MITCHELL C.A.P. 304

This article was published in the April 2003 issue of Rod and Line Fishing Magazine.

When I first saw this quaint looking fat round spinning reel sitting melancholy on the display shelf, I was immediately attracted to it. From the look of ate reel, I deduced it to be an antique.

Mr. Looi of IGFA sports, Ipoh, was kind enough to loan it to me for further examination. The name printed on the side plate was Mitchell 304.This beautiful reel fitted snugly into my palm. The operation of the reel could be described as functional. Compared to the present modern spinning reel, it seemed a bit lacking in finesse department. But during its heydays, I am sure this reel must be one of the most sought after.

Mitchell, a reel manufacturing outfit from France needs no further introduction. It had a long line of pedigree reels that was much copied in the past. Thus any old reel from this famous company triggered my curious instinct. Removing the side cover, the inside looked sparse compared to the modern reels, but was adequate for the job.

The "O" ring was a good design. It acts as a spring washer and at the same time prevents water from entering through the side plate shaft.

The round body design actually belonged to two French tackle companies called “La Canne a Perche” and “Pecos”. They contracted out to another company named “Carpano & Pons” to mechanically enhance this reel from mid to late 1930s. Leon Carpono and his brother in law founded “Carpano & Pons” around 1927. All reels manufactured then had manual bail pick up as the Hardy-patent for full bail was jealously guarded. When the patent expired in 1954 the reel was then fitted full bail and an optional manual pickup system. Later the name Carpano & Pons Company was changed to Mitchell. When Mitchell Company adopted this reel with round design into their stable it was named Mitchell C.A.P. In 1957 a decision was made to name all their reels with numbers, thus the Mitchell 304 was born.

Mitchell Prehistory – How the never ending Mitchell history began.

A photograph of Charles Pon and Leon Carpano.

 Well, it all started not in France but in Haute-Savole (High-Savoy), then part of the former kingdom of Sardinia (now Italy). The small town of Cluses, on the banks of the river Arve, was famous for its highly experienced gear-makers.

The Swiss border and the city of Geneva were just a stone’s throw away. Many of the parts used in “genuine” Swiss watches, were made elsewhere, even in the region which later became a ‘department’ of France.

It was also in another part of the kingdom of Sardinia, in Val-de-Mosso in the province of Navarro, that Louise Carpano was born in 1832. In 1851, he entered the Clockmakers School in Cluses.

At the age of 19, he became very familiar to gearing systems. Gears were used not only in watches, but also in engines of the first factories in these early years of the expanding industrial revolution.

After leaving school, Louis Carpano went to work in France and Switzerland. His first invention dates from 1860 and was an improved milling machine for the carving of gears. In 1860, Savoy was annexed by France, but Louis preferred to keep his Italian nationality. His craftsmanship was soon noticed when he came back to Cluses in 1868.

A.M. Jacottet offered him a partnership, and together they founded a company to produce and sell watch gears, milling machines and watch making tools. At the death of Jacottet, Louis Carpano became the owner. The company prospered and by the end of the 19^th century, in 1892, a hydroelectric power station was installed to provide the power necessary for the engines.

Louis did not have children, but his nephew Constant entered the company in 1896 and was trained by his uncle for six years. Louis retired from business in 1902 after spending more than 40 years in industry and trade. Constant took over and Louis lived in Turin (Italy) until his death in1919.

Constant Carpano had a daughter (married to Charles Pons) and when Constant Carpano died in 1927, the son of Constant, Leon Carpano and his brother in law Charles Pons founded the company “Carpano & Pons”.

Charles Pons was the moving spirit in the company. In the mid–thirties, he created a research and study bureau, and put Maurice Jacquemin in charge of it. Now almost all elements necessary for the birth of a legend were in place.

Carpano & Pons were credited with patenting one of the first electric shaver called “Carpo”, a lady’s cigarette lighter called “Cop” in the shape of a lip-stick, taxi meters, electric power-meters, electric windshield wipers for automobiles, and an open face spinning-reel were designed prior to World War II. The first prototype model of this reel was made in the later part of the 1930s.

First, let’s take a look at some historical background on the origin of Carpano & Pons & C.A.P. reel. During the mid-to-late 1930s ‘La Canne & Piche’ and ‘Pecos’, two French tackle companies , contracted Carpano & Pons to refine their existing reel designs.

During the years that followed, these reels were mechanically enhanced and manufactured by Carpano & Pons for these two companies. Both round-shaped reels were mainly made via sub-contract by Carpano & Pons.

Carpano and Pons now finally had the experience (by making reels for other companies), the skill (by making high-tech gears for decades) and the right man (Maurice Jacquemin) to develop and produce their reel. Jacquemin wasn’t an angler at all: he was an engineer and a very good one too!

