Verboten! Bananas on a Boat.

**PanamaJack** · 10-06-2006, 13:28

Couldn't resist copying this e-mail I received from our solitary American Club member who's just returned from Sao Vicente in the Cape Verde Islands. All in all it was an excellent trip. In nine days fishing he raised 43 fish, had 34 strikes and released 14 Blue Marlin. (He also caught a Yellowfin Tuna of 140lbs.) His average size of fish this year was 350lbs, with the largest 650 and, on his best day, he released 5 from 7 hook-ups.

BUT, and this is the salutory lesson, DON'T take BANANAS on a boat!

This is Andy's note:

For those that get this and do not know the curse of the bananas here it is - all over the world fishers should never have bananas on board a fishing vessel. This comes from times long gone when bunches of bananas would come on board harboring scorpions, spiders and other assorted vermin.

My last day of fishing in Cape Verdes was with Captain Carlu on the Nhu Cretchu. We had three decent fish just look at the lures before noon. Tim went to check the lunch cooler around 12:30. (Please note that the lunch lady-maid-hotel caretaker does not like me.) Tim comes back from the lunch cooler and I ask him what we have. Tim responds that I need to check for myself. I am figuring we had no lunch at all. I go back to the cooler and much to my surprise we have tuna salad - I lift up the bowl and there they are - a bag of bananas!!! I grab the dreaded beasts and hurl them into the ocean.

Less than 30 minutes later we have a strike on the left rigger. Then we have a 350 up and running on the left rigger - we pull the hooks.

Less than an hour later we get a nice fish of around 500 on the left rigger again--taking good line around 400 yards out - the fish jumps parallel with the boat about 40 yards away. The fish swims back through the line and cuts us off with his bill.

Less than an hour later a fish takes the right short on one of my 50 rods. Big hole where the lure was and fish is really taking line - I would say a fish of 600 to 700 range. We begin to fight the fish and I gain 100 yards of line with 400 yards still out there. Fish makes another run and breaks the line!!! Carlu then showed me that the fish had gone through the stinger line which had 130 on it and cut off that lure on the way out of the spread - making a weak place in the line. So two lures gone on that fiasco.

We are very determined to catch a fish now - down to trolling three rods. Fish of around 250 grabs my short 50 and then lets go. Swims back to the left rigger and proceeds to just follow it for a few minutes despite our best efforts to convince him to bite.

Now you may ask how many bananas were on the boat - some of you may have figured out that number in this little mystery - 0 for 5 on fish - five bananas were in the cooler!!!

You've been WARNED!
Best wishes
Dave

**Happy Dude** · 10-06-2006, 19:02

3 years ago in kenya as me and my mate were getting on our boat the 2 guys from the other boat chucked a couple of bananas on board.

the skipper went mental, he was really not amused.

we blanked that day, not even a mackerel or bonito

**Scrudgy** · 10-06-2006, 21:47

Never heard of that before - but I know one thing - when snorkling in Cuba I used to take bananas out with me - the fish loved them, and in no time had a large school of vaious species around me - including an evil looking Barracuda who was not interested in the bananas - but was eyeing up everything else. lol

**Indian Angler** · 16-06-2006, 13:20

Originally Posted by lewisteh

Never heard of that before - but I know one thing - when snorkling in Cuba I used to take bananas out with me - the fish loved them, and in no time had a large school of vaious species around me - including an evil looking Barracuda who was not interested in the bananas - but was eyeing up everything else. lol

Hi Lewisteh, Couldn't help smiling when I read your post. When I was out in the Andamans we used to switch off the engine on the boat and just drift while having lunch. I used to snorkel around the boat feeding feeding bananas to schools of multi-coloured fish. Tried using banana as bait

but it didn't stay on the hook very long.

Regards,
Indian Angler.

