For a list of our gear, map of our fishing locations and merchandise visit us at SenkoSkipper.com Thanks for watching everyone!

The reason they made the old reels to come apart is because people weren't as stupid as they are now days and they could actually work on their own reel.

The sargosa caught all small fish the biggest fish you caught was on the mitchell....i love my mitchell 300 caught a California legal 34 in white sea bass on my mitchell 300 with a diawa regal strike on 20 lb test ..to me the drag on the mitchell is one of the best and is very smooth so you don't snap off any fish

The old mitchell reels are all me and my dad use, between the two of us we have about 50-60 of them

I really wish a company would remake these old reels! The sheer simplicity and ease of maintenance would be amazing compared to a lot of the newer reels out there.

I love vintage fishing gear. I collect high end vintage and contemporary fly fishing reels and rods. Its great to see other young people like myself be into the old gear. While I'm strictly a fly fisherman I really enjoy your channel.

Hey Brandon, my generation fished with those reels, and we only used mono cause that's was only line available back then, and funny we still brought fish home at end of day. Why don't you ask your father what kind of line he used back in the day . And let's see if your saragpssa reel will still be fishing in 70 years.

Mate, I've used these reels all my life, and I have caught everything from small stuff to monster kingfish,they are reliable, tough, durable and simple, shimano is awesome gear as well,but fishing is all about fun,and if you lose a fish it really doesn't matter, you can always try again!!!

Nothing beats an old Mitchel reel!

I love my older Penn bait cast & conventional reels for Fluke, Sea bass & other bottom fish, boat fishing in 20 - 60' of water on the inlets of Long Island. The Penn 109 I have, was purchased at Herman's sporting goods, year 1971 by my father when I was 6 years old, still have it!!

60 years from now that Shimano will be long gone and the Mitchell and Penn will still be catching fish. Just like so many other things the generations before us were so much better at doing things because they didn’t have technology like we do that makes everything easy.

The Mitchell 300 series reel is a classic. I've been using a pair (the same ones) for the last 45 years. Just remember to rinse them after a day in salt water and lube them every once in a while and it will last forever. Or longer than you, anyway - which is the same thing. BTW - my "new" rig is a 20 year-old Penn 704Z. I've used them off of piers for such things as schoolie stripers and whatnot and found that they worked well. I have no experience with Tautog, so can't speak to it. I use 12 lb mono, it *does* stretch, which is why when I go into the surf, I use the larger Peen with braid. As always, adjust your gear to match your quarry. I've recently moved to central Florida's Atlantic coast and am learning new techniques & locations.

Hey man, hope you’ve had more time to play with the 706. I’m from the east coast, it’s van staal, zeebaas, saltiga and torque country. I now live in salmon country. I personally have few 706, 706z, 710 reels. Some modified some not. I’ve used my 706 on a 9 foot lamiglas now for over 10 years and still catch fish over 20 pounds. Those 706 reels still have parts available, literally they cost cents, and are easily serviceable. So I hope you’ve given it more time to grow on you, those reels are indestructible.

The old reels and rods were built to last. No ball bearings but no stupid gimmicks either. Though modern reels haven't changed all that much from the old school reels and rods our parents used (only we have better materials today at our disposal). The fishing gear our parents and grandparents used still does the same job as the fishing gear we use today. At that time it was the best that they had for fishing. The fishing gear worked and the gear caught fish. What more can you ask for? As a child we used the aluminum rods we bent off of the old TV antennas salvaged from old houses being torn down in the early 1970s. We then tied on on some fishing line to the end and a lead sinker and a bobber. The whole setup cost less than $3.00 and worked great for catching perch at the local reservoir. Fishing is a summer recreation for most people and people don't need to spend $500.00 on the latest and greatest gear just to catch fish.

I fish with vintage reels very almost exclusively and Mitchell’s have become a distinct favourite of mine. At the end of the day it’s what you’re used to. I went from Mitchell 300s to an ABU Soron and I felt it was less sensitive. Obviously it’s not it’s just different. That being said, I fish on small welsh sea-trout and salmon rivers in Wales with those reels and for what you were doing you probably had to heavy of a line for the reel (6lbs-8lbs is the prime for these reels) if you want a vintage Mitchell more equipped for this try a Mitchell 440 which is a lot bigger. I might also add when fighting a fish retrieve speed is almost irrelevant, it’s about giving and taking line. You set drag for a reason. If I wound line in like you do on a 10lbs + Sea trout or Salmon in a river I’d loose it.

