Chester River

The Chester River winds from the farm country around Crumpton and Chestertown down past Kent Island to the Bay at Love Point, one of the upper Eastern Shore's best all-around fishing rivers. DNR calls it home to some of the greatest numbers of blue catfish in Maryland, especially from Chestertown up to Crumpton; its lower reaches are a summer spot and white perch factory and a fall striped bass destination around Hail Point and the river mouth. It's also a spawning river for striped bass and has an early-spring yellow and white perch run.

When to fish

• March: yellow perch spawn in the upper river, followed by white perch. The river is closed to striped bass fishing in spring (the lower river reopens in mid-May), except for a small catch-and-release area on the north side of Kent Narrows.
• Spring through fall: blue and channel catfish throughout, best from Chestertown to Crumpton.
• June to September: spot near Hail Point and Queenstown, both for eating and for live bait.
• Fall: stripers suspend on the channel edges at the river mouth, and birds and breaking fish show on the lower river; white perch school at the mouth in late fall.

Where to fish

• Chestertown to Crumpton: catfish; the Route 213 bridge at Chestertown is a license-free fishing area.
• Hail Point and the sod banks and points on both sides of the lower river: stripers, and spot in summer.
• Queenstown: summer spot.
• The river mouth near Love Point: channel edges for stripers and deep schools of white perch.
• Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge: shore fishing from the Tundra Swan Boardwalk, the Ingleside area (April to September), Bogles Wharf and the Eastern Neck Narrows bridge.

How to fish it

• Catfish: fresh cut menhaden or gizzard shad, chicken liver or scented baits on a bottom rig.
• Spot and perch: bloodworm or artificial bloodworm on bottom rigs; in March, shad darts and small soft plastics help weed out small perch; in late fall, jig metal for the big white perch schools at the mouth.
• Stripers: find suspended fish on the depth finder and jig soft plastics or paddletails; in low light, cast poppers around sod points.

Getting there

Launch at Eastern Neck refuge's Bogles Wharf (Kent County trailer permit required) or Rock Hall's Bayside Landing (fee), or use Kent County's landings at Quaker Neck and Cliff City (county permit for trailers). You need a Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License, except on the license-free Chestertown bridge, where the free saltwater angler registration is required.