The Carters Bug Salmon Fly

One of the best all round but under-rated flies I’ve ever used is a little beauty called the Carters Bug. I had a couple given to me back in the early nineties by a gentleman from Greenfield while we were chatting on the bank of the Medway River.

I was doing a job in the Mill Village/Charleston area and used to drive to the nearest pool on the Medway River to watch the salmon fishermen while I ate my lunch.

As a matter of fact, the first Atlantic Salmon I ever saw caught was at the pool just down from the satellite station. I can’t remember the name of it right now. It was just where an old ruined dam on the far side slows the current that a grilse rolled.

 Richard Anthony who was watching too saw the fish, poled his river boat into position and hooked the fish within minutes; an impressive display to say the least.

Bryant Freeman's Carters Bug

It was as we were enjoying the spectacle that the fellow from Greenfield gave me two flies and encouraged me to try my hand at salmon fishing at first opportunity. The flies were Carters Bugs.

I gave them a try that weekend on a trouting trip to the Eel Weir in Kejimkujik National Park. The fly was magic. I lost the first one at some point and the second was so chewed up by the end of the day that it was almost unrecognizable.



That night I found out why the fly is so under-rated. It is a fish magnet without question but it is very difficult to tie a good one and almost impossible to find them in a fly shop. I’ve been trying off and on since then to tie a match to those original bugs. I sometimes come close but never quite get there.

The closest thing I’ve seen that compares to the Carters Bug for both trout and salmon is George Hardy’s Brown Bug, a renowned salmon fly for dry fly fishing salmon on the Garia Bay River. I can’t tie those worth a darn either but that doesn’t seem to matter to the fish.

A while ago Pat Donoghue from “ Nova Scotia Fly-fishing, Tying and Tall Tales” mentioned Bryant Freeman’s name to me in an email which led me to Bryant’s website. Imagine my surprise when I saw his comments on the Carter’s Bug. Spend a few minutes browsing his site and you will understand why I feel a bit better about not mastering this fly. I’ve rarely seen such high-end fly tying.

Bryant has a fine pedigree as a salmon fisherman and fly tyer. If you spend any time at all in the Medway Country you’ll hear more than one story about his Dad, Lew Freeman and his exploits fishing the Medway in those not so distant good old days.

My brother Warren wrote recently that there is some work being done on the Medway this year. There is a plan to lime the river as well as plantings of genetic stock to enhance the runs of sea trout and salmon.