Deadliest Catch (2005–…): Season 15, Episode 20 - Deadliest Catch - full transcript
The bone-breaking winter unleashes its fury on the Summer Bay. A rookie mistake leaves Captain Bill short a hand. Jake hits the jackpot at sea, but forces on land cost him dearly. There's ...
[ gulls crying ]
yeah, this is
the final countdown here.
I wanted to get out here
in the next couple days.
It's been a hard battle...
Man: Whoo!
...A lot of reward...
Whoo!
...A lot of disappointment.
Aah!
That table is just heaping.
Whoo!
It's a matter of time
until somebody gets hurt.
-Whoa!
-You all right?
Ahh...
60.
I think there's something up.
Hang on.
-Oh!
-Oh, I love you.
-Oh!
-This is bull[bleep].
Whoa!
Bottom line is if we're
gonna be done,
we've got a lot of pots to haul,
and we're running out of time.
captions paid for by
discovery communications
♪
narrator: 550 miles northwest
from dutch harbor...
Bill: Ugh.
Narrator:
...The 113-foot summer bay
fights through tumultuous seas
to the top of the day's
first string.
Bill: So this is where it's
gonna start to build.
The wind is gonna take
what's already existing
and build on it.
We're under the gun
with weather,
and we need to get
this number.
We can't go to town short.
The cost of bait and the cost
of fuel anymore,
it gets tougher and tougher
to make a buck.
Narrator: Veteran skipper "wild"
bill wichrowski has a chance
to be first to wrap up
his opilio season,
but with 30,000 pounds
still to catch,
every day on the grounds
cost the veteran time and money.
♪
I can smell the end
of this thing.
I definitely want to get my crab
on before the weather comes up.
No time like the present
to finish this up.
Narrator: Chased off good
fishing by a storm 3 days ago,
wild bill returns to his old
hot spot on the russian line
332 miles
from the nearest port.
This close, man.
I hate it.
Steak dinner, prime rib,
baked potato.
I think we have our quota.
It's in the pots.
We just need to get the crab
in the tank now.
- Do it, boys!
-Yeah!
♪
yeah, throw the hook.
-Whoa!
-Yeah!
♪
be careful today.
Don't break anybody
or anything.
Don't do anything stupid
and hurt yourself out there.
Narrator: His battered crew
hobbled by injury,
the skipper can ill afford
any more accidents.
We need to get through
this in one piece,
get the pots on the boat,
crab in the tank,
we all need to go
home to see mama.
Bill: I need a 200 average
out of this in the string,
and if we get that,
we'll start sacking,
and you leave.
♪
nick: First pot coming up.
♪
pot two, go ahead.
We've got some volume.
Looks pretty clean.
We'll see what
the tally is.
See what we get.
One thirty-five.
Whatever.
It's not great.
♪
here we go,
a little more volume.
-Yeah! Come on, baby.
-Big number.
-Big number.
-Whoo!
If we have consistent
numbers here,
pretty certain we're
gonna get what we need.
Narrator: A 200 average can
still fill the tanks...
Ugh!
...As long as the numbers hold
and his boat and crew hold up.
Bill: What would ruin the end
of this thing
would be somebody
having a major injury
or breaking an important
piece of equipment.
♪
-[bleep].
-You all right?
Dude.
That can't be good.
Think I broke something.
I kind of thought I saw tony
do a big flinch.
Aah!
Yeah.
He's one-handing it.
What's going on at the rail?
So tony, he may have broken
some bones in his hand.
His hand's between
the board and the pot.
What did I say
right before the thing?
I said, "don't hurt anybody,
and don't break anything."
how do I know these things?
Because I've done this
for 40 years,
and these fricking clowns...
Let's take it off.
[bleep]
it's right here.
And it hurts
when I pull back?
Aah!
Yeah.
You need to go talk to bill.
Any bones sticking out?
No.
Narrator: The only thing worse
than a mangled hand --
facing wild bill when
you make a rookie mistake...
Somebody get
the door for him.
...And mangle your hand.
See.
So your hand
was down like this,
and it brought it up
into the horn?
Yeah.
Put it in the horn.
While threading the line, tony
takes his eye off the buoy...
...Smashing his hand
into the teeth
of the stainless-steel block.
It crushed your hand,
crushed your hand like this.
Yeah, yeah.
I can't squeeze it.
Yeah, it looks
[bleep] up.
What did I say would
[bleep] this up?
Somebody gets hurt,
or somebody breaks something.
Oh, yeah.
We need some
marginal work.
Yeah. I say take some
anti-inflammatory.
We'll see what develops
for color,
and you might have
cracked something in there.
Who knows?
Yeah.
Definitely a crab season
of highs and lows.
Looks like we're going to
finish -- somebody gets hurt.
This could add days and days
to the operation.
Narrator:
316 miles southwest,
the 107-foot saga powers through
the storm's southern edge.
Jake:
Be careful out there, guys.
These waves,
they want to hurt people.
The weather is only going
to get worse,
but I'm determined
to get my crab on this trip.
Narrator: Like wild bill,
the last storm
forced captain jake anderson
to take cover.
I'm really behind.
We're getting these pots
slammed on quick.
Jake: Here he comes.
Narrator: Now the young captain
has 8,000 pounds left to catch
and only 4 hours
before heading in again
for a scheduled offload.
Just hoping and praying
that I make it in on time
and make enough money
to buy this boat.
A lot of [bleep] pressure.
Narrator: To fulfill his dream
of owning a piece of the saga,
jake needs every crab
he can get.
♪
man: Yeah!
That's what I'm talking about.
Jake:
Man, that's a big pot, though.
Oh, it's good.
Man: Whoo!
All good.
Good guy.
Whoo!
I got a number at all?
Four-zero-seven.
400 out of that one.
-Oh, yeah!
-Oh, yeah!
-Oh!
-Whoo!
Three-five-zero!
This is just such good fishing.
They're right here.
They're right here.
We got delivery
day to make.
We got to go, go, go.
This boat has got
to keep moving forward.
Narrator: Only hours ahead of
their planned departure...
Okay, guys.
Watch the rail.
Watch the rail.
