My grandfather's vintage spinning reels

[MichaelVerdirame]

As some of you may know, I fish with some fairly retro stuff. Well, it comes from my grandfather. He let me take home some of his stuff yesterday, I didn't take home all of it, maybe 3/4 of it.

Here're the reels I found:

Silstar ET35
Shimano 200Q
Mitchell 2140 RD (anti-reverse is broken)
Abu Garcia Cardinal 4 (absolutely mint)
Silstar EX2140 (I've been using this one so far)

I'd love to hear memories or thoughts on these reels. They're way before my time, what abouts are they worth and which ones are the better of the bunch?

Thank-you guys for the help!

 

[salmotrutta]

Nice reel haul!

I was told the Cardinal 4's are the most reliable reels ever made, back when they were constructed in Scandinavia.

I think you could get $90 or more. If it's truly mint, possibly a lot more.

See if you can find where it was made.

 

[Dugger]

hmmmm had a few of those Cardinal 4's but it is not THE ORIGINAL Niagara River drifters once craved. I have three of the original Swedish green cast ones and the lighter grey Cardinal 3. They used to fetch up to $200 each but I am not sure what the market is now. Having said that, the Cardinal 4 pictured is a solid reel in its day and I am sure today it could stand up against any $100 reel. That is awesome you fish retro!

 

[NADO]

Just found this one in my garage left from the previous owners of the house. Its a Mitchell Garcia 300. I cant believe that everything still works very well from the drag to the anti-reverse, to the snapping back of the line guide. This reel is still very usable, I think I might use it for pan fish and eventually start using it for some larger species like pike and carp.

 

[MichaelVerdirame]

Wow NADO now that's a retro reel! It looks really solid. Take it right to the carp!

 

[NADO]

im hoping to do some crappie fishing with it tomorrow evening but I will definately have to try it on some carp to see how well the drag works under pressure. I only spooled it up with 6lb mono so the drag better work well if i am going to land a carp with it.

 

[NADO]

screw it im hitting up the local cesspool that is silver lake tonight to catch some of the 10lb carp they have in there. The perfect spot to test out new (or extremely old) gear!

 

[staffman]

Once upon a time float reels weren't popular and steelheaders used the Mitchell 3oo or the Cardinal 4 (the green and cream coloured ones. the Mitchell was a solid reel but lacked the retrieve speed to keep up with a charging fish so anglers had to back up quickly to keep pressure on the fish. I took my 301 ( left hand version) perch fishing and other fishermen on the pier didn't like the sound that all reels of that vintage made. It should be perfect for carp.

 

[BackTrack]

As some of you may know, I fish with some fairly retro stuff. Well, it comes from my grandfather. He let me take home some of his stuff yesterday, I didn't take home all of it, maybe 3/4 of it.

Here're the reels I found:

Silstar ET35
Shimano 200Q
Mitchell 2140 RD (anti-reverse is broken)
Abu Garcia Cardinal 4 (absolutely mint)
Silstar EX2140 (I've been using this one so far)

I'd love to hear memories or thoughts on these reels. They're way before my time, what abouts are they worth and which ones are the better of the bunch?

Thank-you guys for the help!

Oh wow love the vintage gear if it works. Always look for that sort of stuff at farmers markets & antique shops in rural areas. Just did a quick search on ebay for your Abu & lots of reels came up in the search. You'd have to look at the reels yourself to get a better idea what yours is worth. I'm guessing since it came from your grandfather, priceless. Hope ya catch a monster with it.

BT

 

[NADO]

Took the vintage mitchell out to the cesspool in between meetings and hooked into a bunch of nice-smaller carp. Landed around 7 or 8 of them and lost a couple too. The reel didn't have any problems dealing with the carp under 10 lbs, I don't think it would have any problems with carp up to 30lbs either. The only issue I had was getting used to not having a few of the perks that the newer reels have and also the reverse spool was messing me up a bit too.

Biggest fish was around 10 lbs, most closer to 8.

 

[FishingNoob]

Nice fish!

 

[Dugger]

Took the vintage mitchell out to the cesspool in between meetings and hooked into a bunch of nice-smaller carp. Landed around 7 or 8 of them and lost a couple too. The reel didn't have any problems dealing with the carp under 10 lbs, I don't think it would have any problems with carp up to 30lbs either. The only issue I had was getting used to not having a few of the perks that the newer reels have and also the reverse spool was messing me up a bit too.

Biggest fish was around 10 lbs, most closer to 8.

the cesspool! lol too funny my god it is nice to see that workhorse, the Mitchell 300 back in action! I need to blow some of the dust off my old school reels.

 

[NADO]

lol cesspool is the best way to describe it. Geese, ducks and swans run the place and sh!t everywhere and in alot of places the water isnt more than 1.5' deep. I dont know how anything survives in there. I was most shocked when I ended up catching 2 bass on the topwater bread action lol. They smashed it as I was reeling it in. I have caught rock bass there before but never bass, they almost looked like a hybrid between a rock bass and a largemouth. They had the marking of a rock bass but much more long and skinny than any rock bass ive seen.

 

[Dugger]

lol cesspool is the best way to describe it. Geese, ducks and swans run the place and sh!t everywhere and in alot of places the water isnt more than 1.5' deep. I dont know how anything survives in there. I was most shocked when I ended up catching 2 bass on the topwater bread action lol. They smashed it as I was reeling it in. I have caught rock bass there before but never bass, they almost looked like a hybrid between a rock bass and a largemouth. They had the marking of a rock bass but much more long and skinny than any rock bass ive seen.

I would love to see a pic of those "rock bass" Great eh to see fish in places where you wouldn't expect anything to swim, be they carp or bass

 

[Blair]

*SMILES* .... Look at you in your nice dress wear ("Business Casual", for the meetings)


Did you end up going back to work with the SMELL of CARP or any Stains? (WHITE PANTS...man)

ps; Been there done that!

 

[NADO]

lol my hands sure did stink! Luckily I had some moist towlettes in the first aid kit in my car so I was able to get rid of the offensive odor before the meeting. I go fishing in dress shoes pretty often lol, anything can be washed!

 

[beef]

nado that is amazing i like your attidude nice fish and yes anything can be washed, "just ask the wife" im a carpenter but i fish in whatever im wearing wherever i go and always keep a rod in the golf bag.

 

[beef]

michael angelo those are some nice reels clean them up and pass them on to your kids, and in responce to your pm to me about the beads i peg my bead four fingers above the hook and unlike most i use a smaller hook than my bead. if i am running a bead roebag combo i peg the bead about 8 fingers up and with eather rig i never put a weight closer than 18 inches of my bead i have also found that 8mm beads are better than any other size and the myth that beads are better in fast water is totally false they work in all water for all fish i have caught carp on them. also try useing a long lead play around with the basics i hav given you and i will pm you soon with more info i have alot more to tell you but dont want the world to no im originaly from the west coast and have been fishing artificials my hole life since we werent allowed to use livebait i have perfected artificials goodluck and tightlines talk soon