*MITCHELL REELS ARE SEVERELY UNDER RATED! PROBABLY THE BEST REELS I HAVE EVER USED* I'm still using several from the mid 1990s I will continue to buy Mitchell

I have several Mitchell 498 and they are really one of my favourite reels

I've caught 12lb steelhead on a 300. So operator error.

8:05 I use my 300 for trout fishing in rivers using a spin lure like a veltic, those spinners only need to be pulled along slowly making this reel ideal

Man, that Penn 704 was my first surf reel (1975), I still have it, and it still works just fine. It's kind of like driving a 1961 VW bug. Clunky as hell but totally functional.

When you're having trouble using a stiff rod take the line tension in your trigger finger and feel the line and if you are having trouble setting your hook from mono stretch use as light of a weight as you can get away with and sharpen your hooks!

Fishing technology has come so far since we used those reels. It’s amazing how many fish we caught back then. That Penn was a workhorse and probably in every old guys closet. The only thing that could brake was the bail and if you were a surf guy, you bought the manual bail version.

Those old reels are made that way because you had to actually do your service on them, rinse them from salt and re grease it. It's pretty cool pulling those old reels apart and putting them back together

I've used that Mitchell for 50 years. The only drawback is it corrodes easily. I buy "collectors" reels and rebuild my old ones for friends. Try filling the reel and you'll get more speed...about 4" per crank turn.

The lady who lived next door to me for a couple years had over 100 of her late husband's combos that she wanted to show me. Most were saltwater, but a few were fresh. Most looked completely unused. I asked if she might want to sell any and she said "Oh, no, I couldn't do that." LOL. I think he was a hoarder and she was just hanging onto his memory through his fishing tackle. I understand because I have some of my dad's.

I LOVE old fishing gear. I have a multitude of old reels, with my favorites being an old Penn 155 Beachmaster. Also have an OLD Mitchell that I dated from the 40s. While new fishing gear is great, old stuff will always have a special place in my heart. Great vid as always Senko!

The Mitchell 300 the best reel made I've owned one for 20 plus years with lite maintenance.

This video makes me want to sell my reels and get me that vintage reel. Looks dope and easy to maintain

My dad had a green reel just like you have. It was a great reel. I am going to go online and try to find one

man! that's mitchell 300 series! awesome! I used couple of them for seabass fishing with live bait. They are legends!

I use an updated Mitchell 300 from the 90s, same as the older ones, for all my spinning fresh water use. It's a 5.1-1 so it is slower than most of my casters. Practice with it. I wouldn't use it in salt.

"It needs to have braid on it"... It ain't the line young man! People were catching togs on mono for years before spectra and dyneema. But those old Mitchells/Spinfishers/Z-series/DAM reels are tanks, cool to see them still catch fish.

I still use the old 302s on alot of my rigs. You just can't beat those reels

I do most of my fishing with vintage Mitchell and Daiwa reels, spooled with mono, on Ugly Stik rods and they work fine. I fish a lot and I hate replacing $100 reels every few years, the vintage reels will outlast most newer reels by a wide margin, and they are very simple to maintain and repair. Sure they retrieve a little slower than most modern reels, and they don't have the same cranking torque, but I've learned to live with these minor handicaps.

My michell 300 works great! MINE IS VERY FAST AND I USE IT ON largemouth bass.

I paired my Garcia Mitchell with modern rods. And I love them.

The Mitchell 300 is a good all around reel for fresh water, I have two and they are all I use

I think It's not the line or the reel why you can't feel the bites. It's the rig. You have a heavy sinker and when bait stealers nibble and pull on the bait, they pull against the weight of sinker and the sinker makes it easier for fish to tear the bait off from your hook too. So all this time when fish work against the sinker, there is no movement on your mainline.

Just started watching your guy's vidoes really enjoying content. You guys are very genuine people. Keep up the good work

All I use are vintage Penn Reels with modern drags HT 100s and you got a real Workhorse Old school durability with a bit of modern technology and you get the best of both worlds. Spool it up with some braid. Those old wooden handle fiberglass rods are great for durability, heavy fishing and trolling but are heavy put old reel on a modern rod to help lighten it up and you'll get more feel out of it. Best of all you can Source out the old Penns relatively cheap do a little fixing up and you got some good quality stuff. One of mine is from the 40s and I still use it today all the time but my favorite is the jigmaster 500

I enjoy fishing with vintage gear, but then, I'm vintage too!

Loved this! Ever since I saw that post in Facebook, I knew you’d come out with some great videos. Good work!