Narrator: ...The saga crew
grinds through the night.
One-six.
Ugh! [bleep]
that was a [bleep] big one.
Eight-six-zero.
You got to be kidding me.
That table is just heaping.
Look at that pile of crab,
and I'm about to put
another pile of crab
right on top of it.
♪
whoa! [bleep]
♪
oh, [bleep].
Okay, fellas.
Um...Fellas.
[bleep]
yeah, keep watching it.
Watch out. Watch out.
Watch out.
Ugh. [bleep]
narrator: On the saga...
Jake:
This is [bleep] up, dude.
Oh [bleep].
Okay, fellas.
Um...Fellas.
Okay, keep watching it.
Watch out. Watch out.
Watch out.
Oh [bleep].
Aah!
Aah!
Everybody okay?
You okay, kyle?
Kyle: Roger.
Narrator:
...Up against the clock
and powerful 18-foot seas...
This [bleep].
They're getting hammered, dude.
Narrator: ...Captain jake
anderson pushes to tank
as much as crab as he can
before his scheduled
offload in just 36 hours.
How do you feel, kyle?
Wet, like I've just been
put through a washing machine.
If I don't make it in on time,
they can shove me back
4 or 5 days, 10 days even.
Narrator:
Offload times are tightly
scheduled at the processor.
Miss your window, then you have
to wait for the next open slot.
-Yeah!
-Oh!
Oh, the weather is just
getting nastier.
Yeah.
There's 13 pots left.
Oh!
Oh, [bleep].
-[bleep]
- just leave it.
I got to go.
I'm going.
Try to hustle, button it up.
I got to pull it down.
I'm late.
Narrator: After putting a
back-breaking 8,000 pounds
of crab onboard
in just 4 hours,
jake turns his bow toward town,
the clock still ticking.
Jake: Just wanted to
let you guys know,
I'm proud as [bleep]
of you guys.
-Whoo!
-Yay!
As soon as I get back up here,
I'm going to slam
the aerator.
Narrator:
163 miles northwest...
Sean: Keep it up.
Narrator: ...On the western edge
of the squall...
Wind is blowing.
There's some big waves.
Narrator:
...Is the 110-foot brenna a.
♪
sean:
We're just out here grinding
away on scratch fishing.
Started at 11:00 p.M.,
4:00 a.M.,
5 hours into this thing.
Oh, god.
We've got two boats to pay for
with one boat's income
right now.
Narrator: Captain sean dwyer's
bout of bad numbers
and his new acquisition,
the fishing vessel
determined, tied up,
sean's profit margin,
well, it's tightening.
Sean: Pretty frustrated.
At this point,
every dollar counts.
Zack: The clock
is definitely ticking.
We got a delivery date
and not enough crab.
I just want to haul some pots
and get to my wife.
Pot looks okay,
looks clean at least.
Not sure on the sort.
Hopefully that gives us
a couple hundred crab.
♪
♪
53.
Wow.
Definitely not what I expected.
Not good.
Oh, I'm hoping this one
is a little better
than that last one.
♪
not bad.
I'm thinking mid-100s maybe.
♪
if there's nothing
in these pots,
we're going to have to go
searching for some crab.
Here we go.
60?
60.
No, that looked like twice
that amount, zack.
I think there's something up
with these counts.
If these guys can't count them,
how the hell
am I supposed to know
where to put them?
You know what?
I got a good line of sight.
I'm going to count this
by myself.
Narrator: To make sure one plus
one is still coming up two,
sean checks the math
of deck boss zack larson.
Sean: 9, 10, 11...
170.
[bleep] 108?
70 crab off on that one.
Zack is supposed
to be the leader.
I'm pissed.
This is bull[bleep].
[bleep]
no way.
You want to know
what I counted, zack?
You had 108.
Uh, they're just probably
going too fast.
I don't know.
Narrator: Sorting crab
on a pitching deck
is a little like juggling
on a slippery balance beam
and still keeping
your numbers straight.
I don't know. I didn't think
I was that far off my count.
Sean: Not trying to be
an ass[bleep],
but you're making me
[bleep] crazy.
It's not my job
to count the [bleep] pot.
Come up here.
He actually thinks
he's counting?
How the [bleep]?
♪
dude, what is going on?
Nothing.
I feel like I'm counting good.
You gave me 108.
I counted 170.
I didn't think it was
that far off.
I didn't think it was off
at all, honestly.
You're off.
All right.
You're supposed to be the one
in charge of this [bleep].
I get it.
I understand.
Figure it out.
Okay.
I'll get those counts because
there is no other option for me,
and he better be thinking
the same thing.
My guys can't count,
they can't figure it out,
they exhaust all our options,
they're not my guys anymore.
Figure out a way
to make this work.
Narrator:
252 miles northeast...
Kyle: I thought it was rough
a little bit earlier.
No. No.
This is a whole 'nother beast.
Narrator:
...Is the summer bay.
Bill: We're this
close to finishing.
Is it going to be
before the blow?
No.
It's going to make it next
to impossible to do this.
Narrator:
Captain wild bill struggles
to hold onto his profits
as the bering sea fights him
for the last of his
200,000-pound quota.
Nick: There were
four guys on deck --
well, 3 1/2
if you count me as half.
Narrator: Hauling in 30-foot
seas is just the beginning.
Nick: I'm not going to be able
to pull the haul.
Narrator: Bill's deck boss,
nick mcglashan...
No way.
...Is still limited
by an injured elbow.
I feel like my hand can't work.
I couldn't use this thing
at all, you know.
Narrator: And seasoned
hookman tony bundy
nurses a crushed hand.
Bill: Everybody wants
to be a crabber.
Well, this is part of
being a crabber.
[bleep] goes wrong.
You got to work.
♪
hang on.
-That's a big one, everybody.
Take shelter.
Still low!
-Whoo!
♪
bill:
It's my first pot over there.
Okay, travis.
All right.
Narrator: Out of options,
the last able-bodied deckhand,
travis lofland, will stack
the pots and throw the hook.
I'm going to try to put this
right next to the boat
without washing it away.
Stand by.
