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Curse of the Banana


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The banana myth has some historical basis. When bananas were first found by Europeans in the Caribbean they were stocked on ships as provisions. They would cut them at the stem in huge bunches so they didn't over ripen on the voyage. But in the bunches were venomous snakes that would bite and kill sailors. So it started as no bananas on boats and then migrated to fisherman.

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Back in the early days when sail ships started carting bananas they found out on long trips the bananas would go off by there use by date and that's where the "no bananas on board" started.

Now people believe it as bad luck to have them on a fishing boat.lol

As they say keep telling people the same story over and over for long enough and they will believe it

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 Common explanations include:

  • When top-heavy ships of earlier eras would sink, precious little other than the bananas they’d carried would be found floating on the surface, thereby leaving some to conclude conveyance of the fruit itself had led to these naval mishaps.
  • Spiders, snakes, and other poisonous vermin living among bananas carried in the hold would, on long haul trips, expand their horizons by infesting other parts of the ship.
  • Because the speediest sailing ships were used to get bananas to their destinations before they could spoil, those attempting to fish from them never caught anything while trolling.
  • Fisherman became ill after eating the fruit.
  • Other fruits would spoil more quickly when bananas were being shipped along with them, causing folks to deem bananas “bad luck.” (Actually, it wouldn’t have been ill fate that resulted in the spoilage of other foodstuffs, but instead the ethylene gas emitted by bananas as they ripen.)
  • Crew member injured by slipping on discarded banana peels.
  • Fisherman misses landing the big one due to a case of “the runs” caused by bananas he’d ingested.
  • Banana oil rubs off onto the hands of fisherman, thereby “spooking” the fish.
  • Early anglers in Hawaii would embark upon lengthy fishing trips in dugout canoes provisioned with (along with other food items) bananas. The farther they went, the fewer the fish, causing some of them to mistake correlation for causation.
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Originally Posted by yellow door 1 View Post
I prefer to believe that observing superstitions, bizarre rituals and voodoo curses are the key to catching fishwink.gif

Claiming out loud, that one particular angler enjoys the company of horses, is a powerful fish catching technique in my local waters.

Taking a Swig of "Bream Juice" (diet coke) works well for one angler I know.

Repeating the mantra "Cmoooooooonnnnnnn Snapaaahhhh" in the most irritating singing voice you can muster is a guarantee.

Another angler I know does special wrist exercises in the morning before every sessionwink.gif.

Arrogantly naming a location after yourself guarantees action

Pulling up the electric and driving off to a new location with out letting your mate finish his retrieve shows you mean business - and the fish at the next spot respect that.

If someone suggests a change of location, the only answer to give is "I dont care, I'll catch 'em anywhere"

Buying a new rod, reel or boat gets you connected to something good the first time you use it.

Never, ever wear any Orange clothing - the bream hate it and so do the Ladies you wave to on the river.

Some people fish better with a hang-over and others dont - trial and error over an extended peiod of time is the only way to sort this out. Once you work out, what works for you - stick to it

These are just a few truths I have gleaned over the years - they may have no place in tournament angling but then again.....maybe the last time you blanked in a comp was because you were wearing "Orange" undies and you didnt have any "Bream Juice" on boardbiggrin.gif
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On 28/01/2020 at 5:13 PM, yellow door 1 said:

 Common explanations include:

  • When top-heavy ships of earlier eras would sink, precious little other than the bananas they’d carried would be found floating on the surface, thereby leaving some to conclude conveyance of the fruit itself had led to these naval mishaps.
  • Spiders, snakes, and other poisonous vermin living among bananas carried in the hold would, on long haul trips, expand their horizons by infesting other parts of the ship.
  • Because the speediest sailing ships were used to get bananas to their destinations before they could spoil, those attempting to fish from them never caught anything while trolling.
  • Fisherman became ill after eating the fruit.
  • Other fruits would spoil more quickly when bananas were being shipped along with them, causing folks to deem bananas “bad luck.” (Actually, it wouldn’t have been ill fate that resulted in the spoilage of other foodstuffs, but instead the ethylene gas emitted by bananas as they ripen.)
  • Crew member injured by slipping on discarded banana peels.
  • Fisherman misses landing the big one due to a case of “the runs” caused by bananas he’d ingested.
  • Banana oil rubs off onto the hands of fisherman, thereby “spooking” the fish.
  • Early anglers in Hawaii would embark upon lengthy fishing trips in dugout canoes provisioned with (along with other food items) bananas. The farther they went, the fewer the fish, causing some of them to mistake correlation for causation.

Snopes is good

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