I've cought so many fish on my 1978 daiwa 7000 reel and I was using big game mono 20lbs

Took my brand new Battle II 5000 for a spin yesterday for the very first time and I hooked a 20lb yellowtail using a Ugly Stik X2 (medium hard) rod kzfaq.infoUgkxM68VkfsQhHaabDce1IwOCXuvumcpbZ_k . This combo was recommended on some website and it did not disappoint me. The reel is smooth, the drag click is pretty cool cause i think it adds to the excitement of fighting the fish, personally the drag is my favorite part. I use braid and 300 yards will fill the entire spool. This combo is my main setup from now on although I have to disclose I am new to fishing.

The Mitchell 300 is a classic freshwater reel - used to be de rigeur for English coarse fishing e.g. fishing with floats etc. There is an otherwise identical, but faster version called the 400. The big, fast Mitchell saltwater reel is the 498 or 499 (right/left handed). We use those for land-based game fishing. They use a roller instead of a bail wire.

If you fill the spool on the small mitchell, it will be faster. More line retrieved per crank.

My dad has the blue one but in grey and its really good on bringing in big fish its also really hard to get tangled

Fun time fishing. Great review of the reels and poles

So amazing hell they used to make things back in the day. But I love watching the progression of fishing gear. Would love to see a show on casting with all different size surf rods and the techniques. Thanks again for all you guys do!

There was a high speed version of the Garcia reel. I have countless Garcia reels and old Penn 700, 704 and 706 reels. These old Penn reels will reel up a Volkswagen front the deep.

I have 2 of the mitchell 300’s and they work lovely

Yes! been waiting a while for a video like this! more plz ?

That’s very cool. I have the small black one along with some other old ones. You’re the one that got me into fishing.

LOVE the old Mitchell reels. I have an oldie I use as a spinning bass rig now and again with a Cabelas Tourney Trail IM8 Graphite rod. It's a cool setup. I've caught a 6'8" Sturgeon on that rod setup too, so you CAN in fact get some monsters in this as well.

I think the Michell was designed for fresh water fishing they used to be very popular over here in the UK

i'll take the vintage all day!!!

Thanks for the fun video. Just as is true today there was a wide range of quality in the reels available in the early days of spinning reels. The development of nylon line by Dupont marked a milestone for reel technology, Notice the first spinning reel tended to be larger, due in part to the fact the early mono lines were pretty stiff and didn't work well on small spools. When the original Stren came out in 1959 smaller reels became a lot more practical. There were also slower and faster reels available early on. If you're fishing in a situation where fast retrieve speed is important you need a faster reel. Take some time, do some research, and you can identify some high-quality vintage reels that will serve you well. Times were different then and things were built to last (unless they were obviously being built to a price-point). The quality of materials and manufacturing of the some of the older rods and reels is really impressive. The older fiberglass rods will not be as sensitive as modern graphite rods in most cases but the quality rods are very tough and they will take static loads that will break graphite rods. They also tend to be a slower action, the transition from flexible tip to stiffer butt is slower. There is definitely a learning curve, too, if you're used to graphite rods. I grew up using glass rods and we learned to watch the tip of the rod for movement, not depending on feeling the bite. Low stretch lines definitely help and you can always use a mono or fluorocarbon leader. If you're using mono, it helps to use higher test for less stretch. If you do the same thing you would do with modern tackle, use quality gear and match it to your situation, you'll find the vintage tackle performs well and is a lot of fun to use.

I live in the UK and the Mitchell was the reel to have in the 60. If you had loaded the spool up to 1/8 inch from the top you would have double the speed of your retrieve. I notice your spool was full on your new reel. Not a fair comparison ?

I use a lot of vintage fishing reels I also have the 306 Mitchell and lots of other ones they are awesome

I love the simple old school reels that are work horses. No gimmicky shit.

The Daiwa BG was made in 1981 even for a vintage reel its awesome

Love the videos! Keep them coming. How about using the OLD reel on a new modern rod?

I'm buying like 6 vintage reels right now!

I love some of the reels I have from the 80s early 90s. They are not the fastest in line retrieve but work and don't corrode to hell if I forget to rinse them off. Next time you fish these old reels. Put a finger on the mono and you will definitely feel the bite and can set the hook. Seen that technique watching vintage fishing videos.

I only use vintage Mitchells now. After 55 years I have found a comfortable feel with them. Mostly the 408 and the 308's are my to go reels. I fit them on vintage 60's Berkley rods..Buccaneer and Triden't's are my fav's. Use the line for feel when they bite.

When I discovered the old penn 704z reels i bought a ton of them. They were made to last a very long time. They make great bait fishing reels as they are very strong.

