Ive heard of this before, where does that superstition come from?

Don't know, but I have had some funky stuff happen when one snuck on board. You think the TSA is tough?

I find it funny only becoase they ship them over here in ships, imagine how that ship capt must feel? I bet he is puckerd up tight!

My understanding of the "no banannas" curse is that it originated from the dark ages and the old sailing ships.

I have most often heard: Banannas bunches brought on board often housed spiders. A spider bite back in those days could prove fatal, especially given the lack of nutrition and hygienic conditions on a 1-2 month journey.

A better description found online:
"Back in the days of the transatlantic crossings by wooden sailing ships many hazards would befall the captains, crew and passengers. Disease, pirates, shipwrecks, storms, etc., claimed the lives of a good percentage of the captains, crew and passengers attempting the dangerous voyage. Needless to say, a transatlantic crossing in the 17th and 18th centuries was a very risky endeavor. Often the vessels would stop along the way in tropical islands to gather provisions such as food and water. There the passengers and crew would often purchase wooden crates of bananas from the locals and bring them aboard the ship. These crates would have all manner of critters in them such as bugs, spiders, vermin and snakes.

These critters would make their way into the bilges of the ships, multiply, and then find their way into the captain's quarters. The captains circulated the rumor that bananas were bad luck in an attempt to keep the critters off the ship and out of their cabin. The crew and passengers were more than eager to follow suit because of the inherent risk of the crossing. So, if the captain announced prior to the voyage that bananas were bad luck and not allowed aboard the vessel, everyone complied. You must remember that these were the days of burning witches and the like, so superstitions were taken very seriously. "


Some other theories found online:

Slave Ships... "Day Oh... Day Oh..." One theory that seems to carry alot of water is that the original slaves were brought from Africa to the New World in the dark ugly holds of banana boats. If you perchance one morning woke up in that dark foul place surrounded by other scared folks and it smelled alot like bananas... well chances are your life was gonna be a world of bad luck from then on... it was gonna be a bad, bad day.....

The South Pacific... "I believe I'll have the papaya this morning with my cereal..." To ancient people of the Pacific Isles, only the royalty were allowed to posses the delicious fruit that we call the banana. It was only grown on royal property, a 'commoner' found in possession of bananas was punished by death.

When England Ruled the Seas... "Yo-ho-ho-Matey! Prepare to repel boarders!"... In the days of tall ships and sails, fresh fruit was essential on lengthy voyages to fight off the maladies of scurvy and other lack of vitamins, especially with no refrigeration. Fresh produce was critical to the success of any voyage. Bananas tend to blacken and ripen quickly. While doing this they emit a gas that can rapidly rot any other produce nearby. Sailors would then be stuck with stale bread and boiled salted meat for a long, long time... bleech... pass the Tabasco!

In other words, "No Banannas!"

I've lived on semi-dry sausage and leftover pizza on many fishing trips...

I got more answers on this than i ever got answering real fishing questions. I enjoyed all answers but I think bubabgump had the taster fair while pat goff with his rusty sardines had to be the worst. althro i learned a lot from redman with his history lesson .thanx to everyones input . but if yall arnt done yet lets keep going!

Go ahead laugh..
The *last* banana on my boat:
In spite of numerous warning, the gravy maker decided to sneak one on.
Five minutes out, sucked up some jack-wagons gill net in the jet. Twenty minutes of cutting that junk out. Ok, back on track.
Then, not one, but two reels blow up on the first two fish. Jeesoids. Oh well, it happens.
Then.....lose nine or ten really nice trout in a row. Bam, they're on, get them coming, and then they're off.
Then, a rod just blows up.
Then...a snot wad of something gets in the fuel filter. Open the dry box to get a screwdriver and there the nasty thing sits. Sitting there like a big yellow moisty. WTF??? Who put this in here???? Sling it out, clean the filter, immediately put the culprit back on the dock.

Go back out, fill out two limits of trout and redfish in an hour, no more issues.

You can believe what you want, but as for us, we KNOW what is up.

I bought a smaller tote 12 x 12 x 4. In it, I put my baggied bread, small bags of chip, cookies, & crackers. It fits in a storage compartment and won't hurt if it gets a little wet. We have a small cooler that fits in the end of our big cooler. In it I put my lunch meat, squirt bottle of mustard/mayo, fruit cups and candy. We can stay out all day and smack away : )

Trail/snack mixes are always good.
If you're near a Buckys they have almost any type you could imagine.
Cold tacos are good too. My favorite being bean and cheese with diced caramelized Opa brand sausage.

I also like dried banana chips. Would they bring the ire of the fishing gods?

Solid foods always make me stop for a "necessary break" an hour or two after launch. Now, I just slug down an Atkins breakfast drink or two before leaving the dock. No major potty "issues" for hours.

My little boat doesn't have room for a "head"...so...this is my solution to not having to stop fishing during a morning.

Rich

Aah, yes......

the Poo thing must be considered when planning food on the boat, I tend to lean towards dry (and not greasy) items that won't bring on the atomic fecal explosion

cheese and crackers, PB and crackers, crackers

Tons of water

BHR

had leftover cold pizza yesterday----pretty good and easy to eat.

Dry sausage and rat cheese. Crackers. Some or another fruit but def. not bananas (which I don't even eat on dry land away from water!) Water (and Gatorade in hot weather)

Food! Who needs food! I prefer liquid bread...nectar of the Gods!