Need some clarification on the banana jinx

the_grube

the_grube

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
The background is that I'm looking for some way to explain my lack-luster results fishing lately.

I know better than to actually bring a banana on a fishing trip. I had to walk home from the boat launch years ago when my buddy saw me munching on one before we launched. I'm wondering just how long the banana effect lasts. My normal morning routine is to eat one first thing when I get up; nice to have something in the stomache before taking my vitamins and such.

Is it possible that later in the day there's still some 'banana effect' hanging around tanking my fishing? Another way to put it: what is the half-life for the banana effect?
 
taking-axel-foley.gif

No banana's on the boat.. or eaten within ___ hours before fishing... I don't monkey around!

I actually started doing in back in 2000 on a trip to Hawaii, the BIG ISLAND, and did a half day blue water trip! I was told by the booking person that the captain might not let me and my friend on if we had any banana's with us for lunch.

I know the superstition started long ago, but not sure.. I just know NFB.. No fracking banana's!
 
One must not even think about bananas, or you've lost the game.

Along those lines, there's always a relevant xkcd.
 
I’m not sure if it kills the bite, but I love bananas and eat one or two a day and always eat one before heading out to go fishing, but not while fishing.
The banana also has to have some green on its peel for good luck. Over ripe bananas suck! 😂
SF
 
Ya, I'm inclined to believe it. I understand there's a chasm between correlation and causation. But causation isn't nothing. Humans stopped eating poisonous things long before they understood biology.
 
Last edited:
So... NO BANANAS ON THE BOAT!

I understand this to be a VERY old belief and practice on fishing boats. I went to a saltwater fishing seminar many many years ago and one of the presenters was guide that had spent 20 years in the navy ON big ships. He had some charts and data regarding studies that the navy had completed on bananas (and other fruits) regarding the potential dangers of having these fruits put onto ships (i.e. phosphorus/phosphorescence, glowing in the dark is bad on war ships). He didn't have the historical reasons but believed that perhaps the old sailors didn't like the glowing either, might attract sea monsters.

Anyway, I have seen the superstition play out on my big boat and on others I have been on and deckhanded on. On my boat I had 2 young guys I was mentoring at work, we were fishing a lake that always produced early in the year. We hadn't even gotten a bite after 4 hours, I was explain why we kept trying differnt things, then one said were there things that cause fish not to bite, i was explaining and then got to Bananas. The other kid started laughing and said the other kid had eaten a banana just a few minutes before! I yelled at him, then he hell up the peel, I had him throw it overboard. Then I handed him the Dawn detergent and told him to wash EVERYTHING he had touched. And no kidding as soon as he was done both rods went off! The kid that narc'ed just started laughing and then he was giving "banana boy" sh*t for wasting our time the first 4 hours. We ended the day in about an hour with 3 limits.

I know some guides in Alaska and on the Columbia that will not let you on the boat if you have bananas!

I personally eat a banana every morning, then double wash with Dawn before heading out to fish or tie flies!

My boats have it posted!

IMG_20230227_164633139~2.jpgIMG_20230227_164633139~3.jpg​

 
This has been debunked on several TV fishing shows, from Salmon in fresh and salt water , Malin, tuna and everything in-between.
Sometimes fishing sucks, sometimes you just suck, and it wasn't because of bananas!
 
I brought a banana with me once last year not even thinking about it and I had one of the best days of the year, so ever since I always try to make sure I pack a banana with my lunch. I caught more trout in 2025 than ever before, so I'm sticking with it.

If I am going on a charter I'll make an exception and honor the superstition.
 
My googling is not so good today, but I seem to remember a video of George Cook fishing with a spey rod while wearing bananas hanging on his belt, just to make it fair for the fish.
 
We take bananas on the boat... No issues. In fact im less hangry. So maybe even fewer issues because of em.

I had heard it was a stop for sailors on the way home who were unlucky but could still sell bananas at port and cover some costs although not as lucrative as fish. Ymmv.
 
The negative cases are definitely interesting and I've thought about them. The thing is, catching fish while in the presence of a banana isn't proof positive that they don't have an effect. Other factors (relative abundance of fishing, stellar conditions, etc.) might have outweighed the drag that a banana puts on fishing results. Or it could require banana + some other factor to have an effect. It's sort of like having good reasons to use 6x tippet on some fishery, but hearing from others that they caught fish using 3x. It'll take a peer reviewed double blind study to get to the bottom of this, and it's hard to imagine someone putting up the cash to fund a study with a large enough sample size to be reliable -- maybe a banana retailers association..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top