That old saying,
"come hell or high water,"
I think we've achieved it,
both of them.
♪
-ah.
-Man.
Damn it. He missed.
The [bleep] thing was right
there the whole time.
Travis: Ugh!
And you [bleep] missed.
Now let me drift back.
This is where [bleep]
goes wrong.
We're going to have to open up
the starboard side
to the weather.
Why?
Because we didn't hit
with the hook.
Narrator:
A miss at the rail forces the
captain to circle back around,
exposing the summer bay
to the cresting whitecaps.
When you throw the hook,
hit the [bleep] line.
I don't know if I'm going to be
able to bring it back
if something big comes,
so you guys are gonna
have to stand by.
Don't come over the top.
♪
whoa. [bleep]
hang on.
♪
hang on!
[bleep]
don't come over the top.
Narrator:
On the summer bay...
Whoa. [bleep]
hang on.
♪
hang on!
[bleep]
-you all right?
-Pretty good.
[shouts indistinctly]
kyle: Good!
You know, I just got nailed
with the wind,
dropped over the bow.
We didn't even see it coming.
It came out of nowhere.
I haven't taken a hit from
a wave like that in a long time.
That was a lot of power.
Narrator: While circling a pot
because of a missed hook throw,
the rail opens to the weather,
and a 20-foot wave drives
the bone-weary crew to the deck.
Sometimes you, uh...
Bill: That had
a little green to it.
They ate a little [bleep]
on that one.
Man, I'm so glad
nobody got hurt.
Somebody would've got
hurt on that wave,
we would be [bleep]
narrator: Two veteran deckhands
already hobbled by injuries...
It's really not in me to throw
in the towel,
but I might throw in the towel.
Ugh.
Narrator: ...Wild bill
is running out of bodies.
Getting up around 35.
That's boat-breaking stuff,
so we're going to take a break.
Giving the guys
a little breather,
have to fish after the blow...
Some chocolate,
fuzzy slippers.
We're going to wait
until it comes down.
♪
narrator: 257 miles southwest,
on the brenna a...
Big weather right now, 35-,
45-knot wind
and occasional 20-footer
probably coming through.
Narrator:
...Captain sean dwyer clashes
with the bering sea blast
en route to a 40-pot string.
String number two of the day
is coming up.
Zack is very nervous
this morning.
♪
zack: I know you guys all heard
me get my ass chewed out there,
but we're trying to go fast,
and we're not counting right.
Narrator:
Incurring the wrath of his
captain for inaccurate counts
the night before,
zack larson needs a solution.
Zack: We've got to
do a better job.
So the plan is give more space
to count for me,
so as we're clearing out
more crab,
hopefully we can get
a fast system.
Yeah.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Narrator: Zack's strategy is
simple -- let the other guys
clear the smalls
and females from the table
while he takes care
of the mathematical side
of the operation,
counting keepers.
Sean:
There's going to be the time
where they forget their place
and get messed up
on their number,
and that's fine,
but this is important.
I might move away from good
fishing just not even knowing
because I had bad counts.
That's what it comes down to,
just see what happens.
♪
♪
he's going to have
to make a plan
that's going to work
in big weather
and that's going to work period.
I mean, it's going to be a test.
I'm going to hold him to it.
♪
♪
nick, we're on something.
-Yeah, baby!
-Whoo!
Yeah!
By the look of this pot,
it looks good.
-Yeah!
-Whoo-hoo!
♪
♪
zack is doing counts.
Zack: We're just trying to
simplify our counting
to make it
as bare-bones as possible.
Just one crab at a time --
one hand, one crab.
One hand, one crab.
I gave him the mission.
I told him the stakes,
so now he knows I'm serious.
Either you're going to do it,
or you're gone.
You don't want it to come
to this, but it has.
It's got to change.
Narrator:
His reputation on the line,
zack has got to make
this count count.
Sean is really adamant.
The number needs to be correct.
Sean: I count 150.
All right.
You got it?
Then I need the count.
♪
♪
narrator:
On the brenna a...
Zack:
Sean is really adamant.
He doesn't care if we got
50 or 500.
The number needs to be correct.
Sean: I counted 150.
Narrator: Frustrated by
inaccurate crab counts...
All right.
You got it?
Narrator: ...Captain sean dwyer
gives his deck boss,
zack larson, one more chance
to redeem himself.
Sean: I need the count.
[bleep] zack.
Come on.
♪
and, uh...
Looks accurate.
Pretty stoked about that.
He's just got to do it again,
got to keep it rolling.
♪
♪
♪
first couple counts
are pretty much dead-on
even with this bad weather.
Zack's counts are within
a couple of crab.
Whatever they decided to
change up seems to be working.
Trying to get space,
it's not overwhelmed
or crab aren't sneaking down the
chute, just one crab at a time.
One hand, one crab.
One hand, one crab.
You guys' counts are actually
pretty accurate now,
going to make me
way less angry with that.
I appreciate it, and so does
my blood pressure.
Roger.
Good job.
Yeah, good counts.
Before, there was no counting.
It was, like, "uh, there's
some crab in the"...
Unfortunately, I had to kind of
yell at zack for it,
but know he knows I'm serious,
and miraculously,
our counts are
a whole lot better.
Narrator: Zack lives
to count another day.
Sean: We're halfway done
with this trip.
We can grind the rest
of this season out.
Narrator:
And sean, well, he doesn't
need to send his deck boss
back to primary school
as long as his numbers stay
zack-urate.
Crab going in the tank, so, hey,
we'll take what we can get.
♪
♪
narrator:
In dutch harbor...
Man: What's up, jake?
Jake: How is it going?
You're a greenhorn, man.
Yeah, right.
I still am a greenhorn.
Yeah, right.
I always remember, I started
right where you are,
started on the gut line.
Really?
I was on the gut line.
That's crazy.
Yeah, right?
I think it's going to be around
50,000-pound offload,
and I managed to get here
just on time.
Narrator:
Coming in just under the wire to
make his delivery date...
[ sighs ]
fingers crossed.
...Captain jake's dream
to buy a piece of the saga
is turning into reality...
Doing what I can.
