Bass Fishing The Chester River Headwaters

(Oct. 2016) A couple of weeks ago I got that call we all like to get.  William Van Sant of Lachwood Fishing Adventures in Maryland called. “Hey are you free this week, I want to get you out on the river for some crack of dawn bass fishing”  Well you don’t have to ask me twice, just tell me when you want to go, and I will make the time.  I drove to Millington, Maryland, met William at the hardware store, dropped my car off, and jumped in his truck. I didn’t need gear just some lunch and the ambition for an adventure fishing new territory.  I had both with me and I was ready to roll.  Luckily I had a guide who knew these waters like the back of his hand.  Thankfully he had a private place to fish, which is always a bonus, and it was a weekday.

We headed onto a small piece of property not far from town and proceeded to drive into a field choked with weeds that were four feet tall.   “I haven’t been back here in a little while”  I could tell by the trail we were taking, it seemed like we were reblazing new territory.  Then we came to the woods.  William had to take the rods out of the holders and stow them, good thing he did, talk about low branches.  This was about a week before Hurricane Mathew dropped in on us.  We arrived at our location after rearranging a few downed trees from the storm a week before.  Seems we keep fishing between heavy storms this year.  Once we arrived at the launch site, we took the canoe down, and he dragged it to the edge of the river.

Now these head waters of the Chester river are literally a small creek like area that runs through a river valley that usually is rather full of water. There were places you could see that should be covered and wet.  Apparently the creek or river was low so we had to fjord a few places but it was no big deal.  As soon as we started out i noticed the water was either a few inches deep to several feet deep.  We were in a spot about four feet wide and William says drop that plastic worm over near that log.  I looked at him, seriously?  “Yup, trust me”  So I do and wham!  Fish on!  Now it was a small bass, but I was amazed based on the area we were fishing.  We are in a creek no wider than four feet,but the depth is deceptive.  Every little tight turn on the water had deep spots that held nice fish. It was some amazing fishing.  One section was about a fifty yard stretch with heavy vegetation on each side.  Cast down the stream and before the worm could even sink, it would be hit, almost every cast.  We were having a blast.

Not long into the journey, we knew it was supposed to rain around noon.  Well as usual the weatherman blew that by a few hours.  It started to rain hours early, but it was a light drizzle, the vegetation and trees were taking most of the rain.  We decided to stick it out until it got really bad or we got really wet.  Not thirty minutes later we heard that sound, the inevitable “you’re-done-for-the-day-thunder”.  We packed it in and both started paddling hard for the launch site.  We were really close, since we were having so much fun slamming fish I didn’t realize, we didn’t really go that far downstream.  I am looking forward to a return trip either soon or in the spring.  We were planning on hitting an area that day that would be good for much larger bass.  There is also some heavy hitting carp in a few areas we may target next time.

If you want to go on a bass guide with someone who not only has the passion for fishing like a disease, but knows his stuff.  Get up with William Van Zant and take a trip down the headwaters of the Chester River.  You will not be disappointed.  He also is very knowledgeable about other areas to fish, so just ask about other options for trips.  You can contact him at chaesade1@gmail.com   Looking forward to my next adventure

Fish On!

Rich King