[ominous music playing]
[Zeke] Hey, dude,
we got a problem, man.
[Shawn] Go ahead.
[Zeke] These Kellys
just will not back off me.
[Shawn] Well, he's gonna get
a rude awakening.
I ain't gonna let him
get away with this [bleep].
[Kris] [bleep] damn.
They think this is their ocean?
I don't think so.
I'm here to stay.
We're gonna move into position
and defend our hole.
No one takes [bleep]
from me this season.
[Andy] We're going to w*r,
it looks like.
[Kris] Battle stations!
[tense music playing]
Kris is about ready
to get his [bleep] a*s kicked.
[Andy] Shawn wants a w*r,
I'll give him one.
He's gonna [bleep] lose.
[Shawn] Hey, water blaster.
[grunts]
[Shawn] Stupid Kris Kelly,
thinking he's gonna [bleep]
with my guys?
That's doesn't fly with me.
We're gonna take
this fight to them.
[Shawn] This [bleep]
[indistinct] right now.
[ominous music playing]
[narrator] A Golden Empire.
It's the ultimate dream
of every miner.
To become one of the giants,
royalty in the gold mining game.
This summer,
some will look to grow
their gold-filled kingdoms,
while for others,
this could finally prove
to be their time to join
the exclusive ranks
as the known chessboard
takes shape
and the clash of empires begins.
[tense music playing]
[Shawn] Big year this year.
I'm gonna get the guys together
and come up with a game plan.
[narrator] In Nome,
only one superpower
has dominated
the gold mining game
for decades,
the Pomrenke Empire.
Yeah.
[narrator] And its captain,
known simply as Mr. Gold.
Mr. Gold's gonna get some gold.
Two thousand ounces,
here we come.
[narrator] Starting alongside
father Steve 20 years ago...
Thanks for the gold, boys.
Keep it up. [laughs]
[narrator] Shawn Pomrenke
has become a mining legend.
[Shawn] I've never seen that
much gold all at one time.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
[narrator] Building the family
business into a sprawling,
- dominant force...
- [Shawn] Whoa.
[narrator] season after season.
[Shawn] This is more money
than some people make
in a lifetime.
[narrator] Producing
levels of gold
virtually unchallenged.
[Steve] We're gonna
need a bigger scale.
Yeah.
[narrator] And now,
he's unveiling his battle plan
to remain on top.
[Shawn] Got a lot of
moving parts this year.
Last summer was about
acquiring all the assets
I needed to take over Nome.
This summer is
about unleashing them.
That land mine is a moneymaker.
Now that I got it wrestled
away from my dad,
it's gonna make
mountains of gold.
On the water, I got
the Christine Rose,
which is the true
moneymaking machine,
and the new crown jewel,
the Myrtle Irene.
Unlike last summer,
I'll have her ready on day one.
Finally, I'm adding the
Tenhoff's suction dredge,
the Havilah, to the mix.
It'll get out onto deeper
water than I can reach
with the Myrtle
and Christine Rose.
Now, it's time to
assemble the team,
layout to plan, get to work.
What's up, guys?
We got a big year
ahead of us, boys.
Myrtle, Christine Rose,
Havilah's going in this year.
We got a lot of
operations going,
a lot of people.
Off shore, we
got our west track.
What do you think of
hitting on the east side
of that track?
Yeah. Well, the
Myrtle should be able
to hit that next line out,
so hopefully there's
some good gold out there.
- Yeah.
- [Shawn] So maybe we can get
the Havilah over there
to do some mining.
Yeah.
But, I mean, if we keep
everything up and running,
keep all the moving parts moving
and we don't break stuff,
we should have a
smasher of a year.
We should be able to
do 3,000 plus ounces.
That'd be nice.
It'd be real nice.
This year, I'm going
for 3,000 ounces.
Last year, I went for 2,000.
I thought that was crazy.
The only way to stay
ahead of the competition
is constantly pushing
and expanding.
