May 30, 2009

Spinning Reels Should Be Black

I re-spooled my veteran Mitchell spinning reel tonight and decided to hit eBay for some of its cousins.

My once-favorite Mitchell reel still lies at the bottom of the Arkansas River, casualty of a rafting wreck, which was the first time I actually had to save someone's life. (And as I held onto to him, all I could think was, "If I let go and he drowns, I will have to go back and tell his wife what happened.")

(I do have one Daiwa 1500C spinning reel--I saw one like it listed on eBay as "vintage." It is silvery and plasticky and just not the same.)

Like all vintage or antique machinery, Mitchell reels have an online museum.

I recall starting out spin-fishing with an early half-bail model, and once I mastered it, the full-bail models seemed to be le dernier cri.

The newer models are not all black. Sacrilege.

1 comment:

Steve Bodio said...

All my spinning reels (3) are BLACK old- fashioned Mitchells.