Maurice Jacquemin had to cope with many requirements for the design of this reel. Pons, being an engineer himself, interfaces with Maurice on many of the design changes. To avoid line being captured between the underlying windings, turning speed of the rotor had to be different from the speed of the vertical movement of the spool. Therefore, extra gears were installed into an egg-shaped housing. The spool had an instant- release button on top, which allowed easy removal and replacement. A multi-stop anti-reverse device (a knurled button on the side plate) was present on the very first model.

The reel was fitted with a collapsible handle and the wooden handle knob was the same used in the first C.A.P. and Pecos models. The half bail arm-mechanism was the same as the one used on C.A.P. and Pecos models. Jacquemin had to use a half bail-arm. Hardy jealousy kept their patent on the full bail arm until it expired in 1954.

The finish was a very decent satin black on a priming coat. An application for a first patent was deposited on July 28, 1948 and the patent was granted on May 24, 1950 under number 969.584.

In the early 1950s, Mitchell offered manual pick-up for a very limited time (approximately 2 years) on the Model 300.

The true origin of the name “Mitchell” remains mysterious: legend tells it was the Americanized name of the deplored brother (Michel) of Charles Pons, along with several other stories.

Another Carpano & Pons had the firm intention to name their reel ‘Michel’, they found out that this name was already used and patented as a part of the name of another great French tackle manufacturer Pezon & Michel. So, they didn’t have a lot of choices: giving the reel an American sound was not only legal but also very commercial. This way they avoided a lot of discussion with their major competitor I France.

The Mitchell 304s part list.

LURE FISHING FOR TOMANS

This article was published in the June 2003 issue of Rod and Line Fishing Magazine.

“Aiya, it is very warm and humid today lah!” I complained while unbuttoning my shirt buttons with deliberate slowness. Four pairs of eyes were locked in focus at my chest.

No, no, I do not have a sexy and hairy chest. Neither do I have hormone treatment to enhance my cleavage. The object of all my friends’ attentions was a Rapala Stainless Inox (dehooked) hanging loosely around my neck (no prize for guessing where I got the idea).

This magnificent specimen grabbed my Redhead during one of my previous trips.

What was so special about this Rapala was the number of teeth marks on it. Toman teeth mark of course, what else? The lure was so badly punctured it looked as though my dog had chewed it up. When all of them had examined it, two bottles of my favorite beer magically appeared on our table. (It is our favorite weapon for prying out secret spots).

Well, of course I finished the whole lot before I started talking so that I do not have to share it with them (Just to rub it in, as they would have done the same to me).

I wore this badly punctured Rapala (dehooked of course) around my neck just to make my friends envious.

The secret spot was actually one of our regular hunting grounds. There was nothing spectacular about that place. But that day when Baskaran eased our hired fiberglass boat into the cove, we knew we were going to hit jackpot. Rises could be seen everywhere on the surface of the water. Once in a while, some corners of this vast stretch of water were boiling with juvenile tomans tearing into some baitfish schools.

Flipping my Cobra Jig fitted with a rubber tail to a rise nearby, I immediately had a hook-up when the jig was reeled pass the disturbance on the water. That 3-kg giant snakehead was released with just its pride dented. That was the only time that a jig was taken.

Changing over to a ‘Rapala Deep Running Shad Rap’ I tossed it to another rise nearby. After only a few turns of the handle, my tackle was almost pulled out of my hands. A few fast runs later, another toman was released.

Baskaran was the next to see action. He got a specimen that weighed about 5 kg. Wow, could that brute fight! Baskaran had to dig deep into his reserve to subdue that fish. This type of action was repeated many times. It was either Baskaran or I grunting and fighting the ferocious snakeheads.

By 1.00pm Baskaran had enough of the action. Fighting ferocious tomans in the hot sun was no easy task. From the look on his face I realized that he needed a rest badly.  

Dropping him off at a landing with some trees, I eased the boat out again (strike while the iron is hot, as the saying goes). Changing to a Rapala Stainless Inox, I almost immediately tied on another brute. I did not know what got into the toman, as almost every three casts resulted in a hookup. If this was fishing paradise, then I want part of it.

In the end I had no choice but to stop fishing, as I was too exhausted from all the action. Looking at the Rapala, I suddenly got the idea of wearing it around my neck to rib all my other friends.   Picking up Baskaran we headed for home happy and satiated.

The following week, James and I were heading out in my newly bought aluminum boat (partly to test my new boat and mostly to get him off my back). Just like a child with a newly acquired toy, I was happily soaking up the qualities of my new love.

Along the way, I was extolling about the qualities of my new boat to James. Taking the chance to brag, I went on and on. Of course I had to shout above the din of my outboard. I even bragged that my boat could plane with him sitting in the front. When I noticed that he was looking up to the sky, I had no choice but to stop (never seen him to being so religious before).

