Wicked Tuna: North vs. South (2014–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Yankee Invasion - full transcript
After a mediocre bluefin tuna season up north, Captains Dave Marciano and TJ Ott travel south to the Outer Banks of NC. In order to profit they must overcome new fishing techniques, unfamiliar waters, and a less than welcoming Southern Fleet.
NARRATOR: On the series premiere of
Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks...
PAUL HEBERT: The Yanks are coming,
the Yanks are coming!
NARRATOR: What happens
when New England's top fishermen
launch a full-scale invasion
on North Carolina's Outer Banks?
REED MEREDITH: Don't think
you can take any food off my plate.
TYLER MCLAUGHLIN: These guys
have no idea what they're in for.
TJ OTT: Oh, gaff! (bleep)
REED: This is Southern fishing.
GREG MAYER: Let the games begin.
(laughs)
REED: What a bunch of jacklegs.
NARRATOR: It's a clash of cultures.
REED: They're in for a rude awakening.
TYLER: What the...
DAVE MARCIANO: This will be interesting.
NARRATOR: In an all-out competition...
(grunts)
PAUL: When we get out there, it's game on.
Man versus beast.
NARRATOR: ...to catch
the Atlantic Ocean's top prize.
MARCIANO: $20,000 day. Just like that.
(yelling)
NARRATOR: With their livelihoods at stake,
this war will be anything but civil.
-NICK GOWITZKA: My fish, my money.
-TYLER: Get out of here!
NARRATOR: This is Wicked Tuna...
JASON MUENZNER: We're on, baby!
NARRATOR: ...Outer Banks.
(yelling)
GREG: Oh, God. Here we go.
NICK: It's day one, and I want a bite.
GREG: We'll get a bite.
BRITTON SHACKELFORD:
There ain't nowhere to look but up.
CAINE LIVESAY: God willing,
we'll have one on the deck.
REED: Let's go catch some fish.
BANKS MEREDITH: Oh, yeah. It's on.
NICK (off screen): We're jacked up,
and we're going fishing.
-GREG: We got them this year.
-NICK: Ha ha!
GREG: When it comes to fishing
on the Outer Banks,
the Frenzy's the top boat.
This year, we'll be on top once again.
NICK: Just to start the season off,
I figured I'd toast us, you know,
give a little good luck toast,
a little bubbly.
-GREG: Champagne?
-NICK: Yeah, man.
-GREG: Really?
-NICK: Yeah.
(laughs)
GREG: I'd expect
a little different from him.
NICK: We're gonna do it Southern style.
You throw it, I'll toast it.
Woo! Good luck.
GREG: That's what I got for a mate. Nick.
He's an animal.
NICK: It's the start of the season,
and that first fish
will fetch a big paycheck.
It could be a $20,000 fish.
If we catch that first one,
then we're off to a good start
against them other boats.
GREG: All right!
That's the way to kick it off!
(laughing)
It's gonna be a good year.
Let's get it rolling.
REED: All right, don't touch me
with your sweaty, little hands, man.
All right, seriously.
(bleep)
(bleep) jackass.
I'm Reed Meredith,
captain of the fishing vessel Wahoo.
My brother, Banks, and I,
we want to catch that first tuna.
Heck, we want to catch every tuna.
But there's a quota
to try and keep things sustainable.
So down here the fishery closes
once the fleet catches 23 tons.
That's only about 200 giant bluefins.
So this season can be over
in a matter of weeks.
BANKS: There's no time to waste,
because every fish another boat lands
is another fish that we can't catch.
It's every man for himself out here.
REED (off screen):
There's that Fishin' Frenzy.
Last year, the Fishin' Frenzy,
they caught a few more fish than us
right before the quota ran out,
and he hasn't let me
forget about it either.
GREG: What kind of wager we got this year?
REED: You call it.
GREG: Make it a grand.
REED (on radio): Let's make it five grand.
GREG: Five? You're on.
REED: This season, we're determined
to make him pay up.
We'll see who comes out on top.
GREG (on radio): Let the games begin.
BRITTON (on radio):
Boys, quit your bickering.
We ask the Lord today
that you watch after everybody.
First and foremost, keep us safe.
I'm Britton Shackelford,
captain of the Doghouse.
I've been fishing since I was a boy.
It's the way that I make a living
and support my wife and three kids.
The three things that I hold dear
are God, family, and fishing.
We thank you for this day,
for this ocean, for these fish,
for all the different things, Lord,
that you grant us and give us.
CAINE: Known Britton for quite a while,
but we've never fished together.
For me to succeed on the Doghouse,
I got to pick up on
how he likes things done.
I got to pick up on it quick.
BRITTON: You know what we need.
We just need some fish.
It's your creation.
We're just asking you
to let us have a little bit of it.
Amen.
REED: Amen. Thank you, Britton.
GREG: Let's set out
and go catch a fish. Come on.
NICK: This is Southern fishing.
This is the way we do it down here
in down South,
Outer Banks, North Carolina!
(Nick laughs)
BRITTON: "Are you hungry yet? Got tuna?"
Woo!
GREG: Fishing here on the Outer Banks
is unlike anywhere else
you're going to fish.
The fish here are on the surface.
So we use the greenstick.
NARRATOR: The greenstick is a 40-foot pole
attached to the fishing line
using a tether.
At the end of the line,
a floating device called the bird
helps to attract bluefin tuna.
NICK: As we tow it on the surface,
it mimics a tuna chasing our lures,
which attracts other tunas to the bait.
GREG: The bluefins underneath,
they see that bird trying
to get those baits,
it's instant competition. It's on.
REED: It also creates tension
that elevates the lures above the water,
which is essential in attracting tuna.
BANKS: These are our squid
that we have dropping down
from our greenstick.
These things are gonna be
just barely touching the water.
BRITTON: As that thing
goes tripping along,
those fish see it,
and they got to have it.
So when the fish bites,
the breakaway violently detaches,
and the fish is reeled in
on the electric bandit reel.
NICK: Welcome to North Carolina, Captain.
BANKS: Getting ready to get
a couple of ballyhoo in the water,
add to our spread a little bit.
Not only do we have our greenstick out
with four to six baits on it,
but we also troll four to five ballyhoo
that are swimming on individual rods.
NICK: A ballyhoo is a small baitfish,
kind of long, skinny.
That's about as big as they get.
GREG (off screen): You wouldn't think
that a thousand-pound fish
would eat a six-ounce bait.
Elephants eat peanuts.
They've got to eat a lot of peanuts,
but they eat them.
NICK: I don't want to see
what's happening next.
Big tuna's gonna eat them.
(laughs)
REED: The bait's just under
the surface of the water.
And once we drive over some tunas...
boom, they won't be able to resist it.
BRITTON: Now that we have
our last bait in the water,
it's extremely vital
that we get on some fish very quickly.
First fish, baby.
CAINE: We're ready
for the first fish, baby.
GREG: All right, Nick, watch the line.
NICK: Yes, sir.
GREG: First fish of the season,
they're worth big money.
And they command a premium price.
If we catch them,
we're off to a great start
against all the other boats.
But the fish here
are constantly on the move.
You're not sitting in one spot
waiting for the fish to come to you.
You're hunting all day long.
It's not very hard for those fish
to move 25 miles overnight.
It's just a wag of the tail.
These fish could be anywhere
off the coast of North Carolina.
You've got the 100 Fathom Curve,
Tarheel,
the Triple Zeros,
and Tuna Hole.
But today, we're on The Point.
NICK (off screen): Couple of birds
wheeling around.
GREG (off screen): Good.
NICK (off screen): Any kind of life
is a good sign.
GREG: It's the best place to find tuna.
REED: It's about 40 miles
southeast of our inlet.
The fish usually congregate there
because the bait source is there.
BRITTON: We know the fish are here.
We need to find them so that we can get
the first fish on the market.
CAINE: Come on, baby.
I feel it, I feel it.
NICK: Come on, baby.
CAINE: Come on, one bite,
one bite, one bite.
BRITTON: Hey, Caine, look.
Right here pushing, bud.
CAINE: Look, look, look, look, look,
look, look, look, look. Woo!
GREG (off screen): Look at all those tuna.
(beeping)
REED: Oh, my God.
There's a nice mark. Woo!
We're marking something.
Marking tells us the fish are here.
We can expect to get a bite.
That's exactly what we need right now.
GREG: We got a pretty good chance
to catch a fish right here.
REED: Definitely a few tunas
swimming down the waves.
GREG: Yeah, I just started seeing them
now that I got up here.
There's a handful of
fish here, and it's all coming down soon.
REED (off screen): Who's that
coming up behind you?
I didn't think there
were any other blue hull boats
out here today but me.
I think that's TJ.
NICK: For sure, that's the Hot Tuna!
TJ: We had a bad season
fishing out of Gloucester.
So I made the decision to chase
the bite down South.
We're here for two things,
to catch fish and make money.
JARRETT PRZYBYSZEWSKI: Let's go.
Putting our first drops out.
REED: What's he doing down here?
GREG (on radio): I haven't seen him
down here in years.
How about those other rigs
steaming in here?
BANKS: Two different Yankee boats.
MARCIANO: I'm here
for one simple reason.
I didn't catch enough fish
during the North Atlantic season.
I've got a wife and three kids to support,
plus a mortgage to pay.
So I've come all the way down here,
and TJ's gonna show me the ropes.
JAY (off screen): This must be
the little honey hole.
Oh, there's the competition, I think.
MARCIANO: They must be marking them.
We're going to go right over
that patch of water.
JAY: All right.
MARCIANO: So we just came into
this crowd of Southern boys.
Something's going on.
Jay and I have got to get in here
and get on the meat, too.
REED:
This is a Yankee invasion.
MARCIANO: Bottom line,
I got 15 grand tied up in this operation,
and Jay and I are gonna get our share,
whether they like it or not.
JAY: We're about to go fishing.
Yeah, we're ready to throw the bird.
-TIM: Putting the bird out?
-JARRETT: Yeah, let's go.
They're marking something.
That's why all these other boats are here.
It's always a good sign.
BANKS: There they are busting
right here, Reed, beside us.
