Name Origin
A mystery, the Mitchell name has been attributed to a brother of one of the founders, Michel. Mitchell is the Americanized version of Michel, which the company had to use when Michel was already in use by Pezon & Michel Tackle in France.
Later Models
In 1953, the left-hand version of the Mitchell reel was developed as a result of the huge success of the right-hand model. A much larger version of the reel was then manufactured for sea angling and was called Salt Water.
Automatic Reel
The first automatic bail release was developed in 1955 along with a celebration of the 10,000 packing case of reels exported to the United States.
Name Changes
In 1957, a number was added to each model with the original Mitchell becoming the Mitchell 300, the Salt Water changing to the Salt Water 302 and so on. Intermediate, ultralight and luxury models were added from the late 1950s and into the 1960s with the 5,000,000 reel being built in 1961.
New Owner
Phillip Blime took over Mitchell in 1982 and moved the manufacturing of the reels to the Pacific Rim due to the high cost of manufacturing in Europe. Johnson Worldwide Associates acquired Mitchell in 1990 and owned it until 2000, when Pure Fishing purchased the company as part of a leading family of tackle manufacturers.
Article Written By Laurie Roddy
A native of Houston, Laurie Roddy is a freelance outdoor writer with over 25 years writing experience. The main topics that she prefers to write about include hiking, golf, paddling, and traveling. She is a contributing writer for "Cy-Fair Magazine" and writes regularly for several websites. Roddy attended the University of Houston receiving a journalism degree. She has written "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Houston."
