No Lunkers, but Plenty of Bluegill

If you can’t catch big fish, catch a lot of them. That’s the nice thing about bluegill, the feisty little star of the sunfish family currently running well at many Southern California lakes.

Bluegill are relatively easy to catch from shore, usually with red worms or mealworms, and when the bite is on there’s no letup because there’s no limit. They also put up a fair fight for their size--about a quarter-pound.

One of the hot spots is San Vicente Lake, northeast of San Diego, which is open to fishing on Fridays. A total of 1,095 bluegill were taken there last Friday, topped by a catch of 60, totalling 14 pounds 14 ounces, by Al Johnson of El Cajon.