Best Bluegill Fishing Tournament

One of the coolest things about Southern Illinois is that you don't have to look for rural tranquility -- you're more or less in it once you sail past East St. Louis. But even by these standards, Paderborn is a tiny town, boasting a church, a population under 100, and Karban Knotty Pines Tavern, a delightful highway-straddlin' watering hole that plays host to Bob "Chick" Fritz's annual bluegill fishing tournament every June. The rules are simple: Two-man teams pick a fishing hole, drive to that predetermined destination at 7 a.m. and come back shortly before noon to determine who has caught the most bluegill. The top finishers split a modest pool of cash culled from entry fees (less 20 percent, which goes to charity), but really, everyone's a winner -- consuming as much fried bluegill and working-man's lager as Fritz, a Belleville-based beer distributor, can muster.