Fish and Fishing

Good luck omens:

  • Putting a coin on a float.
  • Throw back the first fish you catch then you’ll be lucky the whole day fishing.
  • A fish should always be eaten from the head toward the tail.

Bad luck omens:

    • Changing rods during fishing.
    • A woman stepping over your fishing rod.
    • Changing a previously lucky float.
    • Casting bait without spitting on it.
    • Asking a fisherman how many bites he has had.
    • Baiting a hook using your left hand.
    • Placing a net in the water before a catch has been made.
    • Sitting on an upturned bucket.
    • A right-handed fisherman casting over his left shoulder.
    • It’s bad luck to get married when the fish aren’t biting, according to the custom of some fisherfolk.
    • It’s bad luck to say the word “pig” while fishing at sea.

    If you dream of fish, someone you know is pregnant.

    If you count the number of fish you caught, you will catch no more that day.

    When Sharks are following a ship, especially three sharks, it’s a death omen.

    Carp: Carrying a carp fish charm brings good luck, especially to lovers.

    Cod: Carrying the dried eye of a cod will bring good luck.

    Eel:

    • Wearing an eelskin garter cures cramps.
    • Rubbing a wart with eels’ blood makes it go away.
    • A live eel in a drink cures a person from drunkenness.
    • Witches and sorcerers wearing eelskin jackets protects them from bullets.
    • A cooked eel will become raw if left uneaten.
    • A whole eel can be used to cure deafness.
    • Eel fat will render fairies visible to humans
    • Eating an eel heart gives you the power of prophecy
    • Eating a whole eel will strike you dumb.

    Haddock:

    • It’s bad luck to burn a haddock.

    Herring:

    • Shedding blood near where herring frequent causes the herring to desert the area.
    • Laying a salted herring at your feet will relieve a sore throat.
    • Suspending a herring from the ceiling on Good Friday will keep your house free from flies during the summer.
    • Divination with Herrings:
      To see an image of your future spouse: Eat a whole salted herring in three mouthfulls, retire to bed without a drink and don’t say a word. That night you will dream of your future partner.
      To know if a future husband will be attractive and trustworthy:
      Throw the white membrane of a herring at a wall. If the skin sticks to the wall and is not a crooked shape, your future husband will be attractive and trustworthy. If the herring skin sticks crookedly or fails to stick, your future spouse will be undesirable.

    Tench:

    • Eating tench makes you strong and wise and can cure illness.
    • Other freshwater fish rub themselves against tench when they are sick.

    Trout:

    • Putting a trout’s head into a patient’s mouth cures whooping cough.
    • Drinking beer in which a trout has been drowned cures whooping cough.
    • Drinking milk in which a live trout has been made to swim cures whooping cough.

You may also like...