**johnwahoo** · 06-07-2006, 10:44

Can anyone show me a fish that knows you have bananas on a boat.If someone posts a reply i have a good story for you.John

**PanamaJack** · 06-07-2006, 12:37

It's patently an 'American' thing John. I remember as well - long, long time ago - when I was fishing the Silver Anniversary running of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) both the Americans and the native Hawaiians used to go apopletic at the mere mention of the dreaded fruit. There was also even an ex-pat from Guam - 'where the hell's Guam' on his tee shirt – there that was similarly affected. And there was even mutterings to sabotage teams’ chances of the 'yellow things' being secreted on other boats.

So we all longing to hear your story. And you're going to have to accept that this is a tad contrived, but ..........this explains all - http://www.azinet.com/captjim/bananas.htm - obviously.

However I’m not in the least superstitious – well not really - and favour a more scientifically-based explanation. So it’s all to do with the Ethylene gas that is created as by-product of banana respiration. You wash your hands and the traces of this very volatile gas associated with putrefaction, in concentrations of as low as one part in ten thousand trillion – that 1 and 15 zeros, cause billfish to rapidly disperse. What a load of twaddle! Come on tell us your story. Please!
Dave

**thames rover** · 06-07-2006, 14:27

when i was living out in australia we were on a boat trip out on the barrier reef and the skipper went mad when one of the anglers pulled out a bunch of bananas.
A group of us from SE forum went out on a charter a few weeks ago and one of the lads pulled a banana from his lunchbox and i told him that it was bad luck, needs to say we had a bad day and he blanked .
I also would like to know how it started about the bad luck thing.

**johnwahoo** · 07-07-2006, 02:35

During my trip to Bermuda 2004 we fished the July 4th world cup and the Bermuda Big game classic plus fihing on the off days we caught some nice marlin including a big blue estimated at 1000lb during the off days a big yellowfin on the 4th july but the first two days of the Big Game Classic we blanked the crew went mad when they knew i had been carrying bananas on board and made me throw them overboard that night i even had the captains father on my back.Little did anyone know i kept two on board and on the third day we landed two blues equal top boat that day imagine their surprise when i pulled out the bananas as i said if we would have more on board we might have caught more.It is a funny thing how people get hung up on silly things on my boat we have bananas all the time people should get real and worry about catching fish for their clients and not worry about putting negative thoughts into peoples heads.I see most sportsman eat them for enegy surley needed on a good fight with a big marlin.John

**PanamaJack** · 15-07-2006, 10:48

I couldn't resist this one, especially after johnwahoo comments.

I'd similarly posted this same lighthearted thread to a German forum and received a reply from German skipper - Berno – with whom I've toasted many a good day's fishing in the Cape Verde Islands. Berno operates the 'Happy Hooker' fleet - 35 and 37' Bertrams - from Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente.

Any rate on 4th July each year as John mentioned there's a global tournament - the Blue Marlin World Cup. Anglers fish from, I think it’s 8:30 to 4:30 in their local time zone, for a single ‘big money’ prize. This year it was, I understand, 600,000$US.

(Now whatever our attitudes to ‘kill’ tournaments, they happen. And, whilst not trying to justify it, in this particular tournament there’s a 500lb minimum size and, as it progresses through time zones – East to West – crews will release fish if a larger one has previously been weighed in. So killing of fish is minimized.)

Berno though, this year, caught an 850lb fish for his angler which won them the tournament. He admitted he was on ‘tenterhooks’ until turned 12:30 in the morning (local time) until the results from Hawaii had finally been received. Obviously he’s elated – I guess as a skipper, and a businessman, it’s likely to translate into more bookings for him in subsequent years, but also there's the kudos in his achievement vis a vis his peers. Of course though, he took great pleasure in letting me know that they’d gone to sea that day with more than a kilo of bananas on board.

What do they say about exceptions proving the rule?

**johnwahoo** · 16-07-2006, 09:51

With over 28 different bananas here in Thailand to chose from them marlin sure do get to taste variety.Well done to the boys over Cape Verdi saw the photo's of the fish looked worth 600,000$ to me.John