Busting back behind us now.
REED: Let it up.
BANKS (off screen): Damn,
knocking bluefins out of their mouths.
Look at them. Woo!
NICK: God damn. Look at that.
GREG: See them going off right here?
We're gonna get them here, Cap.
JARRETT: I'm trying to jig
these baits out here,
create a little bit more ruckus
on top of the water.
REED: Holy (bleep)!
Nice! Nice action right there.
There's plenty of them right here.
TIM: Right here.
Right next to the (bleep) boat.
It's a tuna!
TIM: Right here,
right next to the (bleep) boat.
It's a tuna!
We're on, we're on!
We're on, baby! We're on!
TJ: Let them go, let them go.
TIM OTT: I'm letting it go.
Don't tell me what to do.
We got a big fish on here.
This one's taking a lot of line.
TJ: It could easily be a $10,000 fish.
This is one of those fish
we came here for.
This could go a long way towards
paying off the expenses
of coming down here.
It could be huge for us.
BANKS: Is that the Hot Tuna hooked up?
REED: Damn, he's definitely hooked up.
NICK: What the (bleep), man?
GREG: That's (bleep).
We sit here trying to work on these fish,
and he comes right through
the middle of them.
TIM (off screen): He's running, man.
He's running hard.
He's pulling hard, so I've just
got it on light right now.
Just gonna let him take
what he needs here.
MARCIANO (off screen):
They are hooked up, Jay.
We just got to get in on that game.
JAY: Let's go.
Let's do it. Let's get our share.
TIM: Well, I see him way down there.
That's a good one.
JARRETT: That's a nice-looking fish
right there, man.
He's putting up a good fight.
A 400 to 500-pounder. He's coming up.
TIM (off screen): Black back over here.
I see him right now.
JARRETT: He's coming up.
-TIM: All right. Take your time.
-TJ: Straight down. There he is.
There he is!
TIM: I missed him.
JARRETT: Oh, God!
TIM: I'm trying here!
Just got to give me a shot here.
JARRETT: All right, here he comes.
Oh, holy (bleep). Oh, my God.
TIM: Forward, forward. Pay attention.
TJ: Here he comes, here he comes.
Get ready, get ready!
Get ready! Get ready!
There he is!
TIM: Missed him. TJ, take over. Here.
TJ: Dad, I-- Just throw it again.
He's coming up right now.
Come on, get ready.
There he is! Black back, there he is!
-Get him, get him, get him!
-JARRETT: Here he comes.
TIM: I am wrapped up
in this (bleep) bad, too.
JARRETT: He's coming up.
He's circling your side.
TIM: I missed him.
TJ: Dad, you're throwing way
behind him, man.
TIM: I'm trying to hit him!
I don't (bleep) believe this.
TJ: Dad, that last shot was a barn door.
It was as easy as hitting a barn door.
TIM: No, it wasn't, Tim.
We should get that other harpoon.
You see him?
JARRETT: He's right below us.
Bump it just a little bit.
-Bump it, bump it, bump it, bump it!
-TIM: Bump it, bump it.
JARRETT: Holy (bleep)!
TJ: He's got to be close.
Straight down, straight down, throw it.
-There you go!
-TIM: No.
Somebody's standing on the line!
JARRETT: He's coming up, man.
TIM: I missed him.
TJ: (bleep) We got him!
JARRETT: He's right there.
TIM (off screen): I don't believe this.
-Come on. Forward, forward, forward!
-JARRETT: Forward, forward.
TIM: All right.
Keep surfing him up, just keep going.
TJ: Dad, just take your time.
Who cares? Just take your time.
TIM: You're washing us out.
You're washing it out.
-He's right under the boat here.
-JARRETT: Forward, forward.
TIM: He's under the boat, under the boat!
JARRETT: Here he comes.
He's, like, right there.
Go forward, forward, forward,
forward, forward, forward!
He's off to the side.
Right there.
-TIM: I got him.
-JARRETT: Got him! Good job.
-TJ: I'll get a gaff.
-TIM: Get a gaff, get a gaff!
Can't get no pressure on him...
JARRETT: Go on, look over there.
Don't look at me.
TJ: Holy (bleep).
TIM: Ugh, Christ.
-JARRETT: Holy (bleep).
-TJ: Let him go, let him go.
TIM: Just let him do what
he's got. We got a dart in him.
JARRETT: You see that thing come
out of the water?
TIM: Look at the black back
right here, look at this.
-JARRETT: Here it comes.
-TJ: Move back, back, back, back!
JARRETT: He's coming up.
He's coming up right here.
All right, it's here on my side.
My left, my left.
TIM: I got it.
JARRETT: You got it? Ugh!
Holy (bleep) balls!
TIM: What the (bleep)?
(TJ laughs)
-TIM: Oh, nice fish, man.
-TJ: Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
JARRETT: That's a big one, dude.
Dude, that's a big boy.
Yeah!
It's bigger than I thought.
TJ: It's way bigger than
I thought it was, dude!
What do you think? How big?
JARRETT: That looks like
100 inches to me, man.
TJ: I'll go with 91.
-JARRETT: What do you think?
-TIM: I'll go with 100.
TJ: 94, 95.
JARRETT: Welcome aboard, baby.
TIM: Nice to meet you.
TJ: For us, doesn't matter if we're
fishing deep, like we do in Gloucester,
or on the surface
like they do here in the Outer Banks.
We're capable
of catching bluefin either way
in order to make some money.
And now the Southern boats know that, too.
But it's a small quota.
So we're going to stay out
and try and catch another fish.
-TIM: That's awesome, TJ. Good job.
-TJ: Wow.
JARRETT: Yeah, good job. Woo.
Hey, yeah. Woo-hoo-hoo!
TJ: Pa-pow!
BANKS: Hey, Hot Tuna caught that fish.
See that from here.
REED: Every tuna another boat lands
is a tuna I can't catch.
The bluefin quota here is only 23 ton.
That's only about 200 fish.
So every day, as more bluefin
are caught across the fishery,
the remaining quota up for grabs
gets smaller and smaller.
With how quickly we catch tuna here,
the season can close in weeks.
Before the quota runs out,
I want the Wahoo
to get a good chunk of it.
These Northern guys,
all these Yankee boats,
they need to pack their (bleep) up
and go home.
BANKS: I actually feel like
we're gonna get a bite here.
It's gonna be a rod bite on this one.
I got a feeling.
Get ready to get a bite.
REED: Big, old flat spot.
Get that rod out to the outboard holder.
BANKS (off screen): All right.
(splash)
-REED: There he is!
-BANKS: We're on, we're on!
We're on. (bleep)
All right, let's go. Let's get some line.
(bleep) put the bogey there, please.
REED: Double-header.
Holy (bleep), there we go. Two fish on.
-BANKS: Real deal.
-REED: We're doubled up.
We are pumped.
This could be a $20,000 day
if we land both of these fish.
It's time to go to work.
It's coming together.
I might have to go under you.
Come on, let's switch.
BANKS: Holy (bleep).
(yells)
REED: Help, help me. Help me.
The fish are going back and forth.
The lines are getting crossed.
This is a bad situation.
If these fish cross lines,
the friction could break our lines,
and we could lose these fish.
BANKS: If we get these fish in,
it'll be a blessing.
-REED: It'll be a blessing.
-BANKS: Let me tell you.
REED: Double-headers are usually
the worst thing possible.
BANKS: Damn!
We're gonna get close together again.
Oh, (bleep). It's going under you.
All right. What do we do?
REED: I got to go over you.
BANKS: Go under, dude. Is that right?
REED: No, no, no. Yeah.
That's a lot of heat.
Big fish.
You got to let him run.
BANKS: That's all right,
because I'm getting mine
a little bit at a time over here.
REED: Stop his ass.
Break this guy's spirit.
-(line snaps)
-Oh! Mine's gone.
All right, we got to really
take care of that one.
Pulled the hook.
Pulled hook. Trying to hold on to one.
Just hope we can get him.
BANKS: We can't lose this fish.
It could cost us $10,000.
So we got to pay attention
to what we're doing
and get the job done.
Line going out.
REED: Fingers crossed. Hope we get him.
Anytime you go past an hour,
it could go either way.
You're wearing a hole in that mouth
every minute you're fighting it.
Hole gets bigger, hook can fall out.
Just a test of the tackle right now.
And the skill of the guy on the rod.
It's just a battle.
BANKS: Got a little something
going on right here.
Oh, (bleep), put it in gear.
REED: Backing up.
Come on. Get it tight, get it tight!
Come on.
(Banks grunting)
Don't lose this fish. Please!
-REED: Big boy.
-BANKS: Definite keeper.
REED: Come on, get it tight, get it tight.
Come on. Please.
We hooked up on two fish,
but we've already pulled
the hook on one of them.
BANKS: All right, slow up, slow up.
REED: We can't afford to lose this fish.
Banks just had his first child.
I've got two young girls to support.
If we don't catch fish, they don't eat.
So we need to focus and land this tuna.
BANKS: There he is.
REED (off screen): It's big.
BANKS (off screen): This guy's
our money-maker.
REED: All right, we're gonna back up.
BANKS: Coming at us, coming at us.
Forward!
REED: Come on.
BANKS: All right, we're tight.
Let's go, let's go.
REED: I've got the dart.
There he is.
All right, get ready.
BANKS: Here we go, here we go.
REED: Come on.
Come on, get it tight, get it tight.
That's what I'm talking about.
BANKS: Let's go. Tail rope.
REED: All right. Tighten her down.
You got it?
BANKS: We got him.
REED: Yes!
We are pumped up right now.
Bills are getting paid,
and that's exactly what we need.
First one of the season.
BANKS: 500-pounder, dude.
-REED: That's a big fish.
-BANKS: It's a big fish.
REED: Yes!
BANKS: Phew. That (bleep) big!
REED: Oh, yes.
-BANKS: Look at that.
-REED: He is a big (bleep).
BANKS: Whew!
That is a mambo jambo.
REED: This fish could easily
net us $10,000.
All depends on the quality.
BANKS: Damn, we had two of those on.
REED: 101-incher.
Woo! Nice one. Nice.
