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It seems every sport has its superstitions.  Certain winning coaches are loathe to change their lucky necktie.  Some players refuse to shave as long as their winning streak continues.  Other players have a lucky number that they wear no matter what team they play for.  

Well, the sport fishing business is no different.  You may not have heard about it, but it is considered very unlucky to bring bananas on a boat when you’re setting off on a Roatan fishing trip.

This extends even farther than just the fruit itself.  Superstitious fishers have been known to get spooked by other banana based foods such as banana bread, chips or anything with a banana flavor.  Even products such as Banana Boat sun tan lotion, Banana Republic clothing or Fruit of the Loom underwear have a bad reputation!

No bananas on your Roatan Deep Sea Fishing Trip!

So why are bananas bad luck for deep sea fishing?  There seem to be many different theories as to the origins of the superstition, but no one seems to be able to agree on a single one.  

Some speculate it goes back to the days when the fastest ships were used to transport bananas to prevent the fruit from spoiling.  Such high speeds made it difficult to catch fish while trolling.

Others believe it’s because of the dangerous spiders or snakes that are often found hiding in bunches of bananas.

Of course there’s always the comedic cliche of slipping on a banana peel – which is probably even more dangerous when it happens on a boat.

Others attribute the superstition to incidents in the old shipping days when a crew would happen upon the area of a sinking ship only to find bunches of bananas floating where the ship went down.

There may even be a bit of correlative reasoning used by those who believe that banana oil ending up on the fishing line deters fish from biting.

Whatever the real reason for bananas being considered unlucky on deep sea fishing trips, at least you’ve been given the heads up before you jump on your chartered boat wearing Fruit of the Loom underwear, a Banana Republic T-shirt and Banana Boat suntan lotion while chomping down on a piece of the yellow fruit.  

Reading this article may have saved yourself from being stripped of all your clothing and being thrown overboard!