...As long as he can get back
to his hot spot
before it turns cold.
Kyle: Hey, jake?
Jake: Yeah?
I got a family emergency
going on.
Charlotte is in jail,
and I've got to get home
and deal with
some [bleep] for lexi
for the possibility of them
taking her away from us.
Oh, [bleep].
Engineer kyle sample
has to leave the boat
to take care
of a family crisis.
I'm the only one that can do
anything about it right now.
Honestly, I don't
even know what...
I don't know what to say.
[bleep]
I'm not even upset
about your decision.
I think it's -- I think
you have to do it.
I don't think there's
any question about it,
so it's not --
I'm not upset or anything.
I'm shocked that that's
going on for you.
Yeah.
It doesn't make sense for you
to be out here
if you don't
have a family.
I don't want you guys
three-manning it
and being short a guy,
but I don't...
Like I said,
I don't know what to do.
I'll figure
something out.
All right.
Man, I'll call you
when I get home.
All right.
Love you.
Let me know that
everything is okay.
All right.
As long as you
get lexi back,
everything else will get out
in the wash, but...
That's just terrible.
Jake: He's going to be able
to get home,
and his child will be
in the hands of the father.
See you later, bro.
And I feel good about that.
I just don't know
what I'm going to do.
Not only am I down a man,
but I'm down my engineer,
so I'm going to have
to figure it out,
and I'm going to
have to figure it out quick.
♪
narrator:
This week on "salty takes"...
Take a walk on the wild side.
Bill is a different beast
entirely.
Tony is really
scared of wild bill.
He's afraid to even look at bill
in the eyes.
"you need to go up there
and talk to bill, tony."
[ gasps ] "no!"
...Mean-looking dude.
He's a teddy bear, though.
♪
narrator: I don't know, nick.
I'm with tony on this one.
I wouldn't want to cross
wild bill.
Narrator:
556 miles northwest...
Bill: I'll have an ending
to this show, I'll tell you.
It's been a hard battle.
Narrator:
...On the summer bay.
So you think you're this close.
It bites back every time.
Narrator: Shut down by big
weather, captain wild bill's
banged-up crew
got a much-needed rest.
You see a little light
at the end of the tunnel,
but the bering sea is like,
"not yet.
I'm not done
with you boys yet."
narrator: Now, despite
the still-raging seas,
the veteran skipper
takes another shot
at hauling his last
15,000 pounds of quota
and finishing his winter season
ahead of the fleet.
Bill: I got 50 pots.
Tony runs his hand
through the block.
He's off the deck.
You know, nick is still not
100 percent.
♪
yeah, coming up.
Narrator: Expecting a
profit-eating grind
with a skeleton crew...
I know they're struggling,
so we get out there,
and we'll get it done.
Narrator: ...The summer bay gets
a welcome injection of energy
from injured deckhand
tony bundy.
Man: Tony!
-Dude!
-Yeah!
You're doing it, buddy.
Killing it.
It's really good news,
really good news.
-Whoo!
-Yeah!
Travis: So we got tony
back out on deck.
Five deckhands out here is huge.
Hopefully nothing else happens.
Yeah, throw the hook.
-Whoo!
-Yeah.
[bleep] yeah.
And he's running the block
like a [bleep] maniac today.
♪
♪
we got 50 pots to haul,
and it's freedom.
Freedom, oh,
sweet freedom.
Let's see some numbers
so we can choke off this tank.
There they are.
Boom!
That's what
we wanted to see.
-Whoo!
-Yeah!
Oh, look at that baby.
Boo-yah!
Tony: We're on the meat pile
now. Whoo!
Still pretty sore, but we're
going to power through,
get this thing done, man.
Can't leave my boys out here
hanging, you know?
Yeah!
♪
400 keepers.
Nick: What?
400.
Whoa!
This one is starting out strong.
-Yeah!
-I'm off with a bang!
Tony is the best hook-thrower
there ever was.
Narrator:
Back at full strength...
We got some crab!
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
Bill: 440.
Narrator:
...And back on the meat...
-Whoo!
-Whoo!
...The bruised and battered
captain and crew
can see the light.
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
-Yeah, baby!
-Whoo!
How do you like me now?
Tony: Last string of opies,
man, 2019.
We're almost done.
Two more pots.
We'll put the chains on,
and we'll get out of here, man.
Whoo!
The numbers show we got it.
I think we're good.
Last pot, guys.
-Whoo!
-Last pot.
-Yeah!
After everything is cleared
off, we're going to run.
Man: [bleep]
no more, baby!
Thank you.
Narrator: After 4 weeks,
five storms, and 200,000 pounds
of opilio hauled...
[bleep]
nice, man.
...The crew will walk --
or limp -- away
with $17,000 each
and something
even more valuable.
Travis: It's that sense
of accomplishment
that you don't get
at any other job.
I don't care what you do.
Nothing feels better
than winning out here.
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
Hey, that's it, guys.
-Yeah!
- We're done.
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
All in all, it was a pretty damn
good season, can't complain.
A lot of stuff went wrong,
but a lot of stuff went right.
-Whoo!
-Yeah!
What's three or four injuries
and a couple breakdowns?
How does that slow you down?
♪
narrator: While bill puts a pin
in his season,
the rest of the fleet
are still scrambling
to top off their quotas.
-Whoo-hoo! Yeah.
-290.
So now we got accurate counts.
We keep putting crab
on like this,
the end is going to
sneak up on us.
Before we know it, we'll be
putting the happy stack on.
Jake: I have to get back out
and fish as soon as possible.
This is a race,
and it's a race against time.
Time is not something
that I have.
Man: Oh, my god!
Narrator:
The clock winding down...
The fishing has dropped
dramatically.
Narrator: ...And the crab
more scarce by the hour.
It's the beginning of the end.
We'll see how much mental pride
and drive they got.
Narrator:
Still to come this season,
the last desperate charge
to grab what's left of
the $110 million opilio bounty.
Last trip.
Here we go. Ha!
Man: We're going fishing.
[ horn blares ]
holy...
-Whoa!
-That must be bad.
Something bad must
have happened.
Man: Make sure he's not
starting to bleed out.