Reaching our destination, we began casting. The result was a total disaster. Even though it was not the fasting month, the fish seemed to have lost their appetite. It was when we decided to move to another spot that was when realized our exit was blocked by a floating mass of weed and water hyacinth the size of a basketball court.

To our horror, we suddenly became aware that our oars were left at home. After discussing, we decided that I should sit at the bow to pull up the weeds to clear a passage for us to row forward with our umbrellas (because I do not have a big waistline to hamper my work). Progress was painfully slow.

After one hour of back breaking work, we were stuck two meters inside the weed patch holding two broken umbrellas.

Baskaran releasing one of his tomans.

With the hot sun beating on us (no umbrellas, remember?) our tempers were worn thin. James was blaming me for not washing the boat with pomelo leaves before using it. Suddenly we heard sound of outboard in the distance. I removed my T shirt and stood on the bow waving like crazy (I wouldn’t have done it if it was Jenny instead of James. Getting trapped in a small boat in the middle of nowhere with a lady is God sent lah). After many attempts, I finally managed to throw my anchor line to the other boat. Attaching our anchor line to his boat, the boatman gunned his outboard. Half an hour of maneuvering and pulling, we did not make much progress. Another boatman saw our predicament and came to our rescue. With two boats pulling at full rev, my boat just skimmed on top of the weeds to open water. Thanking our saviors (a bit poorer in the process) we were busy stowing my cameras and gears as the sky was opening up.

Mong and one of his prizes.

Suddenly that mass of floating vegetation started moving with the wind and our previously blocked passage was open water again. We both looked at each other and up to the sky and asked, “Why?” No wonder all the religions stress on the virtue of being humble and not to brag. He definite dislikes braggarts.

Only Mong and I could make it the next time around. This time we were more adventurous. Many coves, passages and ponds were explored. My main problem was I got lousy memory for recognizing landscapes. Most of the time I couldn’t find my way out of places I first explored. That is why I never take my boat to Temengor. Got nothing left for the GPS after buying the boat.

With Mong as navigator I felt more at ease. We came across a pond, which looked quite deep. When everything quieted down rises began to appear on the surface. Out flew two Rapalas, I struck when I felt a tug. My tiny Morrum’s drag handled the initial rushes with ease. When the rushing stopped, my boat was been pulled steadily around the pone by that fish (heh, heh, another great fisherman’s story on the way by adding just a little pepper, sauce and monosodium glutamate). This type of action was repeated many times. Suddenly the boat rocked wildly. Looking back, I saw Mong struggling with his bent rod. The grimace on his face told the whole story. In the end he still had his photo. After catching and releasing many tomans (we lost count), we called it a day. Mong declared that lure fishing for tomans is still the best way to enjoy the sport.

The 'Shad Rap Deep Runner' also accounted for some fine specimens.

I dislike using any steel leader on my lures for toman fishing. In my opinion catches will be drastically reduced if I use it. My lures are always attached to the mainline by snap and swivel. The snap and swivels I used were mostly those with wide rounded snaps to allow free-swimming action and also the fast changing of lures. An occasional lost lure is still worth it if the numbers of hook-ups are increased many folds. Of course, if you are one of those overworked and underpaid guys like me, then you have to stinge on some other department to replace lures.

                         

SAILFISH & THE OLD MAN.

This article was published in the April 2003 issue of Rod and Line Fishing Magazine.

Five fence foil-like bills were slicing through the water surface. “Sails!” gasped Thang. We sprang into action station immediately. Suddenly a sailfish lunged with opened mouth and landed on Thang’s trolled skirt. His Tiagra screamed its protest. Looking at his sweat drenched, reddish puffed up face, I was thinking why he was paying so much money to torture himself like this. Standing up and fighting a sail was already very taxing on him. Add on the wildly rocking boat, it was a wonder how he could keep his cool. Tan immediately fitted the gimbal belt on his good friend and only then could we see some relaxation on his face. The 22kg sail was tagged and released alive without been lifted out of the water.

James helping to tag Tan's sails. It's advisable to tag the fish in the water.

The fierce action followed by many false alarms. Every time we trolled pass the hotspots, outstretched fins or bills of the sails could be seen. Sometimes the jerking of the rod tips would be followed by the reels’ alarms going off for a few seconds. All the false alarms really kept us on our toes.

The result of not using a gimbal belt.

Exactly one hour later, Tan was the next lucky one. His Trinidad jigger TN30 handled the initial run brilliantly. As the boat turned towards the direction of the sail, Tan was cranking like mad to gain line as well as to keep his line taut. When the sail was near the boat, it suddenly sounded. Now Tan was in for some hard work, I thought to myself. True enough, he was heaving and panting as though running a marathon.

