Kent Narrows

Kent Narrows is the short, current-swept channel between Kent Island and the mainland at Grasonville, where US 50 crosses onto the island. It links the Chester River to the north with Prospect Bay and Eastern Bay to the south, and DNR's weekly report calls it one of the best places in the middle Bay to fish for white perch. In recent summers it has also been a reliable place to live-line spot and jig for striped bass, and DNR rates it a very good place to fish from shore as well as from a boat.

When to fish

• Spring: white perch and stripers in the deeper water beneath the bridges. The Chester River is closed to striped bass fishing from March through May, but a special rule allows catch and release (release each fish immediately) on the north side of the Narrows, from the old Route 50 bridge up to a line between Ferry Point and Long Point.
• June and July: stripers on live spot or soft plastic jigs, best early and late in the day; bluefish show up and sometimes bite live spot in half. August is closed to striped bass fishing.
• Summer: white perch all season, from bulkheads or by drifting the shorelines in the morning and evening.
• September and October: a mix of stripers and white perch; party boats anchor in the Narrows for the morning perch bite, and there's less boat traffic.
• November: larger white perch in the current before they move to deeper channels at the river mouths; stripers on jigs worked along the bottom. A few stripers stay deep under the bridge into winter, when the season is catch and release only.

Where to fish

• The Narrows channel: drift it with the tide for white perch and suspended stripers.
• The deeper water under the bridges and around their piers.
• Bulkheads along the Narrows: shore fishing in daylight.
• The concrete breakwater on the southwest side of the Narrows.
• Outside the day markers at the Narrows entrances: watch for birds and breaking fish in late summer and fall.

How to fish it

• White perch: a bottom rig with grass shrimp, peeler crab or pieces of bloodworm, or DNR's favorite here, a dropper rig with a sinker and two small jigs drifted through the Narrows. Dropper flies tipped with scented artificial bait also work, and in fall small jigs in the moving current catch the bigger perch.
• Stripers: find suspended fish on the depth finder, then live-line spot or drift in the current jigging soft plastics; cast soft plastic jigs and paddletails in low light. Use non-offset circle hooks when live-lining.

Getting there

Take US 50/301 exit 41. Queen Anne's County's Kent Narrows Landing has a ramp and pier, and Goodhands Creek (ramp) and Cabin Creek (soft launch) landings are nearby on Prospect Bay; all require a county permit for your vehicle. Boaters should expect strong currents and heavy traffic in the Narrows. You need a Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License.