Jake:
Bring that [bleep] up.
Does the crew have enough juice?
You've got to want it,
give up everything.
You've got to struggle and fight
to get to the top.
♪
yeah, this is
the final countdown here.
I wanted to get out here
in the next couple days.
It's been a hard battle...
Man: Whoo!
...A lot of reward...
Whoo!
...A lot of disappointment.
Aah!
That table is just heaping.
Whoo!
It's a matter of time
until somebody gets hurt.
-Whoa!
-You all right?
Ahh...
60.
I think there's something up.
Hang on.
-Oh!
-Oh, I love you.
-Oh!
-This is bull[bleep].
Whoa!
Bottom line is if we're
gonna be done,
we've got a lot of pots to haul,
and we're running out of time.
captions paid for by
discovery communications
♪
narrator: 550 miles northwest
from dutch harbor...
Bill: Ugh.
Narrator:
...The 113-foot summer bay
fights through tumultuous seas
to the top of the day's
first string.
Bill: So this is where it's
gonna start to build.
The wind is gonna take
what's already existing
and build on it.
We're under the gun
with weather,
and we need to get
this number.
We can't go to town short.
The cost of bait and the cost
of fuel anymore,
it gets tougher and tougher
to make a buck.
Narrator: Veteran skipper "wild"
bill wichrowski has a chance
to be first to wrap up
his opilio season,
but with 30,000 pounds
still to catch,
every day on the grounds
cost the veteran time and money.
♪
I can smell the end
of this thing.
I definitely want to get my crab
on before the weather comes up.
No time like the present
to finish this up.
Narrator: Chased off good
fishing by a storm 3 days ago,
wild bill returns to his old
hot spot on the russian line
332 miles
from the nearest port.
This close, man.
I hate it.
Steak dinner, prime rib,
baked potato.
I think we have our quota.
It's in the pots.
We just need to get the crab
in the tank now.
- Do it, boys!
-Yeah!
♪
yeah, throw the hook.
-Whoa!
-Yeah!
♪
be careful today.
Don't break anybody
or anything.
Don't do anything stupid
and hurt yourself out there.
Narrator: His battered crew
hobbled by injury,
the skipper can ill afford
any more accidents.
We need to get through
this in one piece,
get the pots on the boat,
crab in the tank,
we all need to go
home to see mama.
Bill: I need a 200 average
out of this in the string,
and if we get that,
we'll start sacking,
and you leave.
♪
nick: First pot coming up.
♪
pot two, go ahead.
We've got some volume.
Looks pretty clean.
We'll see what
the tally is.
See what we get.
One thirty-five.
Whatever.
It's not great.
♪
here we go,
a little more volume.
-Yeah! Come on, baby.
-Big number.
-Big number.
-Whoo!
If we have consistent
numbers here,
pretty certain we're
gonna get what we need.
Narrator: A 200 average can
still fill the tanks...
Ugh!
...As long as the numbers hold
and his boat and crew hold up.
Bill: What would ruin the end
of this thing
would be somebody
having a major injury
or breaking an important
piece of equipment.
♪
-[bleep].
-You all right?
Dude.
That can't be good.
Think I broke something.
I kind of thought I saw tony
do a big flinch.
Aah!
Yeah.
He's one-handing it.
What's going on at the rail?
So tony, he may have broken
some bones in his hand.
His hand's between
the board and the pot.
What did I say
right before the thing?
I said, "don't hurt anybody,
and don't break anything."
how do I know these things?
Because I've done this
for 40 years,
and these fricking clowns...
Let's take it off.
[bleep]
it's right here.
And it hurts
when I pull back?
Aah!
Yeah.
You need to go talk to bill.
Any bones sticking out?
No.
Narrator: The only thing worse
than a mangled hand --
facing wild bill when
you make a rookie mistake...
Somebody get
the door for him.
...And mangle your hand.
See.
So your hand
was down like this,
and it brought it up
into the horn?
Yeah.
Put it in the horn.
While threading the line, tony
takes his eye off the buoy...
...Smashing his hand
into the teeth
of the stainless-steel block.
It crushed your hand,
crushed your hand like this.
Yeah, yeah.
I can't squeeze it.
Yeah, it looks
[bleep] up.
What did I say would
[bleep] this up?
Somebody gets hurt,
or somebody breaks something.
Oh, yeah.
We need some
marginal work.
Yeah. I say take some
anti-inflammatory.
We'll see what develops
for color,
and you might have
cracked something in there.
Who knows?
Yeah.
Definitely a crab season
of highs and lows.
Looks like we're going to
finish -- somebody gets hurt.
This could add days and days
to the operation.
Narrator:
316 miles southwest,
the 107-foot saga powers through
the storm's southern edge.
Jake:
Be careful out there, guys.
These waves,
they want to hurt people.
The weather is only going
to get worse,
but I'm determined
to get my crab on this trip.
Narrator: Like wild bill,
the last storm
forced captain jake anderson
to take cover.
I'm really behind.
We're getting these pots
slammed on quick.
Jake: Here he comes.
Narrator: Now the young captain
has 8,000 pounds left to catch
and only 4 hours
before heading in again
for a scheduled offload.
Just hoping and praying
that I make it in on time
and make enough money
to buy this boat.
A lot of [bleep] pressure.
Narrator: To fulfill his dream
of owning a piece of the saga,
jake needs every crab
he can get.
♪
man: Yeah!
That's what I'm talking about.
Jake:
Man, that's a big pot, though.
Oh, it's good.
Man: Whoo!
All good.
Good guy.
Whoo!
I got a number at all?
Four-zero-seven.
400 out of that one.
-Oh, yeah!
-Oh, yeah!
-Oh!
-Whoo!
Three-five-zero!
This is just such good fishing.
They're right here.
They're right here.
We got delivery
day to make.
We got to go, go, go.
This boat has got
to keep moving forward.
Narrator: Only hours ahead of
their planned departure...
Okay, guys.
Watch the rail.
Watch the rail.
Narrator: ...The saga crew
grinds through the night.
One-six.
Ugh! [bleep]
that was a [bleep] big one.
Eight-six-zero.
