Bluegill are super fun to catch and hot summer weather really brings them out! Go fishing today at these great lakes in the SoCal region for some awesome trophy bluegill action!
Lake Perris
17801 Lake Perris Drive
Perris, California 92571
Website
Lake Perris, situated in the beautiful rocky hills outside of Riverside, California, offers fantastic sunfish angling. Some would even call it world class, as the enormous bluegill caught here certainlyattest to. Lake Perris is a large reservoir, with its western end a long dam, perfect for fishing on. A small island is in the middle of the lake and there are two main park entrances. There is a parking fee of $10 per day, so definitely plan on spending some time at Lake Perris to make it worthwhile. The lake used to hold a large population of spotted bass, but the introduction of their bigger relatives, largemouth bass, has caused the spottie population to decline. Catfish, carp and other warmwater species are caught here, along with stocked rainbow trout (many holdovers are available, thanks to the large size of the lake). However, the big draw for this lake is the sunfish population. Bluegill, crappie, redear, and green sunfish are all caught here, year-round. The bluegill grow to enormous size here, with absolutely enormous fish being caught by anglers fishing the deeper water. The main boat launch area holds many smaller bluegill and is a popular location for younger anglers to fish. There is a bait and tackle store at the main boat launch, along with a pay-to-fish dock. Bank access is quite good at Lake Perris, thanks in part to the lower water levels. Consider renting a boat from the boat launch to target the larger bluegills, away from the noise of the swimming and sunbathing crowd near the main beaches and docks. Favorite baits include mealworms, earthworms, and crickets. Popular lures for trophy bluegill are small micro jigs, sometimes tipped with pieces of bait.
Bonelli Park
120 Via Verde
San Dimas, CA 91773
Website
At roughly 1,900 acres, Bonelli Park encompasses a fair slice of SoCal land. Located just north of the 10/57 FWY interchange, this park has one of the larger bodies of water in close to Los Angele s and Orange County-Lake Puddingstone. While the name is somewhat odd (pudding?), the lake itself is fairly nice and offers fishing for several different species year-round. Largemouth bass are a favorite here, although pressure on them can make them wary biters. Rainbow trout are stocked here regularly. Catfish are also caught here. Finally, sunfish, including some decent sized bluegills, are often caught here. The large fish docks are a frequent place for anglers to catch sunfish. I have also found decent schools of them just off the shore, warily biting jigs and bait. Even though this lake is fairly large for most city parks, the pressure on the fish can be immense at times, and even the smallest bluegill may carefully inspect bait and lures before biting. Careful presentations of lures and live bait are a must if you want to have fishing success at Puddingstone in Bonelli Park. Still, there are some big fish here, you just have to work for them to catch them.
Castaic Reservoir
32132 Castaic Lake Drive
Castaic, CA 91384
Website
Castaic is most famous for its amazing largemouth bass fishery and its striped bass catches. Even before I visited the area, I had heard of Castaic’s great black bass fishing opportunities. However, Castaic also supports a healthy population of sunfish, including some big bluegill. One of the most popular ways to fish the lake is via a float tube, thus allowing the angler to get close to the shoreline brush and log cover, or fish deep structure as they desire. Check out the local California fishing forums to help you pick out what lures to use at this reservoir.
