C.A.P.

A collection of Mitchell and pre-mitchell round bodied reels

    I believe the following to be a fairly complete picture of the evolution of the Mitchell round bodied reel. It is based solely on my own collection, however, and I know of at least one round body collection far superior to mine and to which I hope to be able to direct your attention in the near future. The numbering herein is my own and reflects the various visible changes to the reel over the years and is not intended to be consistent with any other numbering system or version numbers. By clicking on one of the links you may proceed to a web page describing and picturing that particular model in greater detail. Any corrections, comments, or just plain additional information you might offer would be greatly appreciated so please feel free to contact me at Information Exchange (This form is a temporary way to avoid spam - if you don't wish to enter your name or email address please just type anything in those boxes).

THE CHANGES

1. 1937: The original "oblique foot" C.A.P reel. Rounded dome on left side. Widely spaced silver pillars in silver spool. Wooden winder knob. C.A.P. on right side. Lighter bail wire and different bail mechanism than later models. Round spool knob.   Reel 1
2. 1938: Aluminum winder knob. Closely spaced black pillars in black spool. Three fingers added to spool knob.   Reel 2
3. 1938: Heavier bail wire. Simplified bail mechanism.   Reel 3
4. 1946: Flattened dome on left side.  Reel 4
5. 1946-1947: First anti-reverse, sliding button style.  Reel 5
6. 1950: Dome gone from left side. Straight stem on right side. Anti-reverse becomes 304 style lever. External counterweight gone. First lubrication port at rear. "Made in France" added to right side.  Reel 6
7. 1954: The "Cap 54." The first full bail. Round aluminum winder knob replaced by flattened plastic knob. The first with planamatic gears (which leads to a short rant - as near as I can tell all the round bodies from this time on, including the first 304's, had planamatic gearing. It was only the later model 304's and 340 that abandoned it, so it is incorrect to say that the 314 is a 304 with changed gearing as everyone does. The later model 304's have the changed gearing, the 314's remained true to the end.)   Reel 7
8. 1954: "Mitchell" and "Cap" added to left side. Pillars gone from spool. Aluminum "C.A.P. Serrage" plate gone from spool. Spool knob now has integral flat disk behind fingers with "C.A.P." and "Made in France" lettering.  Reel 8
9. 1955: "Mitchell Cap 304" on left side.  Reel 9
10. 1956: "Mitchell 304" on left side. Non-planamatic gears for first time since "Cap 54."  Reel 10
11. 1957: "Garcia Mitchell 304" on left side. "C.A.P." gone from spool knob.  Reel 11
12. The "Super Cap". "Mitchell 314" on left side. Wide anti-reverse lever. Push button spool.  Reel 12
13. "Garcia Mitchell 304" on left side but "C.A.P." gone from right side.  Reel 13
14. "Garcia Mitchell 314" on left side but "C.A.P." gone from right side.  Reel 14
15. 1968: "Garcia Mitchell 340" sticker in indent on left side. Flat anti-reverse lever protruding from opening at back of reel. Different spool and spool knob. Red screw in lubrication port.  Reel 15
16. 1969: "Garcia Mitchell 304S" on left side. Anti-reverse lever changed to "314" style.  Reel 16

        The following information was copied verbatim, with permission, from the glossary section
of Luc de Medts'  Mitchell Collectors International web site. It was originally excerpted from "The Mitchell Collector’s Reference Guide" by Dennis Roberts and his permission for its use has also been graciously granted. 

• C.A.P. - For many years the debate as to the exact definition of these initials has been ongoing. Taking into consideration historical accounting and the many facets associated with these particular initials, it is a collective opinion among Mitchell collectors that the initials C.A.P. were actually the initials of the first company to design and produce a round bodied reel that was later given to Carpano and Pons for refinement and distribution. That company was La Canne à Pêche of Angers. It is of opinion that when Carpano and Pons produced the CAP reel, credit was given to the name of the company who invented the reel, Canne à Pêche. The letters C.A.P. were originally stamped by La Canne à Pêche on those prototypes given to Carpano & Pons which coincidentally were the same initials as Carpano & Pons and Charles A. Pons. Even though the majority of collectors agree to this conclusion, to provide fairness to the Carpano and Pons Company, we would posture to say CAP could also represent the initials for the Carpano and Pons establishment in France. Additionally, the possibility exists that the initials are those of Charles A. Pons, one of the original designers of the reel.



• "Cap" - "Mitchell Cap" or "Cap 54" was the 1954 "C.A.P."-model that became the third model open face spinning reel offered by Carpano & Pons. First was the "Mitchell" (=300) and second the "Mitchell Salt Water" (=302). 



• Cap Super - Name given in the Netherlands to indicate the Mitchell 314-model. This name appeared also for a short time on this reel distributed by Albatros. 



• Carpano, Louis - one of the founders of the Mitchell Company.



• Carpano & Pons - Founders, designers, and manufacturers of the CAP and Mitchell reel. In 1937-1938, the first Carpano and Pons round body reel was made for the tackle shop "La Canne à Pêche" under the simple name of C.A.P. The very first CAP was issued with a wooden rosewood handle, which was identical to the first handles, used on the Mitchell 300. The release time between the second and third version was approximately 9 years due to the hostilities in Europe during WWII. In 1946 the third version was issued that was similar to the first two except for the side cover plate was no longer domed but slightly raised. There is speculation that the first two versions of the CAP were probably prototypes. After Carpano & Pons finished the work on the Canne à Peche and the Pecos reels, they pursued the manufacturing of their own round-body reel.



• (La) Canne à Pêche - Was credited with inventing the first round bodied reels that were the predecessors and prototypes to the CAP reels produced by Carpano and Pons. This French company from Angers manufactured this reel in the mid-1930s. Evidently, the reel needed some improvements prior to marketing, therefore, Carpano & Pons was contacted to refine their invention. After Carpano & Pons completed design refinements, the product was marketed in Europe. La Canne à Peche made approximately five different versions of the round-bodied reels, each having the initials C.A.P. stamped on the body of the reel.