You got to be kidding me.
That table is just heaping.
Look at that pile of crab,
and I'm about to put
another pile of crab
right on top of it.
♪
whoa! [bleep]
♪
oh, [bleep].
Okay, fellas.
Um...Fellas.
[bleep]
yeah, keep watching it.
Watch out. Watch out.
Watch out.
Ugh. [bleep]
narrator: On the saga...
Jake:
This is [bleep] up, dude.
Oh [bleep].
Okay, fellas.
Um...Fellas.
Okay, keep watching it.
Watch out. Watch out.
Watch out.
Oh [bleep].
Aah!
Aah!
Everybody okay?
You okay, kyle?
Kyle: Roger.
Narrator:
...Up against the clock
and powerful 18-foot seas...
This [bleep].
They're getting hammered, dude.
Narrator: ...Captain jake
anderson pushes to tank
as much as crab as he can
before his scheduled
offload in just 36 hours.
How do you feel, kyle?
Wet, like I've just been
put through a washing machine.
If I don't make it in on time,
they can shove me back
4 or 5 days, 10 days even.
Narrator:
Offload times are tightly
scheduled at the processor.
Miss your window, then you have
to wait for the next open slot.
-Yeah!
-Oh!
Oh, the weather is just
getting nastier.
Yeah.
There's 13 pots left.
Oh!
Oh, [bleep].
-[bleep]
- just leave it.
I got to go.
I'm going.
Try to hustle, button it up.
I got to pull it down.
I'm late.
Narrator: After putting a
back-breaking 8,000 pounds
of crab onboard
in just 4 hours,
jake turns his bow toward town,
the clock still ticking.
Jake: Just wanted to
let you guys know,
I'm proud as [bleep]
of you guys.
-Whoo!
-Yay!
As soon as I get back up here,
I'm going to slam
the aerator.
Narrator:
163 miles northwest...
Sean: Keep it up.
Narrator: ...On the western edge
of the squall...
Wind is blowing.
There's some big waves.
Narrator:
...Is the 110-foot brenna a.
♪
sean:
We're just out here grinding
away on scratch fishing.
Started at 11:00 p.M.,
4:00 a.M.,
5 hours into this thing.
Oh, god.
We've got two boats to pay for
with one boat's income
right now.
Narrator: Captain sean dwyer's
bout of bad numbers
and his new acquisition,
the fishing vessel
determined, tied up,
sean's profit margin,
well, it's tightening.
Sean: Pretty frustrated.
At this point,
every dollar counts.
Zack: The clock
is definitely ticking.
We got a delivery date
and not enough crab.
I just want to haul some pots
and get to my wife.
Pot looks okay,
looks clean at least.
Not sure on the sort.
Hopefully that gives us
a couple hundred crab.
♪
♪
53.
Wow.
Definitely not what I expected.
Not good.
Oh, I'm hoping this one
is a little better
than that last one.
♪
not bad.
I'm thinking mid-100s maybe.
♪
if there's nothing
in these pots,
we're going to have to go
searching for some crab.
Here we go.
60?
60.
No, that looked like twice
that amount, zack.
I think there's something up
with these counts.
If these guys can't count them,
how the hell
am I supposed to know
where to put them?
You know what?
I got a good line of sight.
I'm going to count this
by myself.
Narrator: To make sure one plus
one is still coming up two,
sean checks the math
of deck boss zack larson.
Sean: 9, 10, 11...
170.
[bleep] 108?
70 crab off on that one.
Zack is supposed
to be the leader.
I'm pissed.
This is bull[bleep].
[bleep]
no way.
You want to know
what I counted, zack?
You had 108.
Uh, they're just probably
going too fast.
I don't know.
Narrator: Sorting crab
on a pitching deck
is a little like juggling
on a slippery balance beam
and still keeping
your numbers straight.
I don't know. I didn't think
I was that far off my count.
Sean: Not trying to be
an ass[bleep],
but you're making me
[bleep] crazy.
It's not my job
to count the [bleep] pot.
Come up here.
He actually thinks
he's counting?
How the [bleep]?
♪
dude, what is going on?
Nothing.
I feel like I'm counting good.
You gave me 108.
I counted 170.
I didn't think it was
that far off.
I didn't think it was off
at all, honestly.
You're off.
All right.
You're supposed to be the one
in charge of this [bleep].
I get it.
I understand.
Figure it out.
Okay.
I'll get those counts because
there is no other option for me,
and he better be thinking
the same thing.
My guys can't count,
they can't figure it out,
they exhaust all our options,
they're not my guys anymore.
Figure out a way
to make this work.
Narrator:
252 miles northeast...
Kyle: I thought it was rough
a little bit earlier.
No. No.
This is a whole 'nother beast.
Narrator:
...Is the summer bay.
Bill: We're this
close to finishing.
Is it going to be
before the blow?
No.
It's going to make it next
to impossible to do this.
Narrator:
Captain wild bill struggles
to hold onto his profits
as the bering sea fights him
for the last of his
200,000-pound quota.
Nick: There were
four guys on deck --
well, 3 1/2
if you count me as half.
Narrator: Hauling in 30-foot
seas is just the beginning.
Nick: I'm not going to be able
to pull the haul.
Narrator: Bill's deck boss,
nick mcglashan...
No way.
...Is still limited
by an injured elbow.
I feel like my hand can't work.
I couldn't use this thing
at all, you know.
Narrator: And seasoned
hookman tony bundy
nurses a crushed hand.
Bill: Everybody wants
to be a crabber.
Well, this is part of
being a crabber.
[bleep] goes wrong.
You got to work.
♪
hang on.
-That's a big one, everybody.
Take shelter.
Still low!
-Whoo!
♪
bill:
It's my first pot over there.
Okay, travis.
All right.
Narrator: Out of options,
the last able-bodied deckhand,
travis lofland, will stack
the pots and throw the hook.
I'm going to try to put this
right next to the boat
without washing it away.
Stand by.
That old saying,
"come hell or high water,"
I think we've achieved it,
both of them.
♪
-ah.
-Man.
Damn it. He missed.
The [bleep] thing was right
there the whole time.