The folly of not using glove while holding the bill.

Once the fish went under the other side of the boat with the line scrapping the hull. He had the presence of mind to dip his rod into the sea so as to prevent his line from being cut. Somehow our taikong managed to swing the boat to the left and ease up the tension. Another sail of about 19.5kg was tagged and released to fight another day. As Tan was using 25lb line, the fight was prolonged thus he had to drag the sail through the water a bit longer to revive it.

Our method of trolling to was to pay out four lines with skirts at staggered intervals. This was to prevent lines and lures from tangling with each other. Right in the middle was our bunch of teasers. The teasers were always the first to be examined or attacked by the sails, thus proving the importance of their roles.

As soon as our skirts were let out after the release of the sails, James connected a reasonably big fellow. He never give me a drink for helping to wipe sweat off his forehead (Luckily, he is not a rich Datuk, or else people would think I was bodeking him). Seeing the way he struggled to hold his rod, I helped him to put Thang’s gimbal belt (he forgot to bring his own). To our horror, no matter how I adjusted the belt, it just could not fit James! In the end he had no choice but to jam his rod but into his tummy. Poor James, the blue black mark left on his stomach looked as though he had been kicked by a horse. Needless to say, he was bragging and showing it off to our other friends who did not go on this trip.

Always use glove while holding the bill of bill fish. This one shown here is cheap and gives a good grip.

After many slashing by the sails’ bills, my adrenaline finally gushed out because of the TLD’s alarm sounding off. Ten seconds later, everything went silent .When everyone else was getting fish after fish, and you only got false alarms, it would somehow get to your nerves.

I had my fair share of fishless days to let such bad luck affect me on a normal day. But after James had tagged and released his 29kg sail, he was singing and crooning like crazy (not that he can sing, you know). I knew I would be in for a sleepless night if I did not catch one fast.

The three of them seemed to be hogging all the sails. After Thang had released another of bout 12.5kg, James had his circle hook bent open by another. When the sail chomped down his trolled dead kembong, he free spooled for about ten seconds (but it somehow felt like hours), before pushing his lever to strike. When the line tightened, the sails headed for Timbuktu. It tail-walked for some distance before slamming down onto the water. When it left the water for a second walk, the hook pulled out.

The tag secured on the tag pole with a rubber band for easier handling.

By now, my self-built rod with an image of a sailfish, meticulously woven on with loving care was the butt of all the jokes. “To catch sailfish, you must weave images of garfish or rabbit fish lah,” James gleefully dug at me. Though fuming I could only ‘Yan’ (meaning tolerate with patience, in Cantonese).

I did not know whether it was a good virtue or not, but that word seemed to appear in most training centers in all the martial art flicks. I guessed it should be good, for my ‘Yan’ paid off with a few taps on my rod. It was followed by the sweetest sound that I had been waiting to hear all day….. my reel‘s alarm going off. 

This was the type of retractable tape used for measuring the length and girth. Easily obtainable from embroidery shops.

Praying under my breath (I had no choice) I heaved a sigh of relief when my sail leapt out of the water, tail-walked for quite a distance before splashing back into the sea. Out it came again.

This sail never seemed to stop. After all its disco dancing, I finally settled down to a long drawn out pump and wind. You see, this fellow took out quite some line. Surprisingly, I took only a short time to subdue this 33kg sail. At long last I had my name on the tagging report card. From then on until nightfall there were no more hookups, thus we settled down for our meals.

Our taikong woke us up at 5.30am to prepare for our battle with the GTs now. As soon as there was light, we let out four bibbed lures. Though we trolled round Jarak many times, the GTs did not seem to be around. Changing back to skirts and dead baits, we waited with renewed anticipations. Surprisingly Sunday was a boring day. Other than releasing a small sail of 17kg by Tan, there was no more action. By midday, we had no choice but to retrieve our lures and headed for home.

The result on this trip was a lot better than all our previous trips. We were proud that none of the sails were brought up to the deck for photographs.

These were the circle hooks we used. James' hook (lower one) opened up, thus losing the sail

All measurements were done in the water (it took some acrobatic balancing to do that as side of the boat was quite high). This method is highly recommended as the sails should be subjected to as little trauma and stress as possible.

On our way back, our taikong, Pak Intan, wisely summed up the scenario on our Malaysian sport fishing scene.

Most of our local boats are not built for sport-fishing, let alone for catch and release operations for big fish.

“If you fellows want to enjoy fishing for sails, you better do it now before the professionals find a use for the fish. Even the todaks are not spared now as the price is RM4.50 per kilo! Sooner or later, the sailfish will be wiped out unless those entrusted with the power step in to conserve them”.