Bananas bad luck for fishing???

Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
Old fisherman's excuse for not catching fish.....

Yep, but some folks actually do believe banana's are bad luck on a boat.. I usually carry a couple banana's out fishing with me and I have had good days and bad days fishing with them aboard...Many centuries ago mariners believed women were bad luck on a boat...
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
It's what firefly said - old mariner belief that banana bad luck on a boat/ship - not necessarily just fishing


Makes one wonder what chaos happened with the cargo ships that brought the first loads of banana to port,,,,,
 

UncleFester

Old Mossy Horns
I hadn't heard that before. Funny these old 'tales' that are out there. I know when I was a kid it was a 'known' that you'd catch more fish if you peed on the fishing line before you started fishing.
 

Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
I hadn't heard that before. Funny these old 'tales' that are out there. I know when I was a kid it was a 'known' that you'd catch more fish if you peed on the fishing line before you started fishing.

Actually from what I have been told there is a charter boat Captain in Morehead City or Beaufort one that will not allow banana's on his boat. If I can't carry what I want to eat aboard a boat I won't go out on it..Its hard for me to believe that anyone actually believes that foolishness..
 

Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
If we can't have Bikini Babes around boats then I don't want to live any longer.... I'm ready to go...

Well, I would imagine those old mariners would sneak a few females aboard those sailing ships at times hoping they would not get caught by the Captain.. That was what I read in history back in grade school about men believing women were back luck on boats way back yonder..At my age I really don't care if women are on board a boat or not, ain't gonna do me any good anyhow..
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
we had a business charter with folks that had no clue on bananas. the captain flipped out when he saw them loaded on. 'Who in the hell brings bananas on a boat?"

As we were heading out I asked where the food was, went and got the bananas and yelled up to the captain and proceeded to throw all of them off the back of the boat so he could see their fate.

The captain loved it, the folks i were with thought I was crazy but we had a great charter. :)

my explanation to them was "It doesn't matter what you think of the superstition, it matters what the captain thinks."

I think it is way more of a deal in the salt. sweetwater fisherman need no excuses as their fishing is so much easier.
 
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DRS

Old Mossy Horns
We don't take bananas on boats. Some body might slip on a peel.

Here is a some explanation I found on the web:

There are many theories on why people believe bananas are bad luck for a boat. One superstition is that boats carrying bananas don’t catch fish. The origin of this belief dates back to the Caribbean trade of the 1700s. The wooden sailing boats of that time had to move quickly to deliver bananas before they spoiled, and fishermen had a hard time trolling for fish on such fast-moving boats, which is how the superstition came about. Another superstition that originated during that time is that bananas will cause a boat to sink. This belief developed after many boats never made it to their destinations, and all of the doomed boats were carrying bananas.

Suitcases onboard is a fishing boat no-no as well. Even when camera crew boarded crab boats to film Discovery Channel’s reality series “Deadliest Catch,” they were asked to leave their equipment suitcases on the dock [source: Deadliest Catch].

source: http://people.howstuffworks.com/fishing-superstition1.htm
 

HarryNC

Eight Pointer
A few years ago I was on a charter out of Islamorada. The weather was awful, strong winds and rain. The captain almost cancelled, but decided to give it a try. While trying to set up to chum up some bait in the swells, my wife decided to have breakfast, and took out a banana. The captain flipped, said "Get that banana, and any others off my boat". My wife quickly ate the banana, and threw the peel off the stern. Almost immediately, the rain stopped, and the swells started to calm. The bait showed up, the sun came out, and we caught limits of King Mackerel and a couple of bonus Sailfish. I'm not normally superstitious, but this made me a believer!
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
another crazy one that some folks swear by:

It's bad luck to catch one on your first cast.

anyone take that one to heart?
 

Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
another crazy one that some folks swear by:

It's bad luck to catch one on your first cast.

anyone take that one to heart?

Yep! Caught a 3lber one time on my first cast and didn't get a bite the rest of the tourney. Now my first cast is about 10 feet and I reel it in quick and then start fishing.... hahaha yeah I know I'm weird!
 

