Old reel

[Gobble Doc]

Anyone have a Centaure from France?  My dad used to laugh about when his dad brought this back after the war.  Apparently all of the old timers started to heckle him when they saw this reel.  He would then put on a big weight and put it way out into the Columbia and then the old guys with their closed reels would get quiet really quick.

[Angus]

Cool old reel, looks similar to a Mitchell 300.

[Bullkllr]

I would not be surprised if Mitchells evolved from those reels.

Round body is a lot like the Mitchell 304, which I really like and still use.

[Ridgeratt]

Very Nice old reel. Unique pick up finger on the bail with the open end.   

[Mark251]

I agree...it looks like a predecessor to the old Mitchell spinning reels.  Any idea when it was manufactured?  Is there a serial number on the reel anywhere?   

[lokidog]

Too cool! Nice piece of fishing technology history.

[Gobble Doc]

I agree...it looks like a predecessor to the old Mitchell spinning reels.  Any idea when it was manufactured?  Is there a serial number on the reel anywhere?

I will definitely take a look for a serial # next time I get back to my old house.  I might brush off the dust and give it a try.

[Birdguy]

There are a few on Ebay, priced from $35.00 to $180.00  . Appear to mostly be a west coast reel, they list the model you have as a saltwater spinning reel. Cool either way.

[Bullkllr]

Found a little bit about those reels in a quick search.

There's an article from Field & Stream 1976 that had some info. Couldn't figure out how to cut & paste from it, but here's a summary:

There were a whole bunch of French imports after the war. Centaure was a bigger reel (maybe largest of the group). It was distributed in US by the Booth Import Co. in California, so it was mostly a west coast reel. Had a 300 yd capacity and a gear ratio of 4.2: 1 which recovered 36in, of line per revolution. It quickly found an audience with surf casters.

Sounds like it's probably mid 40s. Very cool. Love old tackle, especially with history like this one has.

https://books.google.com/books?id=MaY6FbhA490C&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=centaure+reels+history&source=bl&ots=AWPCqlewUM&sig=-k3lkuJH5X1TP7_yJ9vj0I7aRHg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCUQ6AEwATgKahUKEwiC5rz1-J7HAhXDmogKHaYxCrs#v=onepage&q=centaure%20reels%20history&f=false

[Gobble Doc]

Found a little bit about those reels in a quick search.

There's an article from Field & Stream 1976 that had some info. Couldn't figure out how to cut & paste from it, but here's a summary:

There were a whole bunch of French imports after the war. Centaure was a bigger reel (maybe largest of the group). It was distributed in US by the Booth Import Co. in California, so it was mostly a west coast reel. Had a 300 yd capacity and a gear ratio of 4.2: 1 which recovered 36in, of line per revolution. It quickly found an audience with surf casters.

Sounds like it's probably mid 40s. Very cool. Love old tackle, especially with history like this one has.

https://books.google.com/books?id=MaY6FbhA490C&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=centaure+reels+history&source=bl&ots=AWPCqlewUM&sig=-k3lkuJH5X1TP7_yJ9vj0I7aRHg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCUQ6AEwATgKahUKEwiC5rz1-J7HAhXDmogKHaYxCrs#v=onepage&q=centaure%20reels%20history&f=false

Thanks for doing that research!  What you have found makes sense with what I know.  Mid 40s is about the time that I was thinking.  I wish I could remember more of the story from my dad about how he got it from his dad.  I think the reel may have been used to fish for sturgeon in the Columbia as they lived in Richland.  Dad just used to get real animated about how the old baitcast reels at the time would get such a birdnest of line in them and how this new style was just great for casting out into the river.