BANKS: That is what I'm talking about.
REED: I'm gonna let Frenzy
know we're winning the bet.
Hey, Frenzy?
-GREG (over radio): Yeah.
-REED: Thanks for playing, Cap.
We got one.
GREG: All right, I got some
catching up to do.
(bleep)
REED: Ha ha!
This fish is a great way
to start our season.
But limits for tunas here
in the Outer Banks
is two fish per trip.
So we're going to stay out
and try to get another fish.
Let's do it again.
GREG: Come on, let's get one on the rod.
That's all I want.
First, TJ on the Hot Tuna, he catches one.
Now Reed's got one on the Wahoo?
We've got our work cut out for us.
We've got to focus and put a fish on deck.
NICK: Couple of bites up here today.
It's as good as I've felt
about being in a fishy spot,
so it's anybody's guess now.
It's in the Lord's hands.
He usually lets me catch a few, so...
GREG: There it is! There he is! Tuna!
Fish busted right here off my bow.
NICK: There he is. Got him on!
GREG: That's what we're talking about.
NICK: Got a bite.
Back, he dragged down a little bit.
He feels like a nice one, partner.
Feels like a nice one. I hope we get him.
GREG: You stay on that,
I'm gonna crank this other (bleep).
Don't worry about the--
Let me see where your drag's at.
That's good.
We've got plenty of line
and plenty of time.
NICK (off screen): I got you.
$10,000 fish right here possibly.
Getting up ahead of us here, Frenzy.
He's getting up ahead of us
in good fashion.
He's under the bow.
GREG: Back the drag down.
-Just back the drag down.
-NICK: Yeah, I got it backed down.
-GREG: Okay, good enough.
-NICK (off screen): Woo!
GREG: Try and get all this (bleep)
in the boat,
and we'll get around on that fish
and start backing down on him.
We'll get everything squared away.
If this fish crosses our main line,
our bird could break the fishing line
and we could lose our paycheck.
We need to get that bird
in the boat right now,
get it out of the way,
so we can go to work on this fish.
NICK: We have to do something.
Fish made a hard turn.
-GREG: You still gaining?
-NICK: I ain't got no heat on him.
GREG: Put him on one to one,
go nice and easy,
just keep cranking on him.
NICK: There you go.
Woo!
We got everything cleared?
GREG: I want to get that fish
on this side on the corner rod.
-NICK (off screen): Okay.
-GREG: That's where I want him.
NICK: A lot of things can go wrong.
There's only one way to get it right.
That's to put him in the boat.
GREG (off screen): Let's go, Nick.
As far as I can tell from the line
he's straight down.
It's hard to tell with that line on there.
NICK: He settled down,
just kind of going along
with the boat here.
GREG (off screen):
There he is, there he is.
NICK: There he is, right there.
Right there, Greg. Come on.
(bleep) dart him, Cap!
NICK: He settled down,
just kind of going along
with the boat here.
GREG (off screen): There he is,
there he is.
NICK: There he is right there.
Right there, Greg. Come on.
(bleep) dart him, Cap!
GREG: Get a tail rope.
NICK: Woo! Yeah, baby.
GREG: Game over!
NICK: Game over, baby.
Frenzy is on the board!
GREG: One, two, three.
NICK: Straight forward.
Keep going forward.
Forward, forward, forward.
GREG: This could easily be a $5000 fish.
You got her?
-Nice 98-incher.
-NICK: 98-incher, Cap. Yeah, baby.
-GREG: Yeah! We got them right now.
-NICK: Bigger is better.
GREG: Reed stayed out
to catch another fish,
so we need to get back
to the dock as soon as possible.
That first fish should fetch
a fat paycheck.
After you.
But we got a minute for a little toast.
Some Franklin County moonshine.
NICK: Yeah, baby.
I like to drink,
so moonshine seemed fitting.
GREG: Ahh.
Ah, very nice.
(Greg laughs)
MARCIANO (off screen): Sun's going down.
We got about 40 minutes of daylight.
Frenzy just landed a fish.
Maybe we can get lucky.
Jay.
-JAY: What's up?
-MARCIANO: We're gonna spend the night.
You know those baits I had you bring?
Why don't you get some of them
thawing for me?
And we'll go into night fish mode,
and we'll see if we can catch
something like that.
Just like we do back home.
Best we can do is throw
some hooks in the water
while we're floating around
and see what happens.
Getting a late bite is better
than getting no bite.
GREG: First one of the year, baby.
We got it started.
NICK: Pretty work, pretty work, Cap.
Big boy.
-GREG: How you doing?
-MAN: What's going on, Greg? How are you?
-LUCAS: What's up, guys?
-GREG: Lucas. How's it going?
-LUCAS: Congrats.
-GREG: Thanks. What do you think?
LUCAS: Nice fish.
We'll see how much he weighs.
426 pounds, Greg, dressed.
-NICK: Yeah, baby.
-GREG: I like that. That's a way to start.
If the quality of this fish is good,
we'll get a good price per pound.
And we need it right now.
-LUCAS: Wow.
-GREG: It's got a nice color.
LUCAS: Yeah, with a decent amount of fat.
Real nice.
All right, let's see what he cores at,
see how much he's really worth.
GREG: The buyers are looking
for the quality of the meat.
They judge that by looking
at the color and the fat content.
Yeah, look at it. Nice, clear core.
-Good color.
-LUCAS: Real nice. Good job.
GREG: If this fish is good quality,
it's gonna bring big bucks.
LUCAS: It looks good.
Meat's got a decent amount of fat.
The color is gorgeous, you know.
GREG (off screen): What do you think?
LUCAS: Given the fact
that it's the only fish...
GREG (off screen): Come on.
LUCAS: You're looking at 28 bucks a pound.
-GREG: Really?
-NICK: Wow. Yeah, baby.
LUCAS: Yep.
-GREG: 28?
-NICK: Hell of a first day.
-GREG: You think so? That's great.
-LUCAS: Real nice.
NICK: Good, good.
GREG: Our fish dressed at 426 pounds.
At $28 a pound, that's close to 12 grand.
I knew we were lucky having
that first fish on here, but...
-LUCAS: Perfect timing.
-GREG: 28, man, that's great.
NICK: Sweet.
GREG: This is a really good way
to start the season.
NICK: How about that? Yeah, baby.
GREG: This quota's not gonna last long.
There's a limited amount of fish,
and there's a lot of boats
gunning for them.
We're gonna turn and burn,
go out there, and get us another one.
TJ: We got a fish. I couldn't be happier.
It's a great way to start the season.
Hopefully, there's many more to come.
LUCAS: Way to go, guys. Good job.
First Northern boat to get them down here.
-TJ: No doubt, man.
-LUCAS: Good for you.
TJ: It feels great to go out there
and catch a fish
in front of these Southern guys.
I know they're great fishermen,
I know they're competitive,
but I think we could be the biggest threat
to these Southern boats.
We're here to stay
and we're gonna get our fish.
LUCAS: All right,
let's see what she weighs.
-354 pounds.
-TJ (off screen): Pa-pow!
-TIM: Yeah!
-TJ: Diamond.
LUCAS: Let's check it out, find out.
TIM: That is a nice fish.
TJ: Let's have a look.
TIM: What do you think, pal?
LUCAS: The core is really nice,
you know, no burn in it.
Not a whole lot of fat.
Color's a little bit lighter,
but still pretty decent fish.
Strong.
TJ: I mean, so what do you think,
realistically?
LUCAS: Realistically...
$22 a pound.
-TJ: Pa-pow!
-JARRETT (off screen): Yeah!
-TIM: Nice.
-JARRETT: All right!
TIM: Nice.
TJ: 354 pounds, and at $22 a pound,
that's almost $8000.
That is huge for us.
Good deal, good deal.
The bite is on. It's fierce.
These guys are all gonna be
going hard now,
and I think everyone's gonna be
even more competitive than they were.
We can't afford to sit here.
We're gonna go fuel up, ice up, grub up.
We're headed right back out
to get back on the meat.
CAINE: Aye, Captain!
-BRITTON: Ready to roll?
-CAINE: Ready to roll!
BRITTON: We didn't get a bite yesterday,
so we're getting
an extra early start this morning.
So hopefully getting out there early
is gonna change our luck.
-(power cord crackling)
-CAINE: Oh!
(bleep) What was that?
CAINE: I (bleep) up.
Daggone it.
BRITTON: If you ever switch
that generator over,
unplug that shore power cord.
CAINE: Yes, sir. I (bleep) up there bad.
BRITTON: No doubt, bud.
When you switch the friggin'
shore power over on the boat,
you've got to unplug the cord.
That is a potentially devastating mistake.
Caine is new to bluefin tuna
fishing on this boat,
but he better get up to speed
very quickly.
I do not have time for somebody
who doesn't have his act together.
CAINE: In a hurry to get out,
I forgot to unplug the shore power,
which you should always do that.
Pulled the plug out of the socket.
Don't know how bad it is on the dock,
but seems to be okay here on the boat.
BRITTON: That's a major ding-dong.
I hope that the electrical system
is okay for this trip.
(bleep)
CAINE (off screen): Jesus Christ.
BRITTON (off screen): Don't say that.
Time to do it.
All right, bud. You about got her out?
CAINE: All right, ready to roll.
BRITTON: Got everything ready?
CAINE: Everything's ready to roll, Cap.
Let's get on them, baby.
BRITTON: When you put the bird out,
it looks like something
is trying to eat one of those baits.
We are looking for a nibble.
CAINE: Oh, he's pulling on it.
He's after it, he's after it.
BRITTON: They're everywhere
but on our hook!
They don't want
to get left out to lunch, literally.
So, next thing you know,
old Jed's a millionaire.
CAINE: God damn!
BRITTON: Hey, there, you got a bite, bud!
CAINE: Got him on, got him on,
got him on, got him on, Britton.
Got him on. Got him on.
BRITTON: Come on, bud, come on!
CAINE: Got his ass! Got him,
the first fish of the year, baby!
BRITTON (off screen): Get that reel
going, bub! Get your switch on!
CAINE: Uh-oh. Something ain't right here.
Ah, it ain't working.