With the money it takes to
keep this operation running,
I'm gonna need every last flake.
Let's get those bolts ready,
and once the bolts are ready,
we'll start moving some dirt,
and let's get her done.
You guys got it?
- Got it.
- [Shawn] Nice.
Get out of here, go to work.
[narrator] Mr. Gold may
be alone at the top for now,
but across town...
[Kris] Right off the bat,
beginning of the season,
we're looking
towards the future.
This is gonna be my hardest,
most stressful season on record.
[narrator] For years,
Kris Kelly and his family
have fought tooth and nail.
Come on, you fat [bleep].
[narrator] Clawing their
way up from the bottom.
Ah!
[narrator] With plenty of
wrong turns along the way.
Whoa.
I'm okay, everybody,
in case anyone's
[bleep] wondering.
[narrator] But this season,
the feisty captain's
launching an ambitious plan
to vault into the same
league as Shawn Pomrenke,
by establishing a
new rival empire
on the Bering Sea.
[tense music playing]
I've already been working
the last two months,
trying to start the
Reaper Nation.
I came up on the
best opportunity
that I've ever had in my life.
My friend James Barkley
went bankrupt last year,
didn't make enough
gold, so I swooped in,
and I saved the
day with my friend.
And I... Of course, I
don't have the money,
so I had to call my
lifetime great friend,
Kevin Adaimy.
So Kevin came up with the money.
I came up with an amazing plan,
and we split the Mistress
straight down the middle.
It's almost like a fairy
tale that happened.
All these years,
the Kellys have been
on the bottom tier,
suction dredgers,
just trying to scrape by,
but those days are over.
I'm now half owner
of an excavation barge
just like high and
mighty Mr. Gold.
And that's just the
tip of the iceberg.
[Kevin] What up, Kris?
What's up, baby?
What's going on [bleep]?
- What's happening, brother?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- How are you, man?
- I am great.
Kevin is a friend
and, well, he's loaded,
so he's the
investor on this plan.
He's bringing the money.
I'm bringing the brains.
I'm excited to be here, man.
So now, it's time
to unveil the plans
for the Reaper Nation.
[tense music playing]
[Kris] Okay. Thanks,
everybody, for coming.
I just wanna go over my plan
for the biggest
season of our lives.
We're gonna
attack the b*ttlefield
from all sides this summer.
Kevin and I will be in
charge of the Mistress,
and we'll be working with James
who knows that
barge inside and out.
My dad and brother
are heading up
the new and improved reaper,
all built from scratch.
We're using the equipment
we bought last winter
to build a top-of-the-line
eight-inch dredge,
the biggest we've ever used.
It'll bring in more gold
than we've ever gotten
on a suction dredge before.
It's huge.
We're aiming for complete
domination this summer.
First off the bat, I'll
have the Mistress
starting with James's
help this year.
We're gonna be working as a team
and putting that
together, try to find a crew
that we can run 24 hours a day,
and process a lot of
material. We have the Reaper.
The Reaper this year is
an eight-inch operation,
bigger boat,
better put together.
I hope to God we see at least
We'll be using it to
prospect for the Mistress,
making sure we can
get on some big deposit.
How are we supposed
to get 200 ounces
if we're looking for
gold for you, guys?
[Kris] Because you
will. Don't worry about it.
- Oh, we will, huh?
- [Kris] Yeah.
- Okay. Okay. Okay.
- Don't worry, man.
I don't depend on you to
do too much other than,
you know, be your
circus routine that...
- [Brad] I will.
- You usually do.
Don't you worry about it. We'll
still get more gold than you guys.
[Kris] You do what you're
good at and everybody else.
I will.
Where are we gonna be
mining at, Kris, this year?
We made a deal you
get on Tomcod this year.
[Kevin] We're gonna mine
right next to Shawn all year long.
Exactly. And I
don't really care.
[tense music playing]
So yeah, we're gonna be mining
a Tomcod right next to Shawn.
James is grandfathered in to
buying on the Tomcod claim
with no restrictions.
