You’ve heard me say it before: “I’d follow my rod anywhere.”
It’s guided me across wild country, onto idyllic (and sometimes adrenalin-spiking) waters, and into unforgettable moments. It’s my divining rod—not just for fish, but for life.
But I bet you’ve never realised how heavily I lean on it.
The truth is, I don’t just use my rod to explore waterways. I lean on it for something deeper, more profound. For almost everything, really—to guide my thinking, inspire personal growth… and yes, even my business decisions.
Fishing is Jo’s sage and muse.
Back in 1496, Dame Juliana Berners—a prioress, no less—wrote what’s widely recognised as the first fishing manual: The Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle. In it, she metaphorically quoted Solomon in reference to angling:
“A good spirit makes a flowering age… and good sports and honest games are the cause of a man’s happy old age and long life.”
Even five centuries ago, it was recognised: the antidote to a stressful life lies in the activities we love. (I guess what defines a stressful life is always contextual…)
And let’s be honest—no group is more in need of that antidote than entrepreneurs.
Each of us winds down in different ways. For highly-driven individuals (like Jo), an idle mind is one of the most stressful scenarios—to be avoided at all costs. You’ll most likely find these sorts in comps, or finding some other way to make fishing challenging. This is their unwind.
We’re a stressed-out, overworked bunch. Too often sedentary, caffeine-fuelled, mentally wired, physically stagnant. Our brains rarely rest—and when they do, it’s usually because something’s broken. That just winds the spring even tighter.
Business pressure builds like my Nanna’s old pressure cooker—we either find a release valve, or we explode.
Everyone has their thing. But among the entrepreneurial crowd, I’ve noticed a few favourite ways of blowing off steam. Time and again, four pastimes crop up: horseracing, boating, golf, and fishing.
And I’ve come to think each of them mirrors something essential about how we operate:
- Horseracing is about risk. The gamble. The chase. The high stakes.
- Boating is about command—taking the helm, reading the weather, keeping the crew afloat.
- Golf demands focus. Precision. Big-picture thinking paired with moment-by-moment execution.
- And fishing? Fishing is marketing.
If horse racing is the “sport of kings”, Jo believes fishing must be “the sport of entrepreneurs”.
We select our gear with care. Study the patterns. Choose the right lure. Position ourselves quietly. Cast. Wait. Adjust. Attract. Entice. Hook. Reel. Sometimes we land the prize, sometimes we don’t—but each trip teaches us something about timing, patience, awareness, and strategy.
For me, fishing isn’t just escape—it’s calibration. And it’s education.
It’s where the noise fades and clarity surfaces. Where business problems loosen their grip and better thinking sneaks in through the back door. It’s where my entrepreneurial instinct gets tested and sharpened, even while I’m knee-deep in a stream or bobbing offshore with only Steve and the birds for company—until a fish comes on board…
Jo comes face to face with her quarry after some fancy footwork on the beach during the Fish Reflections comp.
Case in point:
If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll be invited to watch Steve’s latest episode of Starlo Gets Reel later in this newsletter. In it, you’ll catch glimpses of me fishing for Australian salmon from the local beach.
What you won’t see is what was running through my head as I worked hard to improve my technique.
This is probably the biggest reveal I’ve ever given about how my mind works…
On that beach, I was doing a subtle little two-step to keep my bait in the feeding zone while staying in contact. It’s taken me over a decade to refine my system—telling real contact from tidal tension, clearing slack without dragging the bait, and learning to differentiate genuine bites from the deceptive tug of braid shedding wave-resistance.
Once I’ve got my system dialled in, it becomes a kind of soft-shoe shuffle:
A half-step up the beach when the surge pushes my bait forward, and back down when it tries to rob my pilly.
And right there—mid-shuffle—my inner strategist piped up: “This is just like negotiating with empathy.”
Once again, I was honing my business craft.
With over thirty years in the game, Jo has been working with and coaching her clients as a creative strategist for longer than she’s been fishing.
I’m sure I’m not the only entrepreneur among us who finds more than just a breather on the water.
What’s not to love? Lower stress, lower blood pressure, reconnection with the elements. Even the banter with mates becomes its own kind of medicine.
So… is angling the true sport of entrepreneurs?
I don’t have a study to quote—but I know the type. I’ve met plenty of fishers who don’t care for horses, golf, or boats. But I’ve rarely met a racing, golfing, or boating entrepreneur who doesn’t also love to fish.
Maybe it’s the thrill of the chase.
Maybe it’s the quiet triumph of coaxing something unseen from the deep.
Maybe it’s the sense that mastery is never truly achieved—it’s earned anew with every trip.
Whatever it is, angling gives us something essential:
Time to reflect without going idle.
Room to think without getting stuck in thought.
The challenge of pursuit with the peace of presence.
And that seems like a damn good training ground for anyone building a business.
Jo’s inspirational and fun online course sets a tight line between your fishing skills and marketing, making it easier to craft compelling marketing that targets the fish you actually want to land.
If this resonates…
If you’re an entrepreneur who loves the idea of applying the same instincts you use on the water to transform your business, I’ve created a course just for you.
“Hooked” is a short, practical online course that helps you turn “meh” leads into hell-yes clients using stories, systems, and simple, instantly-implementable tools. And it’s inobtrusive… short modules, with companion eBook and worksheets, all drip-fed across five weeks. It’ll ask you for an average of one applied hour per week, yet the paradigm shifts will be profound.
It’s a win-win: you get fresh perspective, fast traction, and a new approach to strategic growth… And I get the invaluable benefit of your early feedback and insights.
If any of this intrigues you, I reckon it’s for you.
Discover more here
(I’m keen to see if it hooks you.)
Until next time, FISH ON!
For three decades Jo has worked with businesses and personalities, helping them to promote themselves in one form or another, whether through graphic design, advertising, promotions or marketing.
She has owned a fishing rod for just as long, but it’s only been in this new century that it hasn’t been allowed to gather dust.
Jo is a passionate advocate for the sport of fishing and its promotion as a healthy lifestyle for women.
To find out more about Jo visit her website HERE
Or you can visit her Fishtopia Web site HERE or on the banner below.
Jo is also the founder and National President of the Women’s Recreational Fishing League (WRFL) Inc. The work they do is very important in balancing the participation ratios of fishing in Australia, thus making the collective voices of Aussie anglers more harmonious and powerful, as well as shoring up the economy of the sector. For more information visit their Website at womensrecfishingleague.org
