Mitchell is bringing a lot of new innovations in reel building into their classic line of 300 spinning reels with the new Mitchell 300 Pro. The green accents give it a modern look, but the color is not what makes this reel a serious choice now for avid anglers. It’s full of fishing features that every angler will appreciate from the company responsible for the first spinning reel in 1948.
The Mitchell 300 Pro offers three sizes in their new line – the 300 Pro, the 308 Pro and the 310 Pro. All three sizes implement 10 ball bearings for a very smooth operation. The reel feels very solid in your hand but surprisingly it doesn’t feel heavy like many of the other spinning reels on the market. It’s hard to cut weight in a spinning reel but this reel has done a good job of that with the rotor, spool and even handle having sections carved out.
One concern with cutting weight in fishing reels is strength. They are implementing a new Halo technology on the bail to increase it’s strength. You can squeeze either side of the bail and it doesn’t flex. It won’t flex under load either which keeps the reel operating smoothly while fighting a big fish. I’m fairly certain of this too after landing a 15-pound drum on the reel without any issue.
The reel has 14-pounds of drag and the drag is adjustable on top of the spool with small micro corrections. It’s smooth and starts easily. Both necessary in a good fishing reel.
The reel body is made from a polymeric material that is a blend of materials said to be stronger and lighter than aluminum. The spool is Aluminum and the handle has an EVA foam pad for comfort, good grip and reduced weight.
The line comes off the spool nicely and spooled on nicely. I had no issues with wind knots or anything with either braid or fluorocarbon on the reel. It balanced well on a Fenwick Smallmouth Elite Tech rod and worked well for everything from small poppers to drop shot worms.
The best aspect of this new reel is you get a 5.8:1 gear ratio in a spinning reel. That’s some good line take up in a spinning application. And with all these features, the reel only costs $69.95. I’ve already seen the reels at Cabela’s and Dicks so it should be hitting retailers any day now.