We can go anywhere
on that claim we want.
I mean, come on.
If we're gonna try
to form an empire
that takes on the big boys,
we got to go where
the big gold is.
And Shawn has
no idea it's coming.
Well, I'm not
worried about Shawn.
We're in a race against
ourselves to get rich.
Kevin's invested a
bit of money this year,
and he wants his money back.
[Kevin] And James, you
know, I mean, I don't wanna fail.
I'm a winner. I'm not a loser.
I've built a lot of companies.
You know, we have to
push the envelope a little bit,
and we got to really try
to make this money back.
[James] I'm stoked that I'm
part of the Reaper Nation.
I don't see why
it's not gonna work.
There's no other
way to go but up.
We'll definitely
make our 500 ounces.
I'm excited. I'm ready
to get in the water.
[Kris] I've been waiting
my whole life for this.
Reaper Nation.
Five hundred ounces.
Yeah, I said it, 500 ounces.
The new Reaper
Nation is happening now.
Fist bump, everybody.
Good job. Good job.
Yeah, baby, let's
get after it this year.
[Kris] We're at
the starting line.
It's time for us
to make that gold.
[ominous music playing]
[narrator] Throughout Nome,
a clash of empires is raging,
and one salty veteran is
finally making his move.
[Vernon] We're off to the races.
I just got back a
couple of days ago
and, uh, it's as
though I never left.
[narrator] This summer,
Vernon Adkison's ready
to transition his
booming operation
into a kingdom.
[Vernon] We're
ready to rock and roll.
Right out there is my claim, 56.
There are literally thousands
and thousands of
ounces of gold on 56.
So now, all we got to
do is just go out there
and take our withdrawals
from the gold bank.
[narrator] Vernon's on one
of the richest claims in Nome.
- [man] Yeah.
- That's our best cleanout yet.
[narrator] But it's been a long
and winding road to success.
I don't see any gobble.
[narrator] For years,
Vernon struggled
season after season.
[Vernon] Total financial ruin.
That's what I'm looking at.
[narrator] Losing his shirt.
[Vernon] [bleep].
[narrator] And
sometimes his mind.
What do you mean I don't
know what I'm [bleep] doing?
[narrator] But, last summer,
Vernon got ahold of Claim 56,
and now, he just might have
the hottest hand in Nome.
I can work 56 for
the rest of the time
I'm on this planet.
[upbeat music playing]
I'm easily on the best
claim I've ever been on.
I think 56 puts Tomcod to shame.
That's why I'm
calling it Kingdom 56.
I'm planning on 300
ounces this summer.
Not only am I gonna
keep gobbling up the gold,
but I'm gonna have
some operators out there
mining for me who are
gonna pay me a royalty
to make me even richer.
I've got three or four
top quality people
working the claim,
paying me royalties.
If they're doing well,
I'll be making as
much in royalties
as I will from the
crew of the gold ship.
Hell, I would never even have
to go out there again myself.
But, uh, it's not
gonna be that way.
I'm gonna be out there.
There are some
people up here that think
they're the premier dynasty
in the gold mining business.
Well, watch out.
I'm in an ideal situation.
Best claim on the Bering Sea,
collecting royalties
while I keep collecting
the super gold.
and I believe by the
end of the summer,
I'll be the undisputed
king of Nome.
People sometimes
compare me to Shawn.
But, uh, he better
watch his a*s,
because I think I
can clean his clock.
[upbeat music playing]
One Fall Fetch is ready to go?
All right. Well,
hell, let's do it.
Take it out for a
spin, see how it works.
I'm starting off the
season with a k*ller claim,
but my crew won't be quite
as k*ller as last summer.
Unfortunately, I'm not gonna
have my two Garys with me.
But I do have Bryan Wilder,
who injured himself last summer
and had to end his
diving campaign.
But hopefully, he's up to snuff.
And then I have Max [indistinct]
who will be making his
dive debut on the Gold Ship.