Switch ain't working.
CAINE: He's after it, he's after it.
God damn!
BRITTON: Hey, there, you got a bite, bud!
CAINE: Got him on, got him on,
got him on, got him, Britton.
Got him on.
First fish of the year, baby.
BRITTON: Get that reel going, bub.
Get your switch on.
CAINE: Uh-oh. Something ain't right here.
Ah, it ain't working.
Switch ain't working, Britton.
There ain't no power to the bandit reel.
It won't turn.
Don't tell me the switch is broke.
BRITTON: Turn it by hand, turn it by hand.
This is a huge problem.
We've got a big fish hooked up,
and now the bandit doesn't work.
Turn it by hand.
Golly dang!
CAINE: Check under there just in case.
First fish of the year, here it is.
Switch ain't working.
BRITTON: Golly, there.
Keep her tight, bud.
Got to get this.
-CAINE: Got any spare switches?
-BRITTON: Do not.
Let me go check the breaker.
Just see if I can figure out
what in the world ails this thing.
The electric short this morning
tripped the breaker
that runs my bandit reel.
Hopefully, we can get it fixed
before we lose this fish.
CAINE: Golly dang.
Britton's downstairs in the engine room
checking the breaker.
Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully,
hopefully, that's gonna be it.
Oh, God.
BRITTON: Still feel ‘em on there?
CAINE: I think we've lost him,
I swear I do.
He's off, I don't feel nothing.
-BRITTON: Holy cow, man.
-CAINE: Son of a bitch!
BRITTON: Man, what in the world?
I've never had a problem
with that switch before, man.
Gone. Golly dang, man.
(Britton groans)
I know this is the first time
that Caine's been a mate on my boat,
but he needs to learn the ropes quick.
I run a tight ship,
and there's no room for errors like this.
Try now, man. The breaker was flipped.
CAINE: Got her going.
BRITTON: Oh, you're kidding me.
CAINE: Bad luck there, buddy.
BRITTON: I feel like going over there
and hitting him over the head
with the darting pole,
but I can tell by the look on his face
he knows that it's his fault.
CAINE: Son of a bitch.
BANKS (off screen): You gonna go this way
for a little bit or what?
REED (off screen): I don't know.
BANKS: I mean, if there's no fish.
Can you at least pick
a comfortable way to go, sir?
It's been slow all morning.
We gambled and stayed out
and tried to catch a second fish.
Now it's dead out here.
REED: What the (bleep)?
I need some help.
I'm starting to get nervous.
BANKS: I'm worried
if we don't hook up soon
we're gonna eat up
all the profits from our first fish
to pay for the fuel used
looking for a second fish.
(beeping)
REED: What the heck is that all about?
BANKS: Pretty good sign of fish.
There he is. He's on, he's on.
REED: Jig it! Jig it! Jig it!
BANKS: We're on.
Watch out. Tighten it up, tighten it up.
REED: Holy (bleep).
This is what we've been
(bleep) waiting for.
Woo! Big time. Line going out.
-LGO. Are we out of gear?
-BANKS: Yup.
The drag looks tight, dude.
REED: It was tight as (bleep), dude.
(bleep) LGO here.
We are LGO.
That stands for "line going out."
He's taking a lot of line.
Usually, that means you got a decent fish.
He's definitely a keeper.
Oh, we got to stop his ass.
Might have to put her in reverse
for a minute.
Not hard, not hard.
That's good. He stopped, he stopped.
This is what we've been waiting for.
-We've been looking for this bite.
-BANKS: Woo!
REED: Fishing for it, man.
This could be $5000.
Right now, if we can manage
to catch a second fish,
it'd be huge.
And it'd put us ahead of the Frenzy.
Please let us catch this fish.
Please.
MARCIANO: Get that other rod rigged up.
We'll get a ballyhoo on it.
-JAY: It's ready.
-MARCIANO: All right.
We're trolling ballyhoo
to try and get a bite,
but so far, no dice.
We could really use a slob right now
to turn the tide and make some money.
We're onto something. There's a tuna.
JAY: There's a tuna! There's a tuna!
-MARCIANO: Tunas are right there, though.
-JAY: I know!
We're on! We're on! We're on!
MARCIANO: We're on.
Don't mess them up, Jay.
JAY: Good fish, good fish, definitely.
MARCIANO: We got to get
this other rod in so I can back up.
If we can get this fish,
it's gonna put us in the black
right off the bat,
and that's exactly where we want to be.
Now, we could have the potential
of 10 grand or more.
-BANKS: Want a little right on it?
-REED: Huh?
Left. I want my stern,
I want my bow to come left.
BANKS: Don't want it to go too much.
REED: Keep her straight,
just like you're doing.
-Just go straight down to sea.
-BANKS: That's what I'm doing. Relax.
REED: We need this fish bad.
BANKS: Tell me if you'll need
bumping ahead.
REED: You're doing fine. Here he comes.
He's coming up.
Left, dude! Left! That's your other left.
BANKS: If I'm out of gear,
it ain't turning left.
That's the deal.
REED: I'm trying to get the fish
away from the boat.
All's we have to do
is turn the boat to the left,
and the angle of the line's
gonna move away
from the back of the boat.
Your hard right.
BANKS: I'm going straight behind the boat.
REED: I want the sea
behind the boat, not the fish.
BANKS: It's hard over left,
you (bleep) dingbat.
Get the fish.
Dart him.
BANKS: I'm going straight behind the boat.
REED: I want the sea
behind the boat, not the fish.
BANKS: It's hard over left,
you (bleep) dingbat.
Get the fish.
Dart him.
REED: Got him. Nice.
BANKS: Whew!
That's what I'm talking about.
REED: Tail wrap.
All right, good. We got him.
BANKS: Woo!
(bleep)
REED: Woo!
That's two fish in two days for the Wahoo.
We're gonna destroy the quota
like that all season.
There's nothing the Frenzy
or any of the Northern boats
can do about it.
Let's get the tape on this guy.
-BANKS: Oh, yes.
-REED: 75.
73 inches and up, fair game.
Anything smaller than that,
we have to let them to go.
That's legit. Bitch.
MARCIANO (off screen): He still on there,
or is he already gone?
JAY: I have no idea.
MARCIANO: You feel anything at all?
Is he gone?
JAY (off screen): No.
You want to reel for a little bit?
MARCIANO: Put it in gear. Put it forward.
(bleep)
He's gone.
(bleep)
JAY: Nothing we could do...
A pulled hook.
MARCIANO: Damn it.
Didn't even have a chance.
I think it was just way too (bleep) loose.
We didn't even give ourselves a chance.
(bleep)
This trip put us thousands
of dollars in the hole,
and I can't afford to lose any fish.
Down here, you blink,
and the quota's filled,
and it's game over.
All right. Let's get going, Jay.
JAY: Let's get back on them.
MARCIANO: Now, we'll just wait.
Hopefully, these fish will
cooperate one more time here.
Who knows what's gonna happen?
REED: Stoked.
I am pumped.
We're coming in
after our first trip, two fish.
That's exactly how we want
to start the season.
-REED: What's up, Dennis?
-DENNIS: Way to go. Congratulations.
-Way to kick off the season.
-REED: Thank you, sir.
I'm hoping for 190.
-DENNIS: 161 pounds.
-REED: 161.
Nice, little fish. We'll take it.
DENNIS: All right, let's see
what we got here, guys.
It's a little, slender fish.
REED: He's got decent color.
Fat in the minors.
A little oil to it.
-DENNIS: A little skin fat in here.
-REED: Yeah.
DENNIS: Penetrating in.
All right, let's see what
the core color looks like.
REED: Oh, I hope it's pretty.
My fingers are crossed.
DENNIS: A little paler than we might like.
-REED: No burn. That's a key element.
-DENNIS: No burning.
One of the first fish
of the Carolina season.
A nice, marketable fish.
REED: So what do you think it's worth?
DENNIS: $16 a pound.
REED: Nice. We'll take that.
This fish weighed in at 161 pounds.
And at $16 a pound, it's over $2500.
That gets us a little closer
to paying the fuel bill.
All right, let's see how much
this other fish will get us.
DENNIS: All right, let's get
a dressed weight on this bad boy.
REED: Nice!
DENNIS: 409 pounds dressed.
-REED: Nice fish.
-BANKS: Yeah.
-It really is a chunky tail.
-REED: It really is.
DENNIS: Heavy fat.
Beautiful, beautiful tail.
Really nice concentration of oil
in the minor lobes.
Loaded up here.
-REED: Lot of fat in the majors.
-DENNIS: Yup.
All right, I'm gonna take a core sample.
-BANKS (off screen): Oh, look at that.
-DENNIS: Like a cherry Lifesaver.
-REED (off screen): Beautiful.
-BANKS (off screen): Sweet.
REED: What do you think, Dennis?
What's this guy gonna do?
DENNIS: This is definitely one
of the best bluefins I've seen
in Carolina in the last three seasons.
This'll be...
$28 a pound.
-REED: Nice! We'll take that.
-BANKS: Yeah.
REED: Pretty work.
-BANKS: Take that, Frenzy.
-REED: All right.
This fish weighed in at 409 pounds.
And at $28 a pound, that's almost $11,500.
That is huge for us.
Two fish worth over $14,000.
Now that's how you kick-start a season.
We're not done yet.
We're gonna turn and burn,
put some ice on the boat,
get back out there, catch a couple more.
NARRATOR: After two days of catching,
local boat Wahoo leads the fleet
with their two-fish haul.
And Hot Tuna is the first Northern vessel
to catch in Southern waters.
After weigh-ins across the fishery,
now 16% of the bluefin quota is filled.
REED: It feels good to be
smoking the Fishin' Frenzy
and the rest of the pack, North and South.
I'm gunning for everybody.
We want to take them all out.
GREG: We're trailing the Wahoo.
We got a nice fish on the board,
but we're still not in the lead.
We need to do everything we can
to catch back up to them.
TJ: These Southern guys
are great fishermen.
And they're gonna fish very, very hard,
so we need to make a statement.
And the only statement we can do right now
is to put some more fish on the deck.
