Butler, Herb
Spokane, Washington
Herb Butler loved to fish. He grew up tying flies for spending money
before he was thirteen. At that age he went to work repairing reels and
wrapping rods. By 21 he was working as a tool and die maker and going to
law school at night. He managed to squeeze some fly fishing into that
busy schedule whenever he had a spare moment.
Butler
went to work as a design engineer for several major lighting companies
and was able to travel throughout the United States, and his fly rod
accompanied him on his journeys. After several years of working for
other companies he started his own lighting manufacturing firm, and then
had a bit more time for his major interest in life - fishing.
In the (late 1960s???) Butler sold his company and set off on a
journey that took him to the United Kingdom, most of Europe, Africa,
Australia, and South America - fishing all the way. A variety of fresh
and salt water species succumbed to Herb’s offerings, from Lapland
rainbow trout to Nile Perch. The largest fish taken was a 212 pound
Striped Marlin. All were caught on his fly rod.(1)
The Herb Butler
“Fish” fly reel has several unusual features. Most noticeable is the
unbalanced crank set at the six o’clock position. The crank is located
in this position because the reel is geared to a two to one retrieve.
This handle also contains a drag assembly and click mechanism. Also
unique to a fly reel of the period is that the reel was also intended to
be used for trolling. It was common for fly reels of the late 1800s and
early 1900s to be used in this fashion, but most 20th century reels were
quite specialized.
The “Fish” reel housing is made from aluminum, and has nylon gearing.
The crank side, or head plate is solid, with the foot, pillars, and
tailplate ring permanently attached. The plate is 3¾ inches in diameter,
and the spool is 1 inch wide. The headplate is brightly polished and
gives the reel a very handsome look. You could have your name, or a
personalized message, engraved on the faceplate for no cost. This
polished headplate apparently was not appealing to all fishermen for the
reel has also been found in a subtle blued finish.
The “Fish” reel crank, however, can hardly be called
stylish.
It is strictly utilitarian. The crank knob is aluminum and cone shaped.
The reel would have had a more attractive appearance with a shaped knob
made of plastic, or anodized aluminum.
The interior of the reel is quite simple, with the gears being the
only moving parts, The drive gear is located on a stud cast into the
inside of the faceplate. There is an extra stud cast for conversion to
left hand use. The reel was not capable of conversion from right to left
hand use, however, without changes in the handle assembly. An angler who
preferred to reel with his left hand had to purchase a left hand
retrieve reel from Butler for $5.00 additional cost.
The reel was sold with two spools, which were available in aluminum or
nylon during different periods of production. The anodized black spool
in the polished bright frame was quite attractive.
As mentioned previously, the heart of the reel was the crank. Under
the cone shaped crank nut is a coil spring and two washers. One washer
is made of thin neoprene, and is flat. The other is serrated on one side
and made of metal. There are matching serrations milled into the crank
handle. The drag is adjustable to any of four different types of drag
settings, from very light to heavy, by placement of the washers.
Complete instructions for these settings came in the reel brochure. (see
next page) Tightening the nut against the spring refined the adjustment
within each washer setting.
A smaller cone shaped button is located alongside the crank nut. This
one controls the click and anti-reverse. This button is attached to a
spring laden pin that rides in a milled out portion of the face plate.
When the crank is turned for the retrieve, the pin provides a slow click
.. click, similar to that of the Pflueger Medalist, which was the aim of
Butler according to his brochures. When reeled backward, the pin comes
against the stops and provides an anti-reverse. This function can be
deactivated by lifting the click button and giving it a quarter turn.
Herb Butler’s “Fish” reel came with one extra spool, and additional
spools were available for $2.00 each. The spool would hold 50 yards of
backing behind any fly line. The brochure stated that the reel would
hold 100 yards of 18 pound test lead core line, and/or 300 yards of
braided Dacron line, if you intended to use the reel for trolling.
An undated brochure lists the reel at $25.00 including shipping direct
from the factory. A dealer price sheet dated January 3, 1979 states that
“our planned retail price for the coming year is $30.00 for the Right
Hand reel and $35.00 for the Left Hand version.” The reel was available
to dealers for $20.00 with an order of ten reels; $15 each in quantities
of 50; or $12.50 each if you ordered 100 reels.
Butler also offered his concept to other manufacturers, stating
“other manufacturers may incorporate this designs and engineering
advances in their product for a very nominal royalty. The royalty for
copying the design and/or engineering is 2%. The royalty paid to Herb
Butler Engineering will be used to improve fishing in those various
parts of the country where the reels are sold”.
Apparently this offer was not accepted by any other manufacturers, for
we are unaware of any other reels of similar design.
Two brochures list different addresses for Herb Butler Engineering.
One shows the address to be W. 821½ Riverside Avenue, and the other
lists S. 2112 Manito Blvd. Both addresses were in Spokane, Washington.
The former address was a shop where the reels were manufactured, and the
later address was apparently his residence at the time. The Herb Butler
“Fish” reel was only manufactured for a few years, and no references to
the reel are found in the 1980s.
Herb Butler believed in his reel. Each one carried a printed
guarantee -
I guarantee the “Fish” Fly Reel for as long as I live. If you are not
satisfied regardless of reason - return the reel and I will refund your
money in full. Yours for good fishing, Herb Butler.
The guarantee no longer applies, for Herb Butler died on ?????????
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