840 Match with really high speed gearing, which only resulted in mega line twist.

Here's a proper one.....
MITCHELL MATCH REEL. GOOD CONDITION. | eBay

And a better proper one...
VINTAGE MITCHELL MATCH FISHING REEL NOT 440 | eBay

You might notice the counter weight on the spool housing opposite the "dab" mechanism, which wasn't fitted to the very early (Pre '75) models

If you like I could put up some pics of my 2 Matches & their gearing tonight?

Andy
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This is when it really gets exciting.
 
i had all the finger dab mitchells at one time or other and found them to be excellent for trotting shallow water while wading, to be honest the 1st one that came out after the 330 was in my opinion the best one, never hd any problem with any of em until i hooked a really big fish, then found that complex bale arm had weakness, but saying that most mitchells had bale arm weaknesss of 1 description or another none the less very goor reels in their day:)
 
The Match 440a with auto is the ultimate trotting reel in my humble view. Light shallow spool and the auto bail arm makes stick float fishing great fun, and the clutch is not too bad. Its not a reel for heavy feeder work like people do these days on the Trent or Wye. But as a float reel it has a lot to recommend it, I love them so much I've gone overboard and brought one from a dealer. With Maxima 2.5 lb main line and a 2lb hook-link with a nice old Daiwa 13' match rod, what more could you want?
 
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