Report submitted by 'Curmit'
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Nyati Offshore Report
North Padre Island, TX
June 6th-7th, 2009
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After a bit of a hiatus the Nyati was finally able to get back out
between the devil and the deep blue sea.
There were mechanical issues that had been hampering previous attempts,
and despite not resolving all of those issues YT decided it was time, the
weather window was upon us and the wind had finally died.
The boat was packed with people and gear and we left out on Thursday
night maintaining a slow pace to accommodate the port motor running a fever.
Arrived to the desired fishing grounds right at sunrise and commenced
loading up the spread Nyati style trolling 7 lures in some great looking
blue water with the beloved bird dancing center stage.
Action was slow at first and during midday was where most of the action
happened. The super spread was visited by an impressive amount of fish from
bills to large bull dorado’s but sadly only a couple of takers over
the first 2 days and 1 night.
Here are some shots from the action and due to Day/Night crew I might
not have them in exact order.
Kip got the 1st Wahoo to the boat and it was not as big as we hoped
and had quite a few hungry eyes trying to figure out how in the world we
could divide it up 8 times.
Kip nailed the second Wahoo and now we all had visions of plenty of
portions of grilled perfection dancing in our eyes.
Sam got the first sailfish to cooperate and the Nyati had its first
action with a bill alongside the boat.
Kip and YT leadering the first sail.
Nate got the second cooperating sailfish to the boat after a short battle.
Kip geared up and dove in for the release to capture some wicked footage.
During the night we dropped the sword baits down and right off the
bat had a really nice run but in keeping with the bad luck it pulled the
hook after a few minutes of peeling line off of the 80W. Here is Kip fighting
the sword prior to pulling the hook.
Towards the end of the second day the topic of every conversation
was all about the overwhelming amount of big fish that had tried to eat a
lure and just couldn’t quite get it right. There were dark and sinister
snippets of conversation that our bad luck was being caused by the curse
of the yellow tubular fruit. To enlighten on the curse here is a bit of info
snatched off the web with an explanation into the history.
“Many fishing boat crews have steadfast restrictions about bringing
bananas on the boat. In fact, they'll return to the dock to purge the offending
fruit. Some crews go so far as to prohibit Banana Boat brand sunscreen or
Banana Republic brand clothes onboard. Fishermen have even been known to
object to Fruit of the Loom underwear (one sport fisher claimed he's treated
wearers to wedgies and then cut the labels out). Oddly enough, the Fruit
of the Loom graphic doesn't even have a banana on it, and some say the banana
was left off because of this very superstition.
There are many theories on why people believe bananas are bad luck
for a boat. One superstition is that boats carrying bananas don't catch fish.
The origin of this belief dates back to the Caribbean trade of the 1700s.
The wooden sailing boats of that time had to move quickly to deliver bananas
before they spoiled, and fishermen had a hard time trolling for fish on such
fast-moving boats, which is how the superstition came about. Another superstition
that originated during that time is that bananas will cause a boat to sink.
This belief developed after many boats never made it to their destinations,
and all of the doomed boats were carrying bananas.
One of the creepier superstitions is that banana cargo could actually
kill a man. In actuality, fermenting bananas do give off methane gas, which
could conceivably get trapped below deck and kill any crew members unlucky
enough to be working in the hold. Another popular theory was that venomous
spiders hitched rides in bananas, and once those bananas were onboard, the
boat would be host to any number of lethal critters. And then, of course,
there's the theory that banana peels cause crew members to slip and fall
on deck.”
Well the Nyati is a banana free zone, everyone boarding is asked the
banana question and whether they have anything that is related to bananas.
If they do have any items on the prohibited list then they are promptly asked
to walk the gangplank.
Late in the afternoon on the second day during a conversation between
YT and myself we discussed the possibility of a banana curse being on the
boat. We talked about the contents of the boat and I mentioned that I saw
a muffin in the pantry cabinet but did not know what type it was. There was
an immediate rush into the kitchen and I reached in and grabbed the muffin
only to have the shocking title leer out at us as I uncovered it, “Banana
Nut Muffin” was written boldly across the wrapper. A quick search turned
up another evil muffin and then they were promptly launched into the Gulf
of Mexico.
The boat was now banana free, the offender was rooted out and left
on a oil platform for their crime against the boat. Just kidding it turned
out “Lady Luck”, Captain YT’s girlfriend, AKA VRC as we know
her had mistakenly grabbed the 2 remaining muffins from a large assortment
multipack back at the house and packed them for the trip, not knowing they
were kryptonite for fishing.
Of course we have reached the point in the story where you say how
do you know that banana curse caused our misfortune to that point. Within
30 minutes of the yellow kryptonite being expunged from the boat there was
an 80W singing the magical sound of drag. A nice blue marlin did a little
dance for us and then promptly tried to dump the reel. We kept it contained
and after a 45 minute battle the curse was lifted, the Nyati had its first
Marlin of the season alongside the boat with a guestimated weight of 350#.
Scotty preparing to leader the fish.
Blue at the boat
Blue about to be released.
Shortly after the marlin we packed away the spread and started on
our way back home, much happier that we were curse free.
Here is a much happier YT enjoying the view on the ride home.
A close up view
It was a great trip and beware O’ little fishies of the gulf,
the Nyati is back in action (banana free of course). As always thanks again YT for the boat ride.
- Curmit and Crew
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