It's not much of a royal court,
but as long as I become king,
it doesn't matter
how I get there.
Here we go.
I'm pretty excited about
getting back into gold.
We're going out to
the super gold site.
We've been hammering
it last summer and winter
and there's still
lots of good gold.
And we're gonna clean it up.
Okay. We're here.
[tense music playing]
[Vernon] What in
the hell is going on?
He's got it right now.
They're on my claim.
And I mean the old,
uh, rule of thumb,
if you caught
somebody claim jumping
or stealing out of your box,
you have the
right to sh**t them.
Get the potato g*n ready.
Yeah, we got that
damn potato g*n
and take their heads off
from a hundred yards away.
We're gonna go over there.
And I'm telling you, he's
right on top of our spot.
We're headed out
to the super gold site,
the spot where we
found the sweetest gold.
And there's some yahoo on it.
If they think they can
squeeze out some of my gold,
they got another thing coming.
We'll shoo them away so fast
that they'll be crying
for their mamas.
Unfortunately,
that fellow right over there,
that's one of my
authorized operators.
He's paying me a royalty,
but he's right on
top of super gold.
So, uh...
I hadn't really expected that.
[laughs]
So I told these
guys they could have
carte blanche out here,
and then one of them
popped down right
on top of my spot.
But look, this is how
you expand a kingdom.
You let the workers go out
and give you
royalties from one spot,
while I go out and tap
into a new pastry
someplace else.
The good news is, there's
unlimited gold on 56.
I've just got to find a new
hotspot and get to work.
We have not had any
trouble finding good gold.
We're gonna get out
there and tear it up.
It ought to be a
damn good season.
[tense music playing]
[narrator] Back in town...
[Shawn] Havilah
hasn't worked in years.
It's in really rough shape.
[narrator] As Shawn Pomrenke
looks to expand his empire
further than ever
before, he's unleashing
another weapon in his arsenal,
and bringing
members of the fleet
into his army.
[Shawn] Talking
to Zeke and Gabe,
I told them I'd
give them 10 grand
to get it up and running.
I wanna go check on and
see what these guys did
with all my money.
The Havilah has been
dormant for the last few seasons.
I'm looking forward
to getting it back
into the fleet and
producing gold.
The problem is,
my crew is stretched
pretty thin already,
and so I made a deal
with the Tenhoff boys.
They get it up and running,
they can use it to
mine on Tomcod
as long as they give
me a fat percentage
of the gold they find.
Oh nice.
It looks good.
How's it going?
- Hey, Shawn. Check it out.
- [Shawn] I like it.
[Zeke] It's all
pulled back together.
[Shawn] It was looking a
little worse for wear there
for a while. Neglected.
Looks like you got her
all cleaned up nicely.
New power pack, pump,
the air system.
Motors are running okay?
[Gabe] Everything's
running good, man.
Nice.
I'm bringing Zeke and Gabe
to the Pomrenke Empire.
They're already
doing a k*ller job.
They have the Havilah
looking good already.
It's almost ready to go.
They get it out on the Tomcod,
hit the right spots,
they're gonna make me
a lot of gold this summer.
So we're all going
to the Tomcod.
I think there's a lot
more gold out there
maybe just a little
bit further to the east.
- Okay.
- [Shawn] I've seen some really good pans
come out of there.
From what I've seen,
there hasn't been
a lot of small dredges
that have literally
explored around
that a whole lot.
I think there's
probably something new
to find out there.
In all of 15 years I've
been on the Tomcod,
nobody has ever
worked that area.
There's definitely some
more gold out there.
- Mmm-hmm.
- No [bleep].
Wow. Okay.
That's good to know.
Let's get out there
and get after it.
[Gabe] Dude. Let's
make some money.
[Shawn] Yeah. Get
that 10 grand back.
- [Gabe] I will.
- [Zeke] Thanks, Shawn.
[Shawn] Yup.
Well, see you, guys.
- Yeah.
- [Gabe] Good luck.
I just wanna go mining.
