Page "Fishing reel" Paragraph 28

In 1948, the Mitchell Reel Company of Cluses, France introduced the Mitchell 300, a spinning reel with a design that oriented the face of the fixed spool forward in a permanently fixed position below the fishing rod.

A mechanical line pickup was used to retrieve the cast line ( eventually developed into a wire bail design ), and an anti-reverse lever prevented the crank handle from rotating while a fish was pulling line from the spool.

Because the line did not have to pull against a rotating spool, much lighter lures could be cast than with a bait casting reel.

Conversely, halting the cast and stopping the lure at the desired position requires practice in learning to feather the line with the forefinger as it uncoils from the spool.

Most spinning reels operate best with fairly limp, flexible fishing lines.