Y’all are champs!

Nice job dropping that small blackfish a few times - I’m sure it really appreciated it. Also, what the hell is a “sensitive” reel? It’s the rod that allows you to feel the bites, not the reel.

Outstanding, I love your indian river inlet videos,we vacation there every August and I fish that same rail and every taug I catch is just shy of a keeper. Keep up the good work. Tight lines.

Just noticed your at 60k subs. That’s crazy man . Can’t believe how fast it’s growing . Well done. I’m jealous lol

Still use the Mitchell 300A, great reel has to be one of the best of all time!

Old reel on new rod, sensitivity issue gone.

The green reel my grandpa had and it still in good condition

Thanks for the vid I'm hopefully going black fishing this weekend.

Love your uploads bro. Long time fan!

I have an old one just like the first reel that I got from my father in law. It's on display in my living room and that's where it will stay, lol.

The Mitchell 300 is better suited for shore fishing on rivers and lakes. Anything heavier that 12lb mono line of them makes them a little funky to work with. Spoons, spinners and crankbaits don’t need super fast retrieval speeds to be effective. I use a 300 and also the smaller and slightly more rare Mitchell 304, which is one of their smallest spinning reels and is best set up with 4-6lb mono on a 5’6” light action rod. This is a great set up for any spots loaded with small pan fish like crappies or sunfish. Good video but I don’t think it’s a 100% fair comparison.

Good video idea mate definatly subscribing

Glad to see ya back!

I have my dads old Mitchell 300 and I use it for catfishing here in Alabama.

I believe the white pool you were using is solid fiberglass yes much slower. I have the old Michelle that you had. Remember that fishing was not a science back then. Smoothness and reliability was the goal then.😎

I'm 60 years old.dont remember having a closed face real as a child.i had my dad's hand me down Mitchell 300s.and was proud of them.still have a few and the old 7 foot fiberglass poles that bent like hell.ive modernized like everyone else.but I'm headed to the beach this oct.with my Penns but I'm taking an ocean star no.36 on a 5foot 10 inch pole with 80 pound line and I hope like Hell to hook a big shark just for the trip

Those slow gear ratio spinning reels with the stretchy mono and old fiberglass rods works great with big crankbaits and spinners, they have enough resistance that the line is already stretched out when the fish hit so no worries there. For bait fishing I'd probably go with circle hooks and let the fish hook themselves so you don't need such a strong set.

Really cool video!

I have a awesome penn baymaster from back in the day.... my uncle gave it to me when I was a kid and it still works awesome. I have only had it serviced once.

Great video... keep up the good work!!

Awesome video!!!

I use the Garcia M 300 for salt/fresh water . I just picked up an old Penn. like that an cant wait to use it . Love to use Vintage gear . Around New England they use small rock crabs 4 Tataug . If ya think those reals are slow , try a hand line . Much luck

How these old reels are related to clocks is very interesting.

As a fan of your channel I'd like to mention that I hope maybe 1 day you guys will take a fishing trip to Port Aransas TX to fish off the Jettys for some Bull Reds in the fall.Love your videos,Frank👍🐟.

Fyi: i'm into vintage rod&reel too, especially reels(yeah!!!) AND YOU (DEFINITELY) GOT ME HOOKED WITH THIS EPISODE!...(new sub here, i did the drill of like, share&tapped the bell too😁) more of this pls will ya?? 👍👍👍👍

just started watchin great channel keep it up brotato chip

The Mitchell 300 is designed for fresh water spinning primarily although it soon became a favourite of European match Anglers. It ain't going to survive salt and any grit in the gear train will hurt it badly. By the way your example with the boomerang shaped anti reverse lever is a relatively early example and in the condition it was in before you exposed it to brine was possibly collectable . It does not have a free spinning line roller just a tungsten carbide cone, I really don't think braid is a good idea. The 306 has a good line roller, is designed for brackish water and heavier fishing, but you do need to rinse it out if you use it in brine. Your main obstacle to success was your rod, fibreglass can be a tad spongy but that not withstanding your manner of playing a fish, using the reel to winch in rather than drawing it in with the rod, left a lot to be desired.

It's not how expensive or branded, it's the know how of fishing.

i like the first vintage one

Indian River Inlet. My favorite place! I've hooked 50# stripers on the North side jetty. This video is on the south side.

I love my Mitchell 308 reel you need to try it

I love Saragossa reels!!! I catch everything on em from Jacks to Tarpon

i use a daiwa bg with 40 lb braid. works amazing im very happy with it

Cool vintage gear I just did my first fishing vlog