The Southern Agenda

SPORTING

The Great Southern Trout Bout

NORFORK, ARKANSAS

The North Fork River and its better-known sister stream of the Ozarks, the White River, are famous for some of the fastest trout action in the South, especially in the summer, when the tailwaters below dams keep the water cool. It’s not uncommon to land fifty fish a day—or as many as one hundred—from the rivers’ heavily stocked waters near the town of Norfork. But these streams also hold a solid promise of landing a rare four-species Grand Slam of trout—a brown, brook, rainbow, and cutthroat trout in a single day. “A lot of people come to these rivers for boatloads of rainbows and the biggest brown trout in the world,” says Brian Wise, an Ozarks guide with a massive cult following. “But the Grand Slam is definitely a thing, and people can go a little crazy over it.” Wading anglers have a good crack at a brag-worthy fish story during low-water periods. But when power generation is on and river levels are up, Wise suggests fishing with a guide from one of the region’s signature twenty-foot-long White River–style jon boats, drifting egg patterns, San Juan worms, and tiny marabou jigs. Sometimes, he says, it’s quick and easy. He’s had a client land a Grand Slam in two hours. Other times, well, it’s fishing. “You’ll typically get a brown, rainbow, and cutthroat no problem,” he says. “Then the hunt is on for the brookie. With three in the boat, folks tend to put their heads down and fish hard.” agfc.com riveroflifefarm.com

FOOD

Alabama

SWEET HOME ALA-BURGER

Ever since Milo Carlton finished his tenure as an army cook in World War II and returned home to open Milo’s Hamburgers in North Birmingham in 1946, he and his successors have served hot griddled hamburgers (each augmented with a hidden baby patty dubbed the