GREG: The next thing you know,
they'll have the damn Pin Wheel down here.
TYLER: Oh, we're coming.
PAUL: The Yanks are coming,
the Yanks are coming!
Captioned by Point.360
Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks...
PAUL HEBERT: The Yanks are coming,
the Yanks are coming!
NARRATOR: What happens
when New England's top fishermen
launch a full-scale invasion
on North Carolina's Outer Banks?
REED MEREDITH: Don't think
you can take any food off my plate.
TYLER MCLAUGHLIN: These guys
have no idea what they're in for.
TJ OTT: Oh, gaff! (bleep)
REED: This is Southern fishing.
GREG MAYER: Let the games begin.
(laughs)
REED: What a bunch of jacklegs.
NARRATOR: It's a clash of cultures.
REED: They're in for a rude awakening.
TYLER: What the...
DAVE MARCIANO: This will be interesting.
NARRATOR: In an all-out competition...
(grunts)
PAUL: When we get out there, it's game on.
Man versus beast.
NARRATOR: ...to catch
the Atlantic Ocean's top prize.
MARCIANO: $20,000 day. Just like that.
(yelling)
NARRATOR: With their livelihoods at stake,
this war will be anything but civil.
-NICK GOWITZKA: My fish, my money.
-TYLER: Get out of here!
NARRATOR: This is Wicked Tuna...
JASON MUENZNER: We're on, baby!
NARRATOR: ...Outer Banks.
(yelling)
GREG: Oh, God. Here we go.
NICK: It's day one, and I want a bite.
GREG: We'll get a bite.
BRITTON SHACKELFORD:
There ain't nowhere to look but up.
CAINE LIVESAY: God willing,
we'll have one on the deck.
REED: Let's go catch some fish.
BANKS MEREDITH: Oh, yeah. It's on.
NICK (off screen): We're jacked up,
and we're going fishing.
-GREG: We got them this year.
-NICK: Ha ha!
GREG: When it comes to fishing
on the Outer Banks,
the Frenzy's the top boat.
This year, we'll be on top once again.
NICK: Just to start the season off,
I figured I'd toast us, you know,
give a little good luck toast,
a little bubbly.
-GREG: Champagne?
-NICK: Yeah, man.
-GREG: Really?
-NICK: Yeah.
(laughs)
GREG: I'd expect
a little different from him.
NICK: We're gonna do it Southern style.
You throw it, I'll toast it.
Woo! Good luck.
GREG: That's what I got for a mate. Nick.
He's an animal.
NICK: It's the start of the season,
and that first fish
will fetch a big paycheck.
It could be a $20,000 fish.
If we catch that first one,
then we're off to a good start
against them other boats.
GREG: All right!
That's the way to kick it off!
(laughing)
It's gonna be a good year.
Let's get it rolling.
REED: All right, don't touch me
with your sweaty, little hands, man.
All right, seriously.
(bleep)
(bleep) jackass.
I'm Reed Meredith,
captain of the fishing vessel Wahoo.
My brother, Banks, and I,
we want to catch that first tuna.
Heck, we want to catch every tuna.
But there's a quota
to try and keep things sustainable.
So down here the fishery closes
once the fleet catches 23 tons.
That's only about 200 giant bluefins.
So this season can be over
in a matter of weeks.
BANKS: There's no time to waste,
because every fish another boat lands
is another fish that we can't catch.
It's every man for himself out here.
REED (off screen):
There's that Fishin' Frenzy.
Last year, the Fishin' Frenzy,
they caught a few more fish than us
right before the quota ran out,
and he hasn't let me
forget about it either.
GREG: What kind of wager we got this year?
REED: You call it.
GREG: Make it a grand.
REED (on radio): Let's make it five grand.
GREG: Five? You're on.
REED: This season, we're determined
to make him pay up.
We'll see who comes out on top.
GREG (on radio): Let the games begin.
BRITTON (on radio):
Boys, quit your bickering.
We ask the Lord today
that you watch after everybody.
First and foremost, keep us safe.
I'm Britton Shackelford,
captain of the Doghouse.
I've been fishing since I was a boy.
It's the way that I make a living
and support my wife and three kids.
The three things that I hold dear
are God, family, and fishing.
We thank you for this day,
for this ocean, for these fish,
for all the different things, Lord,
that you grant us and give us.
CAINE: Known Britton for quite a while,
but we've never fished together.
For me to succeed on the Doghouse,
I got to pick up on
how he likes things done.
I got to pick up on it quick.
BRITTON: You know what we need.
We just need some fish.
It's your creation.
We're just asking you
to let us have a little bit of it.
Amen.
REED: Amen. Thank you, Britton.
GREG: Let's set out
and go catch a fish. Come on.
NICK: This is Southern fishing.
This is the way we do it down here
in down South,
Outer Banks, North Carolina!
(Nick laughs)
BRITTON: "Are you hungry yet? Got tuna?"
Woo!
GREG: Fishing here on the Outer Banks
is unlike anywhere else
you're going to fish.
The fish here are on the surface.
So we use the greenstick.
NARRATOR: The greenstick is a 40-foot pole
attached to the fishing line
using a tether.
At the end of the line,
a floating device called the bird
helps to attract bluefin tuna.
NICK: As we tow it on the surface,
it mimics a tuna chasing our lures,
which attracts other tunas to the bait.
GREG: The bluefins underneath,
they see that bird trying
to get those baits,
it's instant competition. It's on.
REED: It also creates tension
that elevates the lures above the water,
which is essential in attracting tuna.
BANKS: These are our squid
that we have dropping down
from our greenstick.
These things are gonna be
just barely touching the water.
BRITTON: As that thing
goes tripping along,
those fish see it,
and they got to have it.
So when the fish bites,
the breakaway violently detaches,
and the fish is reeled in
on the electric bandit reel.
NICK: Welcome to North Carolina, Captain.
BANKS: Getting ready to get
a couple of ballyhoo in the water,
add to our spread a little bit.
Not only do we have our greenstick out
with four to six baits on it,
but we also troll four to five ballyhoo
that are swimming on individual rods.
NICK: A ballyhoo is a small baitfish,
kind of long, skinny.
That's about as big as they get.
GREG (off screen): You wouldn't think
that a thousand-pound fish
would eat a six-ounce bait.
Elephants eat peanuts.
They've got to eat a lot of peanuts,
but they eat them.
NICK: I don't want to see
what's happening next.
Big tuna's gonna eat them.
(laughs)
REED: The bait's just under
the surface of the water.
And once we drive over some tunas...
boom, they won't be able to resist it.
BRITTON: Now that we have
our last bait in the water,
it's extremely vital
that we get on some fish very quickly.
First fish, baby.
CAINE: We're ready
for the first fish, baby.
GREG: All right, Nick, watch the line.
NICK: Yes, sir.
GREG: First fish of the season,
they're worth big money.
And they command a premium price.
If we catch them,
we're off to a great start
against all the other boats.
But the fish here
are constantly on the move.
You're not sitting in one spot
waiting for the fish to come to you.
You're hunting all day long.
It's not very hard for those fish
to move 25 miles overnight.
It's just a wag of the tail.
These fish could be anywhere
off the coast of North Carolina.
You've got the 100 Fathom Curve,
Tarheel,
the Triple Zeros,
and Tuna Hole.
But today, we're on The Point.
NICK (off screen): Couple of birds
wheeling around.
GREG (off screen): Good.
NICK (off screen): Any kind of life
is a good sign.
GREG: It's the best place to find tuna.
REED: It's about 40 miles
southeast of our inlet.
The fish usually congregate there
because the bait source is there.
BRITTON: We know the fish are here.
We need to find them so that we can get
the first fish on the market.
CAINE: Come on, baby.
I feel it, I feel it.
NICK: Come on, baby.
CAINE: Come on, one bite,
one bite, one bite.
BRITTON: Hey, Caine, look.
Right here pushing, bud.
CAINE: Look, look, look, look, look,
look, look, look, look. Woo!
GREG (off screen): Look at all those tuna.
(beeping)
REED: Oh, my God.
There's a nice mark. Woo!
We're marking something.
Marking tells us the fish are here.
We can expect to get a bite.
That's exactly what we need right now.
GREG: We got a pretty good chance
to catch a fish right here.
REED: Definitely a few tunas
swimming down the waves.
GREG: Yeah, I just started seeing them
now that I got up here.
There's a handful of
fish here, and it's all coming down soon.
REED (off screen): Who's that
coming up behind you?
I didn't think there
were any other blue hull boats
out here today but me.
I think that's TJ.
NICK: For sure, that's the Hot Tuna!
TJ: We had a bad season
fishing out of Gloucester.
So I made the decision to chase
the bite down South.
We're here for two things,
to catch fish and make money.
JARRETT PRZYBYSZEWSKI: Let's go.
Putting our first drops out.
REED: What's he doing down here?
GREG (on radio): I haven't seen him
down here in years.
How about those other rigs
steaming in here?
BANKS: Two different Yankee boats.
MARCIANO: I'm here
for one simple reason.
I didn't catch enough fish
during the North Atlantic season.
I've got a wife and three kids to support,
plus a mortgage to pay.
So I've come all the way down here,
and TJ's gonna show me the ropes.
JAY (off screen): This must be
the little honey hole.
Oh, there's the competition, I think.
MARCIANO: They must be marking them.
We're going to go right over
that patch of water.
JAY: All right.
MARCIANO: So we just came into
this crowd of Southern boys.
Something's going on.
Jay and I have got to get in here
and get on the meat, too.
REED:
This is a Yankee invasion.
MARCIANO: Bottom line,
I got 15 grand tied up in this operation,
and Jay and I are gonna get our share,
whether they like it or not.
JAY: We're about to go fishing.
Yeah, we're ready to throw the bird.
-TIM: Putting the bird out?
-JARRETT: Yeah, let's go.
They're marking something.
That's why all these other boats are here.
It's always a good sign.
BANKS: There they are busting
right here, Reed, beside us.
Busting back behind us now.
REED: Let it up.
BANKS (off screen): Damn,
knocking bluefins out of their mouths.
Look at them. Woo!
NICK: God damn. Look at that.