Travis: Ugh!
And you [bleep] missed.
Now let me drift back.
This is where [bleep]
goes wrong.
We're going to have to open up
the starboard side
to the weather.
Why?
Because we didn't hit
with the hook.
Narrator:
A miss at the rail forces the
captain to circle back around,
exposing the summer bay
to the cresting whitecaps.
When you throw the hook,
hit the [bleep] line.
I don't know if I'm going to be
able to bring it back
if something big comes,
so you guys are gonna
have to stand by.
Don't come over the top.
♪
whoa. [bleep]
hang on.
♪
hang on!
[bleep]
don't come over the top.
Narrator:
On the summer bay...
Whoa. [bleep]
hang on.
♪
hang on!
[bleep]
-you all right?
-Pretty good.
[shouts indistinctly]
kyle: Good!
You know, I just got nailed
with the wind,
dropped over the bow.
We didn't even see it coming.
It came out of nowhere.
I haven't taken a hit from
a wave like that in a long time.
That was a lot of power.
Narrator: While circling a pot
because of a missed hook throw,
the rail opens to the weather,
and a 20-foot wave drives
the bone-weary crew to the deck.
Sometimes you, uh...
Bill: That had
a little green to it.
They ate a little [bleep]
on that one.
Man, I'm so glad
nobody got hurt.
Somebody would've got
hurt on that wave,
we would be [bleep]
narrator: Two veteran deckhands
already hobbled by injuries...
It's really not in me to throw
in the towel,
but I might throw in the towel.
Ugh.
Narrator: ...Wild bill
is running out of bodies.
Getting up around 35.
That's boat-breaking stuff,
so we're going to take a break.
Giving the guys
a little breather,
have to fish after the blow...
Some chocolate,
fuzzy slippers.
We're going to wait
until it comes down.
♪
narrator: 257 miles southwest,
on the brenna a...
Big weather right now, 35-,
45-knot wind
and occasional 20-footer
probably coming through.
Narrator:
...Captain sean dwyer clashes
with the bering sea blast
en route to a 40-pot string.
String number two of the day
is coming up.
Zack is very nervous
this morning.
♪
zack: I know you guys all heard
me get my ass chewed out there,
but we're trying to go fast,
and we're not counting right.
Narrator:
Incurring the wrath of his
captain for inaccurate counts
the night before,
zack larson needs a solution.
Zack: We've got to
do a better job.
So the plan is give more space
to count for me,
so as we're clearing out
more crab,
hopefully we can get
a fast system.
Yeah.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Narrator: Zack's strategy is
simple -- let the other guys
clear the smalls
and females from the table
while he takes care
of the mathematical side
of the operation,
counting keepers.
Sean:
There's going to be the time
where they forget their place
and get messed up
on their number,
and that's fine,
but this is important.
I might move away from good
fishing just not even knowing
because I had bad counts.
That's what it comes down to,
just see what happens.
♪
♪
he's going to have
to make a plan
that's going to work
in big weather
and that's going to work period.
I mean, it's going to be a test.
I'm going to hold him to it.
♪
♪
nick, we're on something.
-Yeah, baby!
-Whoo!
Yeah!
By the look of this pot,
it looks good.
-Yeah!
-Whoo-hoo!
♪
♪
zack is doing counts.
Zack: We're just trying to
simplify our counting
to make it
as bare-bones as possible.
Just one crab at a time --
one hand, one crab.
One hand, one crab.
I gave him the mission.
I told him the stakes,
so now he knows I'm serious.
Either you're going to do it,
or you're gone.
You don't want it to come
to this, but it has.
It's got to change.
Narrator:
His reputation on the line,
zack has got to make
this count count.
Sean is really adamant.
The number needs to be correct.
Sean: I count 150.
All right.
You got it?
Then I need the count.
♪
♪
narrator:
On the brenna a...
Zack:
Sean is really adamant.
He doesn't care if we got
50 or 500.
The number needs to be correct.
Sean: I counted 150.
Narrator: Frustrated by
inaccurate crab counts...
All right.
You got it?
Narrator: ...Captain sean dwyer
gives his deck boss,
zack larson, one more chance
to redeem himself.
Sean: I need the count.
[bleep] zack.
Come on.
♪
and, uh...
Looks accurate.
Pretty stoked about that.
He's just got to do it again,
got to keep it rolling.
♪
♪
♪
first couple counts
are pretty much dead-on
even with this bad weather.
Zack's counts are within
a couple of crab.
Whatever they decided to
change up seems to be working.
Trying to get space,
it's not overwhelmed
or crab aren't sneaking down the
chute, just one crab at a time.
One hand, one crab.
One hand, one crab.
You guys' counts are actually
pretty accurate now,
going to make me
way less angry with that.
I appreciate it, and so does
my blood pressure.
Roger.
Good job.
Yeah, good counts.
Before, there was no counting.
It was, like, "uh, there's
some crab in the"...
Unfortunately, I had to kind of
yell at zack for it,
but know he knows I'm serious,
and miraculously,
our counts are
a whole lot better.
Narrator: Zack lives
to count another day.
Sean: We're halfway done
with this trip.
We can grind the rest
of this season out.
Narrator:
And sean, well, he doesn't
need to send his deck boss
back to primary school
as long as his numbers stay
zack-urate.
Crab going in the tank, so, hey,
we'll take what we can get.
♪
♪
narrator:
In dutch harbor...
Man: What's up, jake?
Jake: How is it going?
You're a greenhorn, man.
Yeah, right.
I still am a greenhorn.
Yeah, right.
I always remember, I started
right where you are,
started on the gut line.
Really?
I was on the gut line.
That's crazy.
Yeah, right?
I think it's going to be around
50,000-pound offload,
and I managed to get here
just on time.
Narrator:
Coming in just under the wire to
make his delivery date...
[ sighs ]
fingers crossed.
...Captain jake's dream
to buy a piece of the saga
is turning into reality...
Doing what I can.
...As long as he can get back
to his hot spot
before it turns cold.
Kyle: Hey, jake?
Jake: Yeah?
I got a family emergency
going on.
