I’ve known Tim Paxton for 35 to 40 years. I met him when he gave a fly tying lesson at a meeting of the Eureka Fly Club (now defunct). He is a unique, awesome individual, as well as his wife, Roxy. Over the years Tim has dropped off materials and sample flies for me at the Eureka Fly Shop. Tim is an extraordinary fly tier and fisherman. I met Tim a couple of weeks ago at the Blue Lake Casino, waiting for the poker tournament to start. I told Tim that I was camping up through Alaska for several months, and he was a wealth of information. He asked when I would be in town again as he wanted me to see some fly patterns that were successful for him, in Alaska, for many years.
We arranged to meet for dinner a couple of weeks later when I got back into town. I was surprised that he gave me two fly boxes with the flies that he depended on in Alaska. Tim laid out a map to tell me where his friend is now finding great fishing in British Columbia. Not only did Tim give me flies, all the material and hooks needed to tie them, but he let me know of all his friends who will be in BC, the Yukon, and Alaska this summer. He will be contacting them letting them know where I am in case they would welcome me to explore the waters they are enjoying.
I certainly bought dinner for Tim and Roxy that night. Although I’m filling my van with fly tying materials for pretty much any familiar pattern, I’m sure I would do fine just tying and fishing Tim’s patterns. These are the only patterns he fishes 90% of the time in BC and Alaska.
Yes, I strive to be as helpful and generous as Tim Paxton. However, I do not think I can ever reach his level of humility. The flies above are Herniators, tied by me for the Eureka Fly Shop. This is the number one fly sold in Eureka (Eureka Fly Shop sadly is closed due to retirement….Happy for Mike K) for the Trinity and Klamath rivers for Steelhead. My last trip on the Klamath resulted in 20+ half pounders and one adult Steelhead landed, and a 20+ pound Salmon lost at the net (my fault), all using a size 8 Herniator.
Tim and a friend were fishing on the Klamath River, decades ago, and nothing was working, for anyone. After a few hours using many different flies with no success, Tim tied on a never used fly, the Herniator. The Salmon devoured the fly, and Tim and his fishing partner were hooking fish hand over fist. Nobody else was catching any fish. People in boats were offering $100 for a fly, but they only had two or three as it was a speculative pattern, never used.
They caught so many fish that their arms were tired. After driving home to Eureka, Tim’s fishing companion got ill and went into the hospital, with a very angry hernia. Thus, the name of the fly was born. Interestingly, most posts on the Internet give credit for the creation of the fly to Tim’s partner. I asked Tim about the fly and he told me that he tied / created the Herniator. I told him about the Internet giving credit to his friend, and if it bothered him. Not at all he stated. He really didn’t care.
And, Tim created a business in the late 70’s, Buggy Nymph. He produced a whole line of synthetic dubbing materials in many colors. I once asked Tim what happened to the business. Evidently, he sold the business for $1 to a couple of college kids in Redding, CA. The students paid their way through college by running the business. A quick online look shows that The Fly Shop in Redding is still selling Buggy Nymph dubbing.
So, Tim, thank you for your help and knowledge over the past 4 decades. I hope that you enjoy my blog detailing my adventures this summer. Thanks again for all you do and who you are.
Tight Lines All!!!!