GREG: See them going off right here?
We're gonna get them here, Cap.
JARRETT: I'm trying to jig
these baits out here,
create a little bit more ruckus
on top of the water.
REED: Holy (bleep)!
Nice! Nice action right there.
There's plenty of them right here.
TIM: Right here.
Right next to the (bleep) boat.
It's a tuna!
TIM: Right here,
right next to the (bleep) boat.
It's a tuna!
We're on, we're on!
We're on, baby! We're on!
TJ: Let them go, let them go.
TIM OTT: I'm letting it go.
Don't tell me what to do.
We got a big fish on here.
This one's taking a lot of line.
TJ: It could easily be a $10,000 fish.
This is one of those fish
we came here for.
This could go a long way towards
paying off the expenses
of coming down here.
It could be huge for us.
BANKS: Is that the Hot Tuna hooked up?
REED: Damn, he's definitely hooked up.
NICK: What the (bleep), man?
GREG: That's (bleep).
We sit here trying to work on these fish,
and he comes right through
the middle of them.
TIM (off screen): He's running, man.
He's running hard.
He's pulling hard, so I've just
got it on light right now.
Just gonna let him take
what he needs here.
MARCIANO (off screen):
They are hooked up, Jay.
We just got to get in on that game.
JAY: Let's go.
Let's do it. Let's get our share.
TIM: Well, I see him way down there.
That's a good one.
JARRETT: That's a nice-looking fish
right there, man.
He's putting up a good fight.
A 400 to 500-pounder. He's coming up.
TIM (off screen): Black back over here.
I see him right now.
JARRETT: He's coming up.
-TIM: All right. Take your time.
-TJ: Straight down. There he is.
There he is!
TIM: I missed him.
JARRETT: Oh, God!
TIM: I'm trying here!
Just got to give me a shot here.
JARRETT: All right, here he comes.
Oh, holy (bleep). Oh, my God.
TIM: Forward, forward. Pay attention.
TJ: Here he comes, here he comes.
Get ready, get ready!
Get ready! Get ready!
There he is!
TIM: Missed him. TJ, take over. Here.
TJ: Dad, I-- Just throw it again.
He's coming up right now.
Come on, get ready.
There he is! Black back, there he is!
-Get him, get him, get him!
-JARRETT: Here he comes.
TIM: I am wrapped up
in this (bleep) bad, too.
JARRETT: He's coming up.
He's circling your side.
TIM: I missed him.
TJ: Dad, you're throwing way
behind him, man.
TIM: I'm trying to hit him!
I don't (bleep) believe this.
TJ: Dad, that last shot was a barn door.
It was as easy as hitting a barn door.
TIM: No, it wasn't, Tim.
We should get that other harpoon.
You see him?
JARRETT: He's right below us.
Bump it just a little bit.
-Bump it, bump it, bump it, bump it!
-TIM: Bump it, bump it.
JARRETT: Holy (bleep)!
TJ: He's got to be close.
Straight down, straight down, throw it.
-There you go!
-TIM: No.
Somebody's standing on the line!
JARRETT: He's coming up, man.
TIM: I missed him.
TJ: (bleep) We got him!
JARRETT: He's right there.
TIM (off screen): I don't believe this.
-Come on. Forward, forward, forward!
-JARRETT: Forward, forward.
TIM: All right.
Keep surfing him up, just keep going.
TJ: Dad, just take your time.
Who cares? Just take your time.
TIM: You're washing us out.
You're washing it out.
-He's right under the boat here.
-JARRETT: Forward, forward.
TIM: He's under the boat, under the boat!
JARRETT: Here he comes.
He's, like, right there.
Go forward, forward, forward,
forward, forward, forward!
He's off to the side.
Right there.
-TIM: I got him.
-JARRETT: Got him! Good job.
-TJ: I'll get a gaff.
-TIM: Get a gaff, get a gaff!
Can't get no pressure on him...
JARRETT: Go on, look over there.
Don't look at me.
TJ: Holy (bleep).
TIM: Ugh, Christ.
-JARRETT: Holy (bleep).
-TJ: Let him go, let him go.
TIM: Just let him do what
he's got. We got a dart in him.
JARRETT: You see that thing come
out of the water?
TIM: Look at the black back
right here, look at this.
-JARRETT: Here it comes.
-TJ: Move back, back, back, back!
JARRETT: He's coming up.
He's coming up right here.
All right, it's here on my side.
My left, my left.
TIM: I got it.
JARRETT: You got it? Ugh!
Holy (bleep) balls!
TIM: What the (bleep)?
(TJ laughs)
-TIM: Oh, nice fish, man.
-TJ: Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
JARRETT: That's a big one, dude.
Dude, that's a big boy.
Yeah!
It's bigger than I thought.
TJ: It's way bigger than
I thought it was, dude!
What do you think? How big?
JARRETT: That looks like
100 inches to me, man.
TJ: I'll go with 91.
-JARRETT: What do you think?
-TIM: I'll go with 100.
TJ: 94, 95.
JARRETT: Welcome aboard, baby.
TIM: Nice to meet you.
TJ: For us, doesn't matter if we're
fishing deep, like we do in Gloucester,
or on the surface
like they do here in the Outer Banks.
We're capable
of catching bluefin either way
in order to make some money.
And now the Southern boats know that, too.
But it's a small quota.
So we're going to stay out
and try and catch another fish.
-TIM: That's awesome, TJ. Good job.
-TJ: Wow.
JARRETT: Yeah, good job. Woo.
Hey, yeah. Woo-hoo-hoo!
TJ: Pa-pow!
BANKS: Hey, Hot Tuna caught that fish.
See that from here.
REED: Every tuna another boat lands
is a tuna I can't catch.
The bluefin quota here is only 23 ton.
That's only about 200 fish.
So every day, as more bluefin
are caught across the fishery,
the remaining quota up for grabs
gets smaller and smaller.
With how quickly we catch tuna here,
the season can close in weeks.
Before the quota runs out,
I want the Wahoo
to get a good chunk of it.
These Northern guys,
all these Yankee boats,
they need to pack their (bleep) up
and go home.
BANKS: I actually feel like
we're gonna get a bite here.
It's gonna be a rod bite on this one.
I got a feeling.
Get ready to get a bite.
REED: Big, old flat spot.
Get that rod out to the outboard holder.
BANKS (off screen): All right.
(splash)
-REED: There he is!
-BANKS: We're on, we're on!
We're on. (bleep)
All right, let's go. Let's get some line.
(bleep) put the bogey there, please.
REED: Double-header.
Holy (bleep), there we go. Two fish on.
-BANKS: Real deal.
-REED: We're doubled up.
We are pumped.
This could be a $20,000 day
if we land both of these fish.
It's time to go to work.
It's coming together.
I might have to go under you.
Come on, let's switch.
BANKS: Holy (bleep).
(yells)
REED: Help, help me. Help me.
The fish are going back and forth.
The lines are getting crossed.
This is a bad situation.
If these fish cross lines,
the friction could break our lines,
and we could lose these fish.
BANKS: If we get these fish in,
it'll be a blessing.
-REED: It'll be a blessing.
-BANKS: Let me tell you.
REED: Double-headers are usually
the worst thing possible.
BANKS: Damn!
We're gonna get close together again.
Oh, (bleep). It's going under you.
All right. What do we do?
REED: I got to go over you.
BANKS: Go under, dude. Is that right?
REED: No, no, no. Yeah.
That's a lot of heat.
Big fish.
You got to let him run.
BANKS: That's all right,
because I'm getting mine
a little bit at a time over here.
REED: Stop his ass.
Break this guy's spirit.
-(line snaps)
-Oh! Mine's gone.
All right, we got to really
take care of that one.
Pulled the hook.
Pulled hook. Trying to hold on to one.
Just hope we can get him.
BANKS: We can't lose this fish.
It could cost us $10,000.
So we got to pay attention
to what we're doing
and get the job done.
Line going out.
REED: Fingers crossed. Hope we get him.
Anytime you go past an hour,
it could go either way.
You're wearing a hole in that mouth
every minute you're fighting it.
Hole gets bigger, hook can fall out.
Just a test of the tackle right now.
And the skill of the guy on the rod.
It's just a battle.
BANKS: Got a little something
going on right here.
Oh, (bleep), put it in gear.
REED: Backing up.
Come on. Get it tight, get it tight!
Come on.
(Banks grunting)
Don't lose this fish. Please!
-REED: Big boy.
-BANKS: Definite keeper.
REED: Come on, get it tight, get it tight.
Come on. Please.
We hooked up on two fish,
but we've already pulled
the hook on one of them.
BANKS: All right, slow up, slow up.
REED: We can't afford to lose this fish.
Banks just had his first child.
I've got two young girls to support.
If we don't catch fish, they don't eat.
So we need to focus and land this tuna.
BANKS: There he is.
REED (off screen): It's big.
BANKS (off screen): This guy's
our money-maker.
REED: All right, we're gonna back up.
BANKS: Coming at us, coming at us.
Forward!
REED: Come on.
BANKS: All right, we're tight.
Let's go, let's go.
REED: I've got the dart.
There he is.
All right, get ready.
BANKS: Here we go, here we go.
REED: Come on.
Come on, get it tight, get it tight.
That's what I'm talking about.
BANKS: Let's go. Tail rope.
REED: All right. Tighten her down.
You got it?
BANKS: We got him.
REED: Yes!
We are pumped up right now.
Bills are getting paid,
and that's exactly what we need.
First one of the season.
BANKS: 500-pounder, dude.
-REED: That's a big fish.
-BANKS: It's a big fish.
REED: Yes!
BANKS: Phew. That (bleep) big!
REED: Oh, yes.
-BANKS: Look at that.
-REED: He is a big (bleep).
BANKS: Whew!
That is a mambo jambo.
REED: This fish could easily
net us $10,000.
All depends on the quality.
BANKS: Damn, we had two of those on.
REED: 101-incher.
Woo! Nice one. Nice.
BANKS: That is what I'm talking about.
REED: I'm gonna let Frenzy
know we're winning the bet.
Hey, Frenzy?
-GREG (over radio): Yeah.
