Normally, I start my Guiding day with non-resident clients by checking their fishing licences… just so I know the rules of the day before we start.
But on one such trip, maybe I should have started by checking their lunch cooler too!!
Why no bananas you ask? Well, a quick Google search reveals that, as far back as the 1600’s & 1700’s, Caribbean merchant ships were cursed with bad luck, and bananas were always found on the scene and thought to be the reason for the tragedy.
Several theories suggest bananas are considered bad luck on boats because of poisonous spiders; ethene gas; food spoilage & starvation; spontaneous combustion fires; foul weather shipwrecks… and even poor fishing.
So, for many – including today’s modern anglers, and I’m one of them – the legends of bad luck attributed to bananas still persist… so don’t bring them on board my boat!!
But somehow, despite all the detailed information I share with my clients to help them prepare for their day(s) on the water with me, Kevin seemed to have missed the “no bananas” memo!!
Our morning started out with some very fine summer weather; great water temperatures; good current over many of my favourite Brook Trout reefs… the conditions appeared perfect, but the Brookies just weren’t biting or cooperating.
In fact, the first fish that found their way into the boat were a lowly (for me) pair of sub-average Northern Pike.
Then it was move, move, move… more of the same – nothing happening as it should. So I made a suggestion that we go out on Lake Nipigon and chase after some Lake Trout for a couple hours during the midday (they usually always cooperate).
Well… things continued to be very slow as we progressed through the lunch hour. AND THEN IT HAPPENED… while eating his lunch, Kevin revealed the bane of our day… a ripe, bright yellow BANANA!!!
I was some ticked off and I forced him to eat it on the spot, and we disposed of the peel to remove all evidence that a “deleterious substance” had been on board the boat. Kevin felt ashamed, I’m sure of it… but guess what?? Yep… as soon as that banana was gone, the fish started to bite!!
First a nice Lake Trout for his wife Lindsey… and then a spectacular 23” / 5 lb. Brook Trout for Kevin himself… things were looking up!!
Even Lindsey’s father Steve got in on the action… boating a single Brookie, and then following that up with a rare Brookie double-header with Kevin shortly after.
So… you can decide for yourself whether my “bananas are bad luck” policy is some kind of fictional conspiracy theory… or, whether – as I believe – it is truly a fact. The results I’ve just shown you above speak pretty clearly to me.
See you ‘On the Water’… and don’t forget to leave your monkey fruit at home!!
