Superstition

The great Stevie Wonder wrote a well-known song, Superstition. The chorus-

When you believe in things
That you don’t understand
Then you suffer
Superstition ain’t the way

These lyrics could apply to lots of things in life, but in this piece, we’re sticking to fishing. And fishermen are a superstitious lot, oh yes. Let’s take a look.

Bananas in Boats

This reporter moved to Florida in 1984. When he got there, he was surprised to learn that most of his new-found fishing buddies believed that bananas were bad luck in boats. It was news to me. I’d been boating since I was a child, and I almost always brought a banana. I like to enjoy one of nature’s most perfect foods!

When I was guiding, I once had a client go into my cooler to put his lunch in there. When he saw my banana, he tossed it overboard. WTF?!? “It’s bad luck!” he exclaimed. No, it’s my lunch.

Bananas have absolutely nothing to do with either boats, luck, or fishing. How did this noble fruit get such a bad rap? My understanding is that it comes from United Fruit Company (or reasonable facsimile) shipping bananas to the States from Central America. Bananas, as you may know, grow in the tropics, on tight bunches on large stalks. Those bunches provide hiding places for a variety of wildlife, including snakes, spiders, and scorpions. Sailors didn’t, and still don’t, like those creatures on their ships. Bananas took the rap.

Also, those banana-carrying ships were frequently loaded with more bananas than the vessel’s rated capacity. Get an overloaded banana ship in heavy seas, and the vessel sinks. Sailors don’t like that, either. Again, the bananas got a bad rap.

I’ve carried bananas on all my vessels all my life, in New England, in Florida, in Alaska. They’ve never affected my fishing or boating success. It’s the 21st century. Give the bananas a break.

Jinxes

Well, I claim to not be superstitious, but I never like a fish on the first cast of the day. If you don’t get any fish after that, it makes for a really long day. But a fish on the first cast has led to many bang-up, fish-all-day-long days, too. Looking at it dispassionately from the comfort of my office, I’d have to say this one is a wash. Every cast is an independent event. What happens on one cast can affect the next few subsequent casts, but no way can that effect last all day.

Some fishermen are also known to be unlucky. I heard that the late President George Bush had some kind of chemical in his perspiration that fish detested. Is this true? Don’t know, it’s merely hearsay to me. But fish can certainly smell, and if they don’t like your stink (tobacco, sunblock, or petroleum products on your hands come to mind), you’re going to be an unlucky angler.

Some fishermen are noisy. In deep water, fish feel fairly safe and the noise a fisherman makes might be ignored. But fish in shallow water can be incredibly spooky. A fisherman who stomps around, banging oars and tackle boxes, rolling bottom rocks, etc., is also going to be unlucky.

What about boats? Boats make noise. Boats displace water. If the fish don’t like the sound or feel of a boat, they are likely to leave the area, or at least stop eating. They are hard to catch then. On the other hand, some boats, if not actively attracting fish, don’t scare them away, either. These are lucky boats, or lucky operators, or probably both. Luck comes in two flavors, after all.

I once read an article in Florida Sportsman magazine that said that bass are attracted to certain kinds of music and repelled by others. According to this piece of work, the bass enormously favored country-western music, and Conway Twitty was their favorite musician. It’s something to keep in mind next time you enter a bass-fishing tournament. Please let me know how you do.

Lastly under jinxes, an acquaintance once told me that when he was a boy, his daddy used to take him tobacky fishin’. On the way to the fishin’ hole, they’d stop at the general store, where Daddy would buy a big pouch of Red Man. Apparently it worked better than any other brand. Once they were out on the lake, they’d take the Red Man, tear it into little pieces, and chum the fish up with it. Then they’d stand by, one with a net, one with an oar. When the fish came up to spit, the one with the oar would club them, and the net man would net them. Don’t believe it? Try it yerself!

Lucky Clothing

Lucky fishing hats. Lucky fishing shirts. Lucky fishing underwear. C’mon, how could a piece of clothing affect the fish bite? Lucky clothing is ridiculous on the face of it. The best fishing clothing blends with the environment. If you’re dressed like a neon sign and shallow water fish can see you, you won’t catch much. Unless you are not dressed for the weather, and get hypothermia, hyperthermia, or third-degree sunburn, but that’s unlucky clothing, or unlucky lack of needed clothing. Lucky clothing. Give me a break.

Lucky Flies

This one actually makes some sense. For most fly fishers, the favorite fly is what you got your last fish on. If that fly is the only one like it that you had, and you lose it, well, there goes the lucky fly. Avoid this by tying (or buying) at least six, and preferably 12, of whatever pattern you’re making (or buying). Never be caught without the hot fly again!

Solunar Tables

I had a dear friend, now deceased, who wouldn’t go fishing if this little book he had said the fishing would be bad. A mutual friend came up to visit one day, and my friend agreed to go fishing with us, in spite of his book saying fishing would be bad. The fishing was fantastic. We were fishing for redfish, and they were tailing and eating aggressively all day. My friend couldn’t believe his book was wrong.

Look, the sun and moon affect living things. Any bartender will tell you people go crazy on a full moon. But there are things called Local Conditions that affect fish more than the moon phase. Water temperature, turbidity, dissolved solids, salinity, dissolved oxygen, food availability, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, tide phase, current speed – we could make a long list here. The best time to go fishing is whenever you can, and the best time to catch them is when they’re eating good.

Summary

Good fishermen make their own luck. Their hooks are sharp, their knots are good, their tackle is maintained, and they’re out fishing a lot. They learn to recognize the many small things that matter. They hone their skills through constant practice. If you want to catch more fish, go fishing more. Blaming bananas for a bad day is ridiculous. Superstition ain’t the way.