As fishermen, many of us abide by a handful of traditions, superstitions, and passed-down lore to guarantee a great day at sea. Over the holidays, a few of my captains and I got into the topic, discussing the different superstitions we follow, their origins, and our thoughts on a few others that may help our readers with their bites.
Let’s start with the sayings I would leave at the dock: “tip one for the homies” seems like a waste of good beer to me; “toss a coin to pay homage to King Neptune” not a chance… if you own a boat, you’re going to need every penny you’ve got; “women don’t belong on boats” only if you enjoy sleeping on the couch; and, one of my personal favorites, “turn off the music, you’re scaring the fish.” Sure, let’s sit in silence while the fish scoff at our bait. Now, as for a tradition rooted in pirate lore, I’m fully behind “no bananas on a boat.” Why? Well, one version of the saying originated after pirates sailing the Caribbean realized massive spiders would almost always accompany the yellow fruit…and I’ll be damned to see a spider on my boat- we don’t mix well. Over the years, I have sifted through and learned from these sayings, coming to my own conclusions that would help my business achieve what I have dreamed. Two stood above the rest, and here is how they influenced our trips at 2 Shea.
I love music, always have. I enjoy belting out a tune even though my kids will quickly tell me the real artist doesn’t need any help. Despite this, growing up it was never common for the fishing boats I worked on to play music. In fact, some of the boats didn’t even have a stereo. I was always told “music would scare the fish,” and I guess it kind of made sense. It didn’t matter if we were 20 miles offshore or 20 miles deep in the Ten Thousand Islands; that was the rule, and we were sticking to it. So, when I started my charter business, I saw no reason to change what had gotten me to that point. While I took some liberties to play music for my clients to and from our spots, I never played it once we got our rods in the water. Up until the one, fateful trip. The bite was terrible, probably due to the trip’s close timing to the new moon (never a good time to fish). The water had more of a resemblance to chocolate milk than the deep blue, and I had exhausted all the small talk possible. After our third failed spot, I decided we needed something to break the dragging silence, so I turned on the stereo and cranked the tunes up. Soon enough, the bite turned, and what had felt like a funeral became a party. We caught fish the rest of the day. Once we reached the dock, the gentleman who booked the trip told me it was a genius move to turn up the music to get the fish biting. The songs were great. Why wouldn’t the fish want to come up to the boat and listen right along with us? From that day on, music was not only played while we fish, but it became how we fished. The music helps us determine when it’s time to check our baits, move to a new spot (“three more songs”), and keep up the vibes and the bite.
Now, onto the banana adage. The “no banana” rule started when I was a kid, fishing with my best friend, AKA Uncle Dominic. We were having a grand old time in the Florida Keys when Dominic saw a No Bananas sticker on a passing boat. From that moment on, we made that a rule in our fishing expeditions and even expanded upon it, adding a clause to the rule penned the “No Bananas Dance”, requiring all people who brought bananas on our fishing trips to shake their money maker in order to ward off the bad juju. It was hilarious. I saw no reason not to continue this amusing tradition on our charters to give us the best chance of catching fish while enjoying a good laugh. Unfortunately, one day, one of our performers took a spill while dropping it low…that was the end of that era for 2 Shea Charters (though legend has it Uncle Dominic still enforces the rule on his boat, so if you are thinking of bringing a banana in his sight, get your Truffle Shuffle ready to go!).
All this goes to say, traditions help bring captains together and give us peace of mind that our trips will go well. Though it is always okay to break away from them, whether it be by educating the fish on The Billboard Top 100 Hits or letting your kids bring peanut butter banana sandwiches on the boat. As for me and my trips, one tradition is guaranteed: we are going to have a great time whether the fish cooperate or not.