-REED: Thanks for playing, Cap.
We got one.
GREG: All right, I got some
catching up to do.
(bleep)
REED: Ha ha!
This fish is a great way
to start our season.
But limits for tunas here
in the Outer Banks
is two fish per trip.
So we're going to stay out
and try to get another fish.
Let's do it again.
GREG: Come on, let's get one on the rod.
That's all I want.
First, TJ on the Hot Tuna, he catches one.
Now Reed's got one on the Wahoo?
We've got our work cut out for us.
We've got to focus and put a fish on deck.
NICK: Couple of bites up here today.
It's as good as I've felt
about being in a fishy spot,
so it's anybody's guess now.
It's in the Lord's hands.
He usually lets me catch a few, so...
GREG: There it is! There he is! Tuna!
Fish busted right here off my bow.
NICK: There he is. Got him on!
GREG: That's what we're talking about.
NICK: Got a bite.
Back, he dragged down a little bit.
He feels like a nice one, partner.
Feels like a nice one. I hope we get him.
GREG: You stay on that,
I'm gonna crank this other (bleep).
Don't worry about the--
Let me see where your drag's at.
That's good.
We've got plenty of line
and plenty of time.
NICK (off screen): I got you.
$10,000 fish right here possibly.
Getting up ahead of us here, Frenzy.
He's getting up ahead of us
in good fashion.
He's under the bow.
GREG: Back the drag down.
-Just back the drag down.
-NICK: Yeah, I got it backed down.
-GREG: Okay, good enough.
-NICK (off screen): Woo!
GREG: Try and get all this (bleep)
in the boat,
and we'll get around on that fish
and start backing down on him.
We'll get everything squared away.
If this fish crosses our main line,
our bird could break the fishing line
and we could lose our paycheck.
We need to get that bird
in the boat right now,
get it out of the way,
so we can go to work on this fish.
NICK: We have to do something.
Fish made a hard turn.
-GREG: You still gaining?
-NICK: I ain't got no heat on him.
GREG: Put him on one to one,
go nice and easy,
just keep cranking on him.
NICK: There you go.
Woo!
We got everything cleared?
GREG: I want to get that fish
on this side on the corner rod.
-NICK (off screen): Okay.
-GREG: That's where I want him.
NICK: A lot of things can go wrong.
There's only one way to get it right.
That's to put him in the boat.
GREG (off screen): Let's go, Nick.
As far as I can tell from the line
he's straight down.
It's hard to tell with that line on there.
NICK: He settled down,
just kind of going along
with the boat here.
GREG (off screen):
There he is, there he is.
NICK: There he is, right there.
Right there, Greg. Come on.
(bleep) dart him, Cap!
NICK: He settled down,
just kind of going along
with the boat here.
GREG (off screen): There he is,
there he is.
NICK: There he is right there.
Right there, Greg. Come on.
(bleep) dart him, Cap!
GREG: Get a tail rope.
NICK: Woo! Yeah, baby.
GREG: Game over!
NICK: Game over, baby.
Frenzy is on the board!
GREG: One, two, three.
NICK: Straight forward.
Keep going forward.
Forward, forward, forward.
GREG: This could easily be a $5000 fish.
You got her?
-Nice 98-incher.
-NICK: 98-incher, Cap. Yeah, baby.
-GREG: Yeah! We got them right now.
-NICK: Bigger is better.
GREG: Reed stayed out
to catch another fish,
so we need to get back
to the dock as soon as possible.
That first fish should fetch
a fat paycheck.
After you.
But we got a minute for a little toast.
Some Franklin County moonshine.
NICK: Yeah, baby.
I like to drink,
so moonshine seemed fitting.
GREG: Ahh.
Ah, very nice.
(Greg laughs)
MARCIANO (off screen): Sun's going down.
We got about 40 minutes of daylight.
Frenzy just landed a fish.
Maybe we can get lucky.
Jay.
-JAY: What's up?
-MARCIANO: We're gonna spend the night.
You know those baits I had you bring?
Why don't you get some of them
thawing for me?
And we'll go into night fish mode,
and we'll see if we can catch
something like that.
Just like we do back home.
Best we can do is throw
some hooks in the water
while we're floating around
and see what happens.
Getting a late bite is better
than getting no bite.
GREG: First one of the year, baby.
We got it started.
NICK: Pretty work, pretty work, Cap.
Big boy.
-GREG: How you doing?
-MAN: What's going on, Greg? How are you?
-LUCAS: What's up, guys?
-GREG: Lucas. How's it going?
-LUCAS: Congrats.
-GREG: Thanks. What do you think?
LUCAS: Nice fish.
We'll see how much he weighs.
426 pounds, Greg, dressed.
-NICK: Yeah, baby.
-GREG: I like that. That's a way to start.
If the quality of this fish is good,
we'll get a good price per pound.
And we need it right now.
-LUCAS: Wow.
-GREG: It's got a nice color.
LUCAS: Yeah, with a decent amount of fat.
Real nice.
All right, let's see what he cores at,
see how much he's really worth.
GREG: The buyers are looking
for the quality of the meat.
They judge that by looking
at the color and the fat content.
Yeah, look at it. Nice, clear core.
-Good color.
-LUCAS: Real nice. Good job.
GREG: If this fish is good quality,
it's gonna bring big bucks.
LUCAS: It looks good.
Meat's got a decent amount of fat.
The color is gorgeous, you know.
GREG (off screen): What do you think?
LUCAS: Given the fact
that it's the only fish...
GREG (off screen): Come on.
LUCAS: You're looking at 28 bucks a pound.
-GREG: Really?
-NICK: Wow. Yeah, baby.
LUCAS: Yep.
-GREG: 28?
-NICK: Hell of a first day.
-GREG: You think so? That's great.
-LUCAS: Real nice.
NICK: Good, good.
GREG: Our fish dressed at 426 pounds.
At $28 a pound, that's close to 12 grand.
I knew we were lucky having
that first fish on here, but...
-LUCAS: Perfect timing.
-GREG: 28, man, that's great.
NICK: Sweet.
GREG: This is a really good way
to start the season.
NICK: How about that? Yeah, baby.
GREG: This quota's not gonna last long.
There's a limited amount of fish,
and there's a lot of boats
gunning for them.
We're gonna turn and burn,
go out there, and get us another one.
TJ: We got a fish. I couldn't be happier.
It's a great way to start the season.
Hopefully, there's many more to come.
LUCAS: Way to go, guys. Good job.
First Northern boat to get them down here.
-TJ: No doubt, man.
-LUCAS: Good for you.
TJ: It feels great to go out there
and catch a fish
in front of these Southern guys.
I know they're great fishermen,
I know they're competitive,
but I think we could be the biggest threat
to these Southern boats.
We're here to stay
and we're gonna get our fish.
LUCAS: All right,
let's see what she weighs.
-354 pounds.
-TJ (off screen): Pa-pow!
-TIM: Yeah!
-TJ: Diamond.
LUCAS: Let's check it out, find out.
TIM: That is a nice fish.
TJ: Let's have a look.
TIM: What do you think, pal?
LUCAS: The core is really nice,
you know, no burn in it.
Not a whole lot of fat.
Color's a little bit lighter,
but still pretty decent fish.
Strong.
TJ: I mean, so what do you think,
realistically?
LUCAS: Realistically...
$22 a pound.
-TJ: Pa-pow!
-JARRETT (off screen): Yeah!
-TIM: Nice.
-JARRETT: All right!
TIM: Nice.
TJ: 354 pounds, and at $22 a pound,
that's almost $8000.
That is huge for us.
Good deal, good deal.
The bite is on. It's fierce.
These guys are all gonna be
going hard now,
and I think everyone's gonna be
even more competitive than they were.
We can't afford to sit here.
We're gonna go fuel up, ice up, grub up.
We're headed right back out
to get back on the meat.
CAINE: Aye, Captain!
-BRITTON: Ready to roll?
-CAINE: Ready to roll!
BRITTON: We didn't get a bite yesterday,
so we're getting
an extra early start this morning.
So hopefully getting out there early
is gonna change our luck.
-(power cord crackling)
-CAINE: Oh!
(bleep) What was that?
CAINE: I (bleep) up.
Daggone it.
BRITTON: If you ever switch
that generator over,
unplug that shore power cord.
CAINE: Yes, sir. I (bleep) up there bad.
BRITTON: No doubt, bud.
When you switch the friggin'
shore power over on the boat,
you've got to unplug the cord.
That is a potentially devastating mistake.
Caine is new to bluefin tuna
fishing on this boat,
but he better get up to speed
very quickly.
I do not have time for somebody
who doesn't have his act together.
CAINE: In a hurry to get out,
I forgot to unplug the shore power,
which you should always do that.
Pulled the plug out of the socket.
Don't know how bad it is on the dock,
but seems to be okay here on the boat.
BRITTON: That's a major ding-dong.
I hope that the electrical system
is okay for this trip.
(bleep)
CAINE (off screen): Jesus Christ.
BRITTON (off screen): Don't say that.
Time to do it.
All right, bud. You about got her out?
CAINE: All right, ready to roll.
BRITTON: Got everything ready?
CAINE: Everything's ready to roll, Cap.
Let's get on them, baby.
BRITTON: When you put the bird out,
it looks like something
is trying to eat one of those baits.
We are looking for a nibble.
CAINE: Oh, he's pulling on it.
He's after it, he's after it.
BRITTON: They're everywhere
but on our hook!
They don't want
to get left out to lunch, literally.
So, next thing you know,
old Jed's a millionaire.
CAINE: God damn!
BRITTON: Hey, there, you got a bite, bud!
CAINE: Got him on, got him on,
got him on, got him on, Britton.
Got him on. Got him on.
BRITTON: Come on, bud, come on!
CAINE: Got his ass! Got him,
the first fish of the year, baby!
BRITTON (off screen): Get that reel
going, bub! Get your switch on!
CAINE: Uh-oh. Something ain't right here.
Ah, it ain't working.
Switch ain't working.
CAINE: He's after it, he's after it.
God damn!
BRITTON: Hey, there, you got a bite, bud!
CAINE: Got him on, got him on,
got him on, got him, Britton.
