Best Bluegill Fishing Tournament

The one held every June at Karban's Knotty Pines Tavern
The one held every June at Karban's Knotty Pines Tavern
4569 Buss Branch Road
Paderborn, Illinois
618-473-9954
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.

Best Of Search

Click here for Best Of Map

Best Of Issues - Previous Years

Latest Best Of User Comments

  • Best Way to Blow Your Low-Carb Diet (1)
    2008-12-02 18:51:34
    Hello ladies n gentleman can u email picture of 12 pound--- 28 inch pizza if thats...
  • Best Restaurant When Someone Else Pays (2)
    2008-12-02 16:21:15
    If you don't want to eat real italian food and pay $$$$ then go to CIELO restaurant. Service,...
  • Best Public Restroom (1)
    2008-11-29 16:46:48
    never met a girl across from me i didnt like though
  • Best TV News Anchor (1)
    2008-11-29 16:23:56
    I once cited Art in a college paper. He wrote a letter to the editor in Rolling Stone years ago...
  • Best Chain Restaurant (1)
    2008-11-26 22:04:14
    I work at Penn Station. I love my job, I love the customers, I love the food.

Best of St. Louis 2003 Award Graphics

Riverfront Times Insiders

  • Local food, music and news blasts
  • Free Stuff
Backpage.com