All those awesome pictures of big butts that Gary posts. I can't get enough of them, and recent
Y got me to thinking. He's always got that bait cooler, we all know the one, Jimi, Purple haze, whatever you know it as, it is a well accepted idea, that cooler is responsible for much of Gary's great good fortune on the fishing grounds. Don't believe it? Just go back and review all his posts and I guarantee that cooler is in every picture. Still don't believe it? Well there's just no pleasing you then!
Anyway this got me to thinking what is it about that cooler that holds the magic? Is it the color? Is it the brand? Is it the age? The condition? All of the above? Well now you might wonder what I would bother going through mental gymnastics over a bait box. I'll tell you, I have been suffering some of the worst good luck fishing as of late. Why worst good luck? Well worst because I'm catching fewer fish, good because it still beats working! Anyway my spell of worst good luck got better recently. On the last day of the season I wanted to get one last rock fishing trip in before my license expired and the rock fish season closed. My son was busy with his family and my fishing partner was off chasing tuna. Don't ask it's not what you think. So I invited a couple friends who have been wanting to go out with me for awhile and we headed off to fish the coast north of Big Sur. 30 minutes into our first drift CDFW pulls alongside from out of nowhere and asks to see out gear, license and drivers licenses. We comply and come to find out I'm 200yds over the southern edge of an MPA. Despite my insisting as the captain that if anyone was getting cited it should be only me as the other guys were only fishing where I put them. They cited us all anyway, told me they would stick around but they had already written up 10 boats this morning and there were another ten boats waiting for them. They said they did us a favor because we were honest about having fish onboard, we didn't cut our lines, try to run or BS them. We al, got cited for an infraction. How's is this better you might ask? Well it's not better in a good way it's more like my worst luck is getting stronger, so good for it. Only one reason this can be happening to me and that is my mojo broke. I looked around the boat and it suddenly dawned on me? My mojo didn't break! I don't have any mojo. I been storing my bait in my food and fish cooler? Sounds really bad when I write it down, but yes I have one 150qt igloo cooler that fits on my boat right behind my pilot seat and acts as a backrest for seating.
I start the day with my bait, my lunch and 20-40 lbs of ice in this cooler, bait then goes in the livewell to defrost, fish go in the underfloor fish boxes until later in the day. By days end, the food is gone, the fish get fileted and ziplocked and into the cooler on ice and the bait either is used up or it goes back in ziplock and into the cooler. I don't think this is working out, for one thing, sometimes there is food leftover and by the time I get home the cooler smells of bait and has to be washed and the food smells like bait and has to be eaten right away. Or tossed out! I'll let you accept whatever outcome works for you on that item. So began my quest to find a mojo bait cooler. I looked at some new coolers and well Yuck! They're just so new and shiny they couldn't possibly hold any mojo. I needed an old one, a metal one, and most especially, an ugly one, but it has to be in decent shape. I finally found one on eBay. It's old, metal, in excellent condition for its age, and best of all it is fairly homely looking, possibly even ugly but not quite. Here it is! What do you think! Maybe it has some mojo? It came from Iowa? Don't know what kind of mojo it might have if any but one can always hope.
That definitely looks like some Mojo David. ;)
My Shark Trip last September, I wanted a 10 footer bad!
When Robin and I hit the Beach. We stayed all night long. We did this multiple nights.
One morning, we were actually awaken by beachgoers.
I was just happy to be on the sand.
Its fishing, I can accept it.
Wow 😲 Dave, it's beautiful 😍. Thanks for the story about how you found your way!! I,m quite certain your luck will improve and you will be another proud fisherman. Take care of yourself and that cooler will take care of you. Thanks 🙏. Just saying.
If that cooler doesn't get your mojo woikin' something is wrong. 8)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEYwk0bypY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEYwk0bypY)
Nice!
Not only do I need my Lucky Shirt, Necklace and Hat.
Now I need to listen to that song. ;)
Man, that was some serious harmonica!
