Salty Siren Co — My Story

Fishing didn’t start for me with big catches or knowing what I was doing. It started with early mornings on the water as a kid — half asleep, wrapped in a jumper, sitting in the boat with my grandfather or, on the rare occasion, my dad. Back then, I didn’t understand fishing at all. I just loved the boat rides, the stillness, the smell of salt, and watching the sunrise hit the water. Those mornings were simple, but they stuck with me.

Eventually I started catching fish, and that’s when everything shifted. The excitement of a hook‑up, the surprise of what might be on the other end, the rush of bringing something up from the deep — I was hooked. And with the catches came the misses. Plenty of them. But every miss taught me something. Fishing has a way of teaching you patience, timing, and humility whether you want the lesson or not.

As I got older, things changed. My dad and grandfather couldn’t take me out anymore, and my partner isn’t really into fishing. So I had a choice: let fishing fade out of my life, or learn it properly for myself. I chose to learn.

I went down the rabbit hole — hours, days, weeks, probably months of YouTube videos. Knots, rigs, species behaviour, tides, gear, everything. But I didn’t want to just copy what someone else said. I wanted to understand the why behind it all. That’s when I decided to study Marine Studies 1 and 2, along with Wildlife Sustainability and Conservation. I wanted to know the science behind the water I loved — how fish behave, how ecosystems work, how to fish responsibly, how to protect what we enjoy.

But the real learning didn’t happen in a classroom or on a screen. It happened when I finally hit the water on my own.

Out there, everything becomes real. You learn patience. You learn to slow down the fight — too fast and you’ll snap the line, too loose and the fish is gone. You learn to read the water, the wind, the structure, the signs. You learn to trust your instincts. You learn that some days you’re the one catching, and some days you’re the one learning.

I spent hours in front of the water, sometimes catching nothing, sometimes catching fish I’d never seen before. And then the good sessions started rolling in. The kind where you bring home a feed for your family and feel proud because you did it all yourself — the research, the setup, the cast, the fight, the landing.

Then life threw us into some extreme circumstances. When I had my son, we were dealing with things no parent ever wants to face. Everything felt heavy, chaotic, and uncertain. I didn’t know how to give him a sense of peace when the world around us didn’t feel peaceful at all. So I took him fishing. Over and over again.

Thank God for fishing — it kept us grounded when we should have crumbled.

My son loves the outdoors. He loves nature. Being near the water calmed him in a way nothing else could. Those quiet moments by the bank, the sound of the water, the fresh air — it gave him space to breathe, and it gave me space to hold everything together. Fishing became our reset button, our safe place, our way of staying connected when everything else felt overwhelming.

Every trip taught me something new. Every fish was different. And somewhere in all of that — the early mornings, the learning, the independence, the science, the quiet moments, the healing, the excitement — Salty Siren Co was born.

Now it’s not just about me fishing on my own anymore. I run the Bacchus Marsh Crew Pod for the Women’s Recreational Fishing League, creating a space for local women to learn, connect, and build confidence on the water. I’m organising events, meet‑ups, and hands‑on sessions where I can show other women what I’ve learned — how to rig up, how to read the water, how to handle fish safely, how to build confidence one cast at a time. I know what it feels like to start from scratch, and I know how empowering it is when it finally clicks.

Fishing gave me confidence. It gave me peace. It gave me purpose. It taught me patience, resilience, and respect for the ocean. And now I want to share that with other women who feel the same pull toward the water.

If you’re learning, if you’re starting from scratch, if you’re out there figuring it out on your own — you’re already a Siren. And you belong here.

To find out more about upcoming Crew Pod meets, visit Bacchus Marsh Crew Pod on Facebook — that’s where all the next events and details are posted.