boating/fishing superstitions?

[nwcove]

i grew up and still live in a fishing community, put my time in as a commercial inshore fisherman. some of the old guys ( and up and comers) have some wierd superstitions that they are VERY serious about.
no women aboard a fishing boat
no grey mittens.
no whistling
do not leave the "thought" ( small covers for the bow and stern floor in a tuna flat) upside down.
never....and i mean never....say pig ! ( learned the hard way when was asked by a crew mate..where does pork come from)
never scare a bird off the boat if it landed while you were miles off shore.
etc.

any others from different parts of the boating/fishing world?

 

[LongLine]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

No bananas onboard

 

[nwcove]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

slip and fall hazzard? lol ( i dont get any of the superstitions!)

 

[fishrdan]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

slip and fall hazzard? lol ( i dont get any of the superstitions!)

It's from long ago when ships had sails instead of engines. Bananas would carry all sorts of creepy crawlies on board the ship, then the ship would be infested with those creepy crawlies. No bananas, no creepy crawlies.

On my boat, when I'm fishing for big fish,,, no cameras! (I think it's a jinx against catching "the" big one... )

 

[sasto]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

No bananas onboard

We always said that, LingLine. One trip in the Turks and Caicos we used a banana peel as a skirt on a ballyhoo.....caught a 60lb Wahoo on her!

 

[rbh]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

Don't stand up in the boat!
Superstition or just good advise in a canoe??

 

[sschefer]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

On my boat, when I'm fishing for big fish,,, no cameras! (I think it's a jinx against catching "the" big one... )

That's my #1.. It's o.k. to have someone else take a pic of your fish but never take a pic of your own fish.

 

[JimS123]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

The bottom has to be painted green or you won't catch any fish.

 

[JEBar]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

I have an old hand towel that must be attached to my tackle box .... without it, I might as well go for a boat ride ..:redface:

Jim

 

[mommicked]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

I seem to have better luck fishin by myself................but don't enjoy it as much as w friends along and wonder why nobody beleives me when I tell them about the big one/ones I caught ? . I guess i'll have to start taking pictures of the fish I release. I have offered a "gift" to Neptune a time or two when the fish were'nt biting on offshore trips, in the form of an adult beverage poured into the sea. Sometimes it seemed to work!!

 

[Wind dog]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

It's considered bad luck if a bare footed woman passes you on the dock.

 

[LongLine]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

Creepy crawlies with the bananas is only part of the story. The other is that rotting bananas produce a tremendous amount of methane gas. Inevitably, a few wpould rot on those old time sailboats & inevitably some sailer would sneak down in the hold to enjoy a pipefull of tobacco. oops - boom!

Now you know why the "Fruit of the loom" underwear logo doesn't include a banana.

 

[nwcove]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

i grew up and still live in a fishing community, put my time in as a commercial inshore fisherman. some of the old guys ( and up and comers) have some wierd superstitions that they are VERY serious about.
no women aboard a fishing boat
no grey mittens.
no whistling
do not leave the "thought" ( small covers for the bow and stern floor in a tuna flat) upside down.
never....and i mean never....say pig ! ( learned the hard way when was asked by a crew mate..where does pork come from)
never scare a bird off the boat if it landed while you were miles off shore.
etc.

any others from different parts of the boating/fishing world?

did some research on the above superstitions
no women or board.....just considered bad luck. ( jmo....but after weeks at sea, maybe the nagging caused this one?)
grey mittens.....many morticians back in the day wore grey gloves
whistling......whistling was thought to bring up the wind
"the thought"......which turns out to be a local reference to a hatch cover, if its upside down, it isnt secured..bad luck to sink!
pig....pigs cant swim?...so dont mention them or bring pork products on board....if anyone falls over, they will surely drown.
birds....cant find any info on that one.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

How about the tattoo of a pig on your leg which means you will not drown. I almost got one of those tattoos in Newport, RI when I won a bet with a shipmate with the stakes being one tattoo. I settled for a small scorpion on my arm since it would not cost him as much.

I was much younger then and could fill a book with the stupid things we did in those days.

 

[nwcove]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

there are still a few fisherman around so superstitious..... that if they saw a tattoo of a pig on yer body.....they wouldnt allow you on their property ,let alone their boat!!!

 

[fishrdan]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

Here's another one of mine, don't go fishing without a hat. No matter what I'm wearing a hat while fishing, even if it's dark out. If it's cold I'll wear a knitted cap, which is close enough to and satisfy the "hat rule". I even have a couple old crusty caps stowed in my boats in case I loose or forget to bring one. This has caused some weird looks at the docks, me forgetting that I'm wearing an old gnarly stained and wrinkled cap that was sitting in the anchor locker for ages. If those people only knew the hat rule....

Going into that superstition further is the "lucky hat". I have (had) a favorite hat that's worn on fishing trips and yes, it's pretty worn and beat up. I had the wind blow "old lucky" off and I told my son "Don't take your eye's off of it!". Well, it disappeared between a couple of waves, so we boxed the area for an hour,,, yes the hat was that lucky. Just as I was about to give up, my son spotted it 15' in front of the boat!!! After 5-6 years I eventually lost "lucky" (wife probably threw it away :facepalm and let me tell you, it takes a long time to find another lucky hat.

 

[sschefer]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

Here's a good one on hats. Every year, first trip up north I wear the hat I was wearing when I caught the last fish the last time I fished the spot. One year, we stopped for breakfast at the same place we always stop and we make the traditional first, most, biggest fish bet. About an hour down the road from the resturant I realized I had left my hat. I decided it was no big deal. Well apparently it was, the resturant burned to the ground that night and for the first time ever I lost every part of the bet.

So yeah, I think I have the superstition too!

 

[nwcove]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

lol lol lol.....now that ya mention that....ive had a few "lucky hats" , some of which just became so weather beaten that they fell apart. but i would be panick stricken if one blew off and was in peril!! and it always seemed to bring luck if you recovered " lucky"!

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: boating/fishing superstitions?

Being slightly follicular challenged, I always wear a hat. Not a superstition just common sense.