Yes. When your mojo is working, you can get ready for the big one ☝️ 🤩🌃....ther,s more to fishing than wishing. Too much time is spent at work wishing? Life is short, That's why's they made sick leave, Tues/we'd/ or Thursday,
Like a yeast starter, you might have to put in some funk. Never play rapp with the lid open. It's now a living thing. Now you got some thing, no body has. Best of luck 🐟
You just need to build up some good fishing karma!
Note to self.
Never play Rap with the Cooler open. ;)
Im pretty sure sure that old cooler has plenty of mojo....just waiting for you to call it out!!!
Let's see you give Ol' red a run for the money....
Best of luck!!!😀😀
Brett
Quote from: Shark Hunter on January 13, 2018, 03:49:36 AM
Note to self.
Never play Rap with the Cooler open. ;)
No worries here I don't play rap music anywhere! Except that one song, I'm on a boat. That one should be okay.
Thanks Mo! Great tune and who doesn't love the blues. I was about ten when that song hit the airwaves.
KDON played more hits more often.
Luck,mojo,karma they all fall under they same category. What you need is a slump buster, hopefully that cooler is it! It's got some funk to it.
Mojo is built up like mud in an old enamel coffee pot, and that cooler has a head start.....now time to build that Mojo into a fish killing cooler....Bill
I'm starting to think I need a ceremony, kinda like the old Viking ceremony I did when I changed the name of my boat. Done incorectly or ignored, can lead to tragedy on the sea. It is said to be a primary imperative to remove all the mojo associated with the previous name and I still the mojo of the new name. Well I don't know about all that but I also wasn't about to take any chances with it. I googled it and followed the instructions to the letter. I can say that other than one mechanical breakdown, (entirely my fault by the way) nothing bad has ever happened on my boat, knock on wood and cross my fingers, nothing ever will.
I wonder if there's an ancient blessing for a bait box?
David,
I do believe in Mojo.
I attended my Sister in Laws Funeral last night and I actually shaved and wore my best pinstripe suit.
My Father in Law said to my boy Michael that I looked like a Baptist Preacher.
So I hereby bless your Cooler,
May it bring forth many large fish for you.
Amen.
Quote from: Shark Hunter on January 13, 2018, 01:38:45 AM
Nice!
Not only do I need my Lucky Shirt, Necklace and Hat.
Now I need to listen to that song. ;)
Man, that was some serious harmonica!
Daron that's James Cotton on the harmonica I have seen him many times a nightclubs back in 80s and early 90s ! Man he put on a mean show check this one out !! John Taylor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZXMWklGf84
Quote from: David Hall on January 13, 2018, 05:44:09 AM
I wonder if there's an ancient blessing for a bait box?
There are a few very old Australian bait cooler ceremonies David, they are all different in their own way but most involve beer, forgotten bait and blow flies.
Mike
Hey Daron,I've seen your reports from your last few trips,maybe that shirt,hat and necklace aren't so lucky. I know how well prepared you are so it's not that. Maybe you need to add or remove something,you Know, mix it up a little. Just sayin! But I'm not superstitious,it's unlucky.
Hope you and the family are doing OK, trying times for sure.
Hijack over
After much googling my way into the wee hours of the night I found several, dati;g back to Ancient Greece that involves olive wreaths and a great deal of wine, to middle eastern involving the sacrifice of a cow or ox to a he goat hung from the mast. Common threads are much alcoholic beverage and choice seems to run the gamut from fermented honey to the best scotch whisky, and a blessing from a religious practitioneer. Again the choice of religion is as varied as are the choice of beverage. I think that Daron has been in touch with his spiritual side of late and the blessing he gave in his previous post should suffice to cover the religious aspect. Thank you for that Daron, I know these are not the easiest of times for you and your family. So this leaves me with only the act of blessing the baitbox with the liquids and I choose Scotch Whisky! I happen to have a bottle handy of Angels Envy, except that it's Bourbon not Scotch. I hereby grant a temporary equivelence that for the purpose of blessing this cooler with Mucho Mojo for this one time only, that Kentucky Bourbon will for no other reason than stated previously be an acceptable substitute for good Scotch Whisky. No other equivalence shall be considered as everyone knows Bourbon is just Bourbon while Scotch Whisky is, well.....Scots Whisky! Nothing left for me to do now except wait for the right time to drink the bourbon?