# Julie Snook is Lady of the Lake



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Lady of the Lake
Fisherwoman takes to the ice for thrills

http://www.record-eagle.com/2007/mar/11lake.htm

03/11/2007 BY SHERI McWHIRTER [email protected]

GAYLORD - Julie Snook is the lady of the lake. 

Otsego Lake, that is.

She often finds herself packing food and fishing gear into bags and five-gallon buckets, climbing on a snowmobile and heading to the center of a nearby frozen sheet of ice, day or night.

"I love coming out here alone. It's beautiful, peaceful and the best part about it is the thrill of the unknown. Am I going to get a fish? We could be talking right here and a flag could go up, Snook said.

Snook busied herself on a sunny morning, baiting and setting tip-ups, while a propane space heater warmed a nearby portable fishing shelter.

"Ah, now it's coffee and a cigarette. Then I'll go check the lines and make sure the minnows are still alive. A dead minnow doesn't really do any good, she said.

Snook is one of only a few avid women anglers who take to the ice, especially without the accompaniment of a husband, boyfriend or other relative.

"A lot of people are impressed. You don't really see a lot of women out here. In fact, I don't know any other girls who come out by themselves, Snook said.

But it's not entirely a man's world. Snook baits a line in seconds, quickly plucks hooks from the mouths of fish and keeps a constant watch on orange flags that signify a bite.

"Come on fish, I didn't come out here for my health. I don't get a Friday off work very often, she said, mere moments before a red and white bobber jumped in the icy water.

"Oh, I got one, she said as she burst through the flaps on the fishing shelter and dropped to her knees in the snow. A small perch came wriggling out of the water and flopped on the ice.

"At least I got a perch, that's all I've got to say, Snook said, through laughs peppered with an occasional snort. "I just wanted one. Thanks, God!

Another trick of Snook's trade is to turn on a small radio, tuned to a local station.

"They like Oldies music. That's what I've decided, she said.

She was right: Soon two more perch were pulled to the surface on the end of her jigging line, with Johnny Nash singing about the "bright, sunshiny day in the background.

Snook and her husband, Duane, did not drag their permanent shanty onto the ice this year because of the mild weather early in the winter that made for a short season.

"At Christmas we had an open lake. I should have gotten the kayak out or something, she said.

The end is near for fishing from ice shanties for Snook and her ilk. By law, shanties must be off the ice by March 15. But she plans to fish hard before then, including outings scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

"Even unsuccessful fishing trips are worth it, she said. "You can't catch anything sitting at home. I'd rather do this any day than watch TV.


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