# Superstitions & Rituals



## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

I'm almost ready to put the 14ft boat I got last month. What are the boating superstitions, rituals, or unwritten rules? (I read the Mosquito Ramp Rant already)


----------



## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

No sunscreens allowed whatsoever in the boat or on people in the boat!!!

Some Lake Erie guys have a no banana rule. They're weird.


----------



## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Lewzer said:


> No sunscreens allowed whatsoever in the boat or on people in the boat!!!
> 
> Some Lake Erie guys have a no banana rule. They're weird.



Call it the Cancer Cruiser? heh.


----------



## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

Lewzer said:


> No sunscreens allowed whatsoever in the boat or on people in the boat!!!
> 
> Some Lake Erie guys have a no banana rule. They're weird.


I'm picking up some sarcasm here! Lol. There HAS to be superstitions associated with boating.


----------



## Workdog (Jan 10, 2007)

OK, for me it's NO BANANAs on the boat. It's a carry-over from saltwater fishing days. Also, nobody is to mention the "S" word (sheephead) when bringing in a fish...it leads to a rash of sheephead catches. Another is, do NOT mention how likely it is we will catch a limit. For example, say we start out really well on the Walleyes. As soon as someone says "we only have X till our limit," or, "we should get our limit quick today," it is a sure bet the bite will stop.


----------



## nicklesman (Jun 29, 2006)

I don't care how big they are absolutely no sheepshead in my net 

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## Rivergetter (Jun 28, 2011)

This applies for the bass tournament out of my boat. Never weigh the first five until its time to cull. Everytime we start to weigh the first couple fish the day always goes bad and we never end up culling sometimes we are lucky to get a limit. 


_OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors._


----------



## jgriss (Feb 18, 2010)

I second the sheephead in the net rule.


----------



## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

I've experienced the "limit killer". When the cooler comes along on a buddy's boat it's to "put lunches in". No bananas and no sheephead in the net....got it


----------



## Nikster (Mar 14, 2007)

El'Toro poo poo.

Nik,


----------



## Rockyraccoon (Jun 19, 2012)

I'll second the no bananas.

In fact, I insist on no bananas on my boat, no articles of clothing with banana pictures on them (BTW this is why fruit of the loom took the bananas off the label years ago), nothing with the word banana on it (including sunscreen....bet I've throw 100's of bottles of banana boat sunscreen in the trash. And whatever you do......don;t eat any bananas on the day of your trip.

It's an old saltwater superstition but Ive whole heartedly seen it in action.


----------



## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

I am serious. No sunscreens allowed. Certain UVB absorbers are repellants.

TiO2 and ZnO sunscreens are allowed. But there are none on the market that are any good.







> Call it the Cancer Cruiser? heh.


 That's a good one!


----------



## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Never let a lure touch the water before the tournament starts! 
When I first started fishing tournaments I belonged to a small club out of steubenville. We were always the first ones to the ramp in the mornings (young and eager) so we would grab what ever new baits we had just gotten and make a few casts from shore just to see how the looked in the water. Once at the steubenville marina, I started casting a new spinnerbait and WHAM!!! 3 lber.! My biggest river smallie to that point. 2 casts later, another keeper. In about 20 casts I had 5 keepers and 2 short fish, all an hour before the tournament started. We fished the entire 8 hour tournament and never caught another keeper.... that day haunts me still..... no baits in the water prior to blast-off no matter what the reason. I won't unstrap them or take any out of the rod locker till I hit my first spot anymore just to curb the temptation....

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

That's funny! I won't be doing tournaments anytime soon but I will remember that.


----------



## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Call it the Cancer Cruiser? heh.


I literally just LOL'd


----------



## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

I have the "No Banana" rule and also if your hat blows off we will not turn around.

"No Banana" comes from salt water, and the hat is because my buddy's hat blew off on our way to Big Rock (45 miles out of Beaufort Inlet)... buddy turns his boat around to go get it and when he stopped the outboard died. Bad day.


----------



## selfproclaim (May 19, 2011)

What is the deal with no bananas. Something about saltwater, doesn't make sense to me.

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

selfproclaim said:


> What is the deal with no bananas. Something about saltwater, doesn't make sense to me.
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Not 100% sure of the origin... but what I was told was that back during pirate times in the Carribean, a banana ship was hit by pirates. All that other ships found was a bunch of bananas floating.... and something to do with not having a monkey on your back.


----------



## Wow (May 17, 2010)

What up wit dat? --Tim


----------



## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

LMAO nice one


----------



## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

I also read that crates of bananas would often carry poisonous spiders and snakes because of the tropical region.


----------

