Ask any charter captain or fly fishing guide from Seward Alaska to Key West Florida if you
can bring bananas on the boat. The answer will consistently be no.
In fact, chances are they’ll ask if you are in possession of any bananas before you board
their vessel. If you are, they will end up in the water or on the dock. The bananas will not
come on board. They all have stories to back up why bananas on fishing boats or fishing
trips are taboo. I’ve got lots of them myself.
Most captains probably started their careers with banana phobia skepticism like I did. Then
the evidence for no bananas added up. Now they won’t mess with them. They don’t even
consider it.
Some will say that bananas while fishing are bad luck. Some will say that bananas on a
boat are bad luck. Skeptics will say that bananas don’t lead to bad fishing or bad luck. The
notion is simply a myth, a superstition or an excuse. I say, “Read On.”
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