Charlotte is in jail,
and I've got to get home
and deal with
some [bleep] for lexi
for the possibility of them
taking her away from us.
Oh, [bleep].
Engineer kyle sample
has to leave the boat
to take care
of a family crisis.
I'm the only one that can do
anything about it right now.
Honestly, I don't
even know what...
I don't know what to say.
[bleep]
I'm not even upset
about your decision.
I think it's -- I think
you have to do it.
I don't think there's
any question about it,
so it's not --
I'm not upset or anything.
I'm shocked that that's
going on for you.
Yeah.
It doesn't make sense for you
to be out here
if you don't
have a family.
I don't want you guys
three-manning it
and being short a guy,
but I don't...
Like I said,
I don't know what to do.
I'll figure
something out.
All right.
Man, I'll call you
when I get home.
All right.
Love you.
Let me know that
everything is okay.
All right.
As long as you
get lexi back,
everything else will get out
in the wash, but...
That's just terrible.
Jake: He's going to be able
to get home,
and his child will be
in the hands of the father.
See you later, bro.
And I feel good about that.
I just don't know
what I'm going to do.
Not only am I down a man,
but I'm down my engineer,
so I'm going to have
to figure it out,
and I'm going to
have to figure it out quick.
♪
narrator:
This week on "salty takes"...
Take a walk on the wild side.
Bill is a different beast
entirely.
Tony is really
scared of wild bill.
He's afraid to even look at bill
in the eyes.
"you need to go up there
and talk to bill, tony."
[ gasps ] "no!"
...Mean-looking dude.
He's a teddy bear, though.
♪
narrator: I don't know, nick.
I'm with tony on this one.
I wouldn't want to cross
wild bill.
Narrator:
556 miles northwest...
Bill: I'll have an ending
to this show, I'll tell you.
It's been a hard battle.
Narrator:
...On the summer bay.
So you think you're this close.
It bites back every time.
Narrator: Shut down by big
weather, captain wild bill's
banged-up crew
got a much-needed rest.
You see a little light
at the end of the tunnel,
but the bering sea is like,
"not yet.
I'm not done
with you boys yet."
narrator: Now, despite
the still-raging seas,
the veteran skipper
takes another shot
at hauling his last
15,000 pounds of quota
and finishing his winter season
ahead of the fleet.
Bill: I got 50 pots.
Tony runs his hand
through the block.
He's off the deck.
You know, nick is still not
100 percent.
♪
yeah, coming up.
Narrator: Expecting a
profit-eating grind
with a skeleton crew...
I know they're struggling,
so we get out there,
and we'll get it done.
Narrator: ...The summer bay gets
a welcome injection of energy
from injured deckhand
tony bundy.
Man: Tony!
-Dude!
-Yeah!
You're doing it, buddy.
Killing it.
It's really good news,
really good news.
-Whoo!
-Yeah!
Travis: So we got tony
back out on deck.
Five deckhands out here is huge.
Hopefully nothing else happens.
Yeah, throw the hook.
-Whoo!
-Yeah.
[bleep] yeah.
And he's running the block
like a [bleep] maniac today.
♪
♪
we got 50 pots to haul,
and it's freedom.
Freedom, oh,
sweet freedom.
Let's see some numbers
so we can choke off this tank.
There they are.
Boom!
That's what
we wanted to see.
-Whoo!
-Yeah!
Oh, look at that baby.
Boo-yah!
Tony: We're on the meat pile
now. Whoo!
Still pretty sore, but we're
going to power through,
get this thing done, man.
Can't leave my boys out here
hanging, you know?
Yeah!
♪
400 keepers.
Nick: What?
400.
Whoa!
This one is starting out strong.
-Yeah!
-I'm off with a bang!
Tony is the best hook-thrower
there ever was.
Narrator:
Back at full strength...
We got some crab!
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
Bill: 440.
Narrator:
...And back on the meat...
-Whoo!
-Whoo!
...The bruised and battered
captain and crew
can see the light.
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
-Yeah, baby!
-Whoo!
How do you like me now?
Tony: Last string of opies,
man, 2019.
We're almost done.
Two more pots.
We'll put the chains on,
and we'll get out of here, man.
Whoo!
The numbers show we got it.
I think we're good.
Last pot, guys.
-Whoo!
-Last pot.
-Yeah!
After everything is cleared
off, we're going to run.
Man: [bleep]
no more, baby!
Thank you.
Narrator: After 4 weeks,
five storms, and 200,000 pounds
of opilio hauled...
[bleep]
nice, man.
...The crew will walk --
or limp -- away
with $17,000 each
and something
even more valuable.
Travis: It's that sense
of accomplishment
that you don't get
at any other job.
I don't care what you do.
Nothing feels better
than winning out here.
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
Hey, that's it, guys.
-Yeah!
- We're done.
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
All in all, it was a pretty damn
good season, can't complain.
A lot of stuff went wrong,
but a lot of stuff went right.
-Whoo!
-Yeah!
What's three or four injuries
and a couple breakdowns?
How does that slow you down?
♪
narrator: While bill puts a pin
in his season,
the rest of the fleet
are still scrambling
to top off their quotas.
-Whoo-hoo! Yeah.
-290.
So now we got accurate counts.
We keep putting crab
on like this,
the end is going to
sneak up on us.
Before we know it, we'll be
putting the happy stack on.
Jake: I have to get back out
and fish as soon as possible.
This is a race,
and it's a race against time.
Time is not something
that I have.
Man: Oh, my god!
Narrator:
The clock winding down...
The fishing has dropped
dramatically.
Narrator: ...And the crab
more scarce by the hour.
It's the beginning of the end.
We'll see how much mental pride
and drive they got.
Narrator:
Still to come this season,
the last desperate charge
to grab what's left of
the $110 million opilio bounty.
Last trip.
Here we go. Ha!
Man: We're going fishing.
[ horn blares ]
holy...
-Whoa!
-That must be bad.
Something bad must
have happened.
Man: Make sure he's not
starting to bleed out.
Jake:
Bring that [bleep] up.
Does the crew have enough juice?
You've got to want it,
give up everything.
You've got to struggle and fight
to get to the top.
♪