Wanchese

Twelve Pointer
No bananas, don't whistle, no white lighters, if you open a hatch, don't put the lid upside down............................there's tons of stuff that fishermen are weird about. I'm not really superstitious but I'm not going to be the one to find out if any of them really are bad luck.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
another crazy one that some folks swear by:

It's bad luck to catch one on your first cast.

anyone take that one to heart?

I load back up and leave, if I catch a fish on the first cast. Well, not really but it usually, 95% confidence level, turns out to be a not so good day to fish. To me it is never a good sign.
 

Plottdog

Six Pointer
I was told that during the 1700's that when they were shipping bananas on cargo ships that the tarantulas would make nest in the banana's. Then they would come out and sting the crew killing them.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
I load back up and leave, if I catch a fish on the first cast. Well, not really but it usually, 95% confidence level, turns out to be a not so good day to fish. To me it is never a good sign.

It was always a good sign for me until i heard it wasnt. LOL.

Fishermen are funny. A really great local fisherman told a buddy once that yellow butterflies were a good sign. Just BS that he threw out.

That buddy until his dying day was estatic when he was fishing and saw a yellow butterfly. swore to legions of fishermen that it was a sure sign that you would catch them. :)
 
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DRS

Old Mossy Horns
^Always a good sign to see rabbits beside the road, when going fishing. I'll keep an eye out for a yellow butterfly.
 

mumbo_Pungo

Banned
Read somewhere that fumes or gasses released by bananas would somehow cause explosions on old steam boats. This is what caused the superstition of bananas as bad luck from what the source said.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Charter captain we went offshore with in May had a hard plaque next to his chair saying absolutely no bananas on board. Luckily, I stopped one of our crew in the grocery store the night before when he had bananas in his cart.
 

Colekira

Ten Pointer
Contributor
My bachelor party started on a party boat for blues and stripers. My wife packed snacks for all the guys including a bunch of bananas. The entire boat caught its limit of giant blues before 11 am. It was outstanding.
 

HarryNC

Eight Pointer
^Always a good sign to see rabbits beside the road, when going fishing. I'll keep an eye out for a yellow butterfly.

Also a good sign if you see cattle feeding or moving in a field, as opposed to laying around chewing their cuds. If you believe in solunar effects, it sort of makes sense. All animals would be more active during peak solunar feeding periods.
 

Quackman

Twelve Pointer
Yep bananas will not EVER be welcome on my boat. I have thrown a few over the side in the past couple of years. One I snatched right out of my wifes hand and threw it. That solidified her thought on me being crazy when I fish.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Also a good sign if you see cattle feeding or moving in a field, as opposed to laying around chewing their cuds. If you believe in solunar effects, it sort of makes sense. All animals would be more active during peak solunar feeding periods.

it (solunar tables) makes freshwater fishing too easy. i dont look any more just to have more of a challenge. LOLZ.
 

JONOV

Old Mossy Horns
It's what firefly said - old mariner belief that banana bad luck on a boat/ship - not necessarily just fishing


Makes one wonder what chaos happened with the cargo ships that brought the first loads of banana to port,,,,,

Deep thoughts with Jack Handy...

Actually from what I have been told there is a charter boat Captain in Morehead City or Beaufort one that will not allow banana's on his boat. If I can't carry what I want to eat aboard a boat I won't go out on it..Its hard for me to believe that anyone actually believes that foolishness..
I know the Vonda Kay headboat in Wrightsville Beach prohibits them. My buddy was buying his ticket (in the parking lot,) Captain told him "get rid of that banana." He wolfs it down, and goes to throw the peel in the wastebasket. The captain scowls and says, "don't throw that in my wastebasket, it'l attract the flies" (as if the fish market dumpster across the parking lot didn't do that already.) So, he goes to toss it in the bush, and the mate yells at him for littering.

I wonder if it doesn't go back to the age of exploration and the possibility of getting venomous banana spiders on a boat.
 
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