Are bananas a curse on a boat? There are some very strong feelings by many captains, including this one, on this matter. The general concensous is a resounding YES! They are! In this article we’ll discuss some of the reasons we have come to this conclusion.
Bananas And Curses
With over twenty four years of chartering under our belt, too many bad things have happened when bananas end up being discovered on the boat. Most first time anglers have no idea the carnage that occurs in the presence of bananas. Experience anglers for the most part, do!
Is It Just Coincidence
There have been times when out fishing, that the fishfinder is lit up like Christmas, guys are catching fish, but we’re not! But, by all accounts, we should be! When this happens, the first thing we now do is ask our clients if any of them have bananas. Low and behold, 99 times out of a hundred, someone does. On occasions, too numerous to mention, as soon as the bananas are thrown off the boat, the rods start flying. One must start to think, are bananas really a curse on a boat.
Not catching fish in the presence of bananas is probably the least of the consequences of them being on board. We as well as other captains have had terrible things happen to us when these fruits are along for the ride. Guys have had equipment breakdown. Some have ended up hitting things and injuring their vessel.
Bad Things Continue To Happen
Perhaps my worst personal experience occured this 2020 season. It was an afternoon in the middle of July. We had just gotten out and set up when we doubled up on nice bright, silver adult kings. Both were on spoon rods. The first fish was just about to be netted and low and behold, doesn’t the rod tip snap off. We did get the fish, but lost the lure and the use of the rod! It was also the last lure of that type that I had on board and it had been producing. We shrugged it off and successfuly landed the second king just moments later.
More Bad Experiences
It couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes , the guy who broke the rod pulls out a banana. AFTER going back and forth and arguing with him, we made him get rid of it. You know what! For the next 5 hours, left in the trip, we never got another bite. Notta. Zero. To make matters worse, one of the other clients, who was quite large, went to get out of the chair he was in, and it collapsed on the deck! Thinking this had to be the worst of it while we were heading back in, boy, was I ever wrong. Backing into my dock a gust of wind kicked up out of nowhere and pushed me away from my dock. When pulling back out to get set to back in again, we hit a submerged log that no one saw. It took out my starboard prop.
Are bananas a curse on a boat? They sure seem that way to me, as well as a lot of others. As far as I’m concerned, they have no place on my charter boat. It has now become standard procedure to ask all clients if they have them or not, before we leave the dock! It can become quite painful should we forget!