Got him on.
First fish of the year, baby.
BRITTON: Get that reel going, bub.
Get your switch on.
CAINE: Uh-oh. Something ain't right here.
Ah, it ain't working.
Switch ain't working, Britton.
There ain't no power to the bandit reel.
It won't turn.
Don't tell me the switch is broke.
BRITTON: Turn it by hand, turn it by hand.
This is a huge problem.
We've got a big fish hooked up,
and now the bandit doesn't work.
Turn it by hand.
Golly dang!
CAINE: Check under there just in case.
First fish of the year, here it is.
Switch ain't working.
BRITTON: Golly, there.
Keep her tight, bud.
Got to get this.
-CAINE: Got any spare switches?
-BRITTON: Do not.
Let me go check the breaker.
Just see if I can figure out
what in the world ails this thing.
The electric short this morning
tripped the breaker
that runs my bandit reel.
Hopefully, we can get it fixed
before we lose this fish.
CAINE: Golly dang.
Britton's downstairs in the engine room
checking the breaker.
Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully,
hopefully, that's gonna be it.
Oh, God.
BRITTON: Still feel ‘em on there?
CAINE: I think we've lost him,
I swear I do.
He's off, I don't feel nothing.
-BRITTON: Holy cow, man.
-CAINE: Son of a bitch!
BRITTON: Man, what in the world?
I've never had a problem
with that switch before, man.
Gone. Golly dang, man.
(Britton groans)
I know this is the first time
that Caine's been a mate on my boat,
but he needs to learn the ropes quick.
I run a tight ship,
and there's no room for errors like this.
Try now, man. The breaker was flipped.
CAINE: Got her going.
BRITTON: Oh, you're kidding me.
CAINE: Bad luck there, buddy.
BRITTON: I feel like going over there
and hitting him over the head
with the darting pole,
but I can tell by the look on his face
he knows that it's his fault.
CAINE: Son of a bitch.
BANKS (off screen): You gonna go this way
for a little bit or what?
REED (off screen): I don't know.
BANKS: I mean, if there's no fish.
Can you at least pick
a comfortable way to go, sir?
It's been slow all morning.
We gambled and stayed out
and tried to catch a second fish.
Now it's dead out here.
REED: What the (bleep)?
I need some help.
I'm starting to get nervous.
BANKS: I'm worried
if we don't hook up soon
we're gonna eat up
all the profits from our first fish
to pay for the fuel used
looking for a second fish.
(beeping)
REED: What the heck is that all about?
BANKS: Pretty good sign of fish.
There he is. He's on, he's on.
REED: Jig it! Jig it! Jig it!
BANKS: We're on.
Watch out. Tighten it up, tighten it up.
REED: Holy (bleep).
This is what we've been
(bleep) waiting for.
Woo! Big time. Line going out.
-LGO. Are we out of gear?
-BANKS: Yup.
The drag looks tight, dude.
REED: It was tight as (bleep), dude.
(bleep) LGO here.
We are LGO.
That stands for "line going out."
He's taking a lot of line.
Usually, that means you got a decent fish.
He's definitely a keeper.
Oh, we got to stop his ass.
Might have to put her in reverse
for a minute.
Not hard, not hard.
That's good. He stopped, he stopped.
This is what we've been waiting for.
-We've been looking for this bite.
-BANKS: Woo!
REED: Fishing for it, man.
This could be $5000.
Right now, if we can manage
to catch a second fish,
it'd be huge.
And it'd put us ahead of the Frenzy.
Please let us catch this fish.
Please.
MARCIANO: Get that other rod rigged up.
We'll get a ballyhoo on it.
-JAY: It's ready.
-MARCIANO: All right.
We're trolling ballyhoo
to try and get a bite,
but so far, no dice.
We could really use a slob right now
to turn the tide and make some money.
We're onto something. There's a tuna.
JAY: There's a tuna! There's a tuna!
-MARCIANO: Tunas are right there, though.
-JAY: I know!
We're on! We're on! We're on!
MARCIANO: We're on.
Don't mess them up, Jay.
JAY: Good fish, good fish, definitely.
MARCIANO: We got to get
this other rod in so I can back up.
If we can get this fish,
it's gonna put us in the black
right off the bat,
and that's exactly where we want to be.
Now, we could have the potential
of 10 grand or more.
-BANKS: Want a little right on it?
-REED: Huh?
Left. I want my stern,
I want my bow to come left.
BANKS: Don't want it to go too much.
REED: Keep her straight,
just like you're doing.
-Just go straight down to sea.
-BANKS: That's what I'm doing. Relax.
REED: We need this fish bad.
BANKS: Tell me if you'll need
bumping ahead.
REED: You're doing fine. Here he comes.
He's coming up.
Left, dude! Left! That's your other left.
BANKS: If I'm out of gear,
it ain't turning left.
That's the deal.
REED: I'm trying to get the fish
away from the boat.
All's we have to do
is turn the boat to the left,
and the angle of the line's
gonna move away
from the back of the boat.
Your hard right.
BANKS: I'm going straight behind the boat.
REED: I want the sea
behind the boat, not the fish.
BANKS: It's hard over left,
you (bleep) dingbat.
Get the fish.
Dart him.
BANKS: I'm going straight behind the boat.
REED: I want the sea
behind the boat, not the fish.
BANKS: It's hard over left,
you (bleep) dingbat.
Get the fish.
Dart him.
REED: Got him. Nice.
BANKS: Whew!
That's what I'm talking about.
REED: Tail wrap.
All right, good. We got him.
BANKS: Woo!
(bleep)
REED: Woo!
That's two fish in two days for the Wahoo.
We're gonna destroy the quota
like that all season.
There's nothing the Frenzy
or any of the Northern boats
can do about it.
Let's get the tape on this guy.
-BANKS: Oh, yes.
-REED: 75.
73 inches and up, fair game.
Anything smaller than that,
we have to let them to go.
That's legit. Bitch.
MARCIANO (off screen): He still on there,
or is he already gone?
JAY: I have no idea.
MARCIANO: You feel anything at all?
Is he gone?
JAY (off screen): No.
You want to reel for a little bit?
MARCIANO: Put it in gear. Put it forward.
(bleep)
He's gone.
(bleep)
JAY: Nothing we could do...
A pulled hook.
MARCIANO: Damn it.
Didn't even have a chance.
I think it was just way too (bleep) loose.
We didn't even give ourselves a chance.
(bleep)
This trip put us thousands
of dollars in the hole,
and I can't afford to lose any fish.
Down here, you blink,
and the quota's filled,
and it's game over.
All right. Let's get going, Jay.
JAY: Let's get back on them.
MARCIANO: Now, we'll just wait.
Hopefully, these fish will
cooperate one more time here.
Who knows what's gonna happen?
REED: Stoked.
I am pumped.
We're coming in
after our first trip, two fish.
That's exactly how we want
to start the season.
-REED: What's up, Dennis?
-DENNIS: Way to go. Congratulations.
-Way to kick off the season.
-REED: Thank you, sir.
I'm hoping for 190.
-DENNIS: 161 pounds.
-REED: 161.
Nice, little fish. We'll take it.
DENNIS: All right, let's see
what we got here, guys.
It's a little, slender fish.
REED: He's got decent color.
Fat in the minors.
A little oil to it.
-DENNIS: A little skin fat in here.
-REED: Yeah.
DENNIS: Penetrating in.
All right, let's see what
the core color looks like.
REED: Oh, I hope it's pretty.
My fingers are crossed.
DENNIS: A little paler than we might like.
-REED: No burn. That's a key element.
-DENNIS: No burning.
One of the first fish
of the Carolina season.
A nice, marketable fish.
REED: So what do you think it's worth?
DENNIS: $16 a pound.
REED: Nice. We'll take that.
This fish weighed in at 161 pounds.
And at $16 a pound, it's over $2500.
That gets us a little closer
to paying the fuel bill.
All right, let's see how much
this other fish will get us.
DENNIS: All right, let's get
a dressed weight on this bad boy.
REED: Nice!
DENNIS: 409 pounds dressed.
-REED: Nice fish.
-BANKS: Yeah.
-It really is a chunky tail.
-REED: It really is.
DENNIS: Heavy fat.
Beautiful, beautiful tail.
Really nice concentration of oil
in the minor lobes.
Loaded up here.
-REED: Lot of fat in the majors.
-DENNIS: Yup.
All right, I'm gonna take a core sample.
-BANKS (off screen): Oh, look at that.
-DENNIS: Like a cherry Lifesaver.
-REED (off screen): Beautiful.
-BANKS (off screen): Sweet.
REED: What do you think, Dennis?
What's this guy gonna do?
DENNIS: This is definitely one
of the best bluefins I've seen
in Carolina in the last three seasons.
This'll be...
$28 a pound.
-REED: Nice! We'll take that.
-BANKS: Yeah.
REED: Pretty work.
-BANKS: Take that, Frenzy.
-REED: All right.
This fish weighed in at 409 pounds.
And at $28 a pound, that's almost $11,500.
That is huge for us.
Two fish worth over $14,000.
Now that's how you kick-start a season.
We're not done yet.
We're gonna turn and burn,
put some ice on the boat,
get back out there, catch a couple more.
NARRATOR: After two days of catching,
local boat Wahoo leads the fleet
with their two-fish haul.
And Hot Tuna is the first Northern vessel
to catch in Southern waters.
After weigh-ins across the fishery,
now 16% of the bluefin quota is filled.
REED: It feels good to be
smoking the Fishin' Frenzy
and the rest of the pack, North and South.
I'm gunning for everybody.
We want to take them all out.
GREG: We're trailing the Wahoo.
We got a nice fish on the board,
but we're still not in the lead.
We need to do everything we can
to catch back up to them.
TJ: These Southern guys
are great fishermen.
And they're gonna fish very, very hard,
so we need to make a statement.
And the only statement we can do right now
is to put some more fish on the deck.
GREG: The next thing you know,
they'll have the damn Pin Wheel down here.
TYLER: Oh, we're coming.
PAUL: The Yanks are coming,
the Yanks are coming!
Captioned by Point.360