Meet The Stone Mountain Hookers

COVID had slowed life to a crawl in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and for a group of friends, that just didn’t sit right.

They are a mixed crew of women who had weathered life. When COVID shut their world down, they needed something new—something outdoors, socially distanced, and most importantly, something they could do together.

“Y’all ever fished?” Pat Sabatelle asked. A tentative yes turned into a flurry of head-nodding. The next weekend, they met on Pat’s deck at Lake Rockdale, armed with fishing rods, tackle boxes, and the kind of grit that only women seem to perfect.

Some were beginners, learning to bait a hook, hooking more weeds than fish, dropping gear into the lake, laughing until they cried. But soon something shifted. They started catching. And, in true fashion, they didn’t throw them back. Instead, they learned to clean fish and fried them up lakeside, seasoned with a mix of batter and sass.

Over time, they became more than a fishing club.

The Stone Mountain Hookers are still out there, rain or shine, rods in hand, laughter echoing over the water. What started as a way to pass the time in a pandemic became a tradition, an anchor in stormy waters, and proof that sometimes, you reel in more than fish—you catch a second wind, a second family.

There are eight of them. They have expanded slightly. Pat Sabatelle, one of the first members said the Hookers “have continued to enjoy each other’s company while fishing, cleaning and cooking.”

Meet the legendary Stone Mountain Hookers:

Olivia Thomason; Donna Bostic; Sheila Hortman; Rebecca Carlisle; Betty Pompey; Diana Dal Zotto; Hilde Friese; Pat Sabatelle.

Anything they catch (as long as it’s a decent size) they keep, cook and enjoy!

Hooker Fish Chowder

In a soup pot add:

1/2 large yellow onion finely chopped

1 fennel bulb finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil

Add 2 strips of orange peel

Cook until soft … do not brown

2-3 Gold potatoes cut into bite size pieces…don’t skin them.

In separate pot cook potatoes until

tender, drain, set aside.

Cut 3-4 firm fish fillets into bite sized chunks. (We use fresh caught fish such as bass, blue gill & crappie.)You can use cod, tilapia or other firm fish. For this use 2-3 fish fillets.

Roll the fish chunks into seasoned flour with salt & pepper. Shake off excess.

Add fish to soup pot.

Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup white wine

Add 1 can whole clams

Add 1 jar clam juice

Cover & let heat (do not boil)

Add 10 medium sized cleaned shrimp

Add cooked potatoes

Add 1-2 cups chicken stock

Add 1 cup heavy cream

Heat until hot and shrimp have turned pink. Serve with fresh crusty bread and white wine.