1. Myth: You’ll scare the fish.

Debunked: Fish aren’t likely to swim away based on conversation or music alone.

2. Myth: Fish don’t bite in the rain.

Debunked: It’s true that changes in barometric pressure may affect bite, however, when it starts to rain and drops of water hit the surface it doesn’t affect fish or biting.

3. Myth: You need big bait to catch a big fish.

Debunked: “Sure big fish can eat bigger bait than smaller fish can. But that doesn’t mean that is necessarily their habit to do so. Maybe really the only benefit in using bigger lures is that the hooks are stouter so you can horse a big fish more and not bend or straighten a hook. Or maybe on smaller lures the hooks are just too small to grab ahold properly.” Bass Pro Shops

4. Myth: Bananas on a fishing boat are unlucky.

There are several explanations for the bananas on board myth, according to Snopes.com:

• “When top-heavy ships of earlier eras would sink, precious little other than the bananas they’d carried would be found floating on the surface, thereby leaving some to conclude conveyance of the fruit itself had led to these naval mishaps.
• Spiders, snakes, and other poisonous vermin living among bananas carried in the hold would, on long haul trips, expand their horizons by infesting other parts of the ship.
• Because the speediest sailing ships were used to get bananas to their destinations before they could spoil, those attempting to fish from them never caught anything while trolling.
• Fisherman became ill after eating the fruit.
• Other fruits would spoil more quickly when bananas were being shipped along with them, causing folks to deem bananas “bad luck.” (Actually, it wouldn’t have been ill fate that resulted in the spoilage of other foodstuffs, but instead the ethylene gas emitted by bananas as they ripen.)
• Crew member injured by slipping on discarded banana peels.
• Fisherman misses landing the big one due to a case of “the runs” caused by bananas he’d ingested.
• Banana oil rubs off onto the hands of fisherman, thereby “spooking” the fish.”

Debunked: The more passionate about fishing, the more superstitious one may become. Bananas on board does not affect fishing!

5. Myth: You have to fish at night to catch catfish.

Debunked: Catfish can be easily caught regardless of the time of day or season. Catfish feed during all hours, even during the day.

---

Images and sources: WideOpenSpaces.com, Boating Magazine, CatfishEdge.com

Related Articles:

Do you have any other questions about boating without owning or Carefree Boat Club?

Let us know via our contact form or on Facebook or Twitter.

#CarefreeBoatClub