- I know.
- That's all I wanna do.
There's no doubt in my
mind that we're gonna
crush it out there this summer.
[narrator] A mining veteran
in Nome, Zeke Tenhoff,
jumped back into
the game last summer
after several seasons
on the sidelines.
I love sailboat dredge so much.
Dude, it's really fast.
[narrator] His comeback, though,
failed to live up to
his expectations.
[Zeke] One ounce.
[tense music playing]
[narrator] Now, by
joining Shawn's team,
he's hoping to be
on the path to riches.
[Zeke] It's super
cool with Shawn.
And I wanna make him some money.
So, Shawn, it seems like
he's just trying to make
his already giant
empire even bigger.
But, as it stands,
the opportunity
for my brother and
myself is a good one.
A deal with Shawn is
exactly what we need
to get going this summer.
These guys did a really
nice job on the boat.
Everything's nice,
clean, dialed in.
I think it's gonna
do really well.
I'm happy with the progress.
I think I picked
the right people.
Feeling good about
this whole situation.
[narrator] Across town...
[Emily] ♪ Da, da, da, da, da ♪
♪ Da, da, da, da, da, da ♪
♪ Tat tara, tat tara, tat Tara,
tat tara, tat tara, Tat, tat, tat ta ♪
Hello. I am back.
So, back for my 11th
year as a gold miner.
[narrator] One member
of the fleet readies
for a triumphant
return to the b*ttlefield.
[Emily] I had to bail
out for the winter.
Um, I got COVID in January,
and it lingered for months.
I couldn't really do
much physically, mentally.
It was really, really
a weird illness.
So, I had to walk away.
Yeah.
[narrator] Always one of Nome's
most consistent
gold producers...
[Emily] Fifty-eight. All
right, man, congrats.
[narrator] Emily Riedel's
successful mining career...
Whoa.
[narrator] was suddenly
upended this winter.
[Emily] I got COVID
and it just completely
knocked me and my
business through a loop.
For the first time in
my gold mining career,
I had to bow out of the season.
Getting COVID really couldn't
have happened at a worse time.
It, uh, really caused
me to change course.
Now, it's summer season,
and I'm really
excited to be back.
Being down for
the count this winter
really pushed me back.
Everything I've earned
from last summer
is, like, mostly gone.
So, we're really...
It's really important
that we get
on some good ground
as soon as possible.
All these years, I've
been able to save
and, uh, essentially
build a nest egg,
and now that nest egg
is essentially depleted.
So it's almost
like starting over
but that's not the only
change that's happened.
Shawty is just making
some new friends.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, she does.
- [laughs]
- Hey, girl.
Yeah, she does.
This is, uh, this is
my husband, Alex.
- Hey, baby.
- Hi, baby.
Good to see you.
Good to see you on here.
You make the boat
look much better.
Oh, shucks. Thanks.
Yeah, so, uh, I got married
despite not mining.
So I kept myself busy.
- We got a new pup.
- A new puppy. Yup.
Yeah, she's about
nine weeks old.
So we got all sorts of new
crew members this year.
Yeah.
I don't know if this
is like a huge mistake
- or a great idea, but...
- Yeah. We'll...
We're gonna... We're gonna
get her really well-acquainted
- with boat life, either way.
- Yeah.
Gold mining isn't just
about me anymore.
I've got a husband and
we wanna start a family.
You're [indistinct] all primed
and ready to make some gold.
Cool.
It's not just about
replacing what I've lost,
it's about starting again
and going even bigger.
I'm looking for 250
ounces this season,
essentially, to
start a new empire.
All right.
[tense music playing]
[Emily] We're talking
about the future.
We're talking about a legacy,
so I've got a big job
ahead this season.
I got goose bumps
right now thinking about
if it's as good as it was
when we left last year,
it ought to be a
pretty good day.
I've got Rick back
on the boat with me
and he's an awesome diver,
and we're heading
back to Claim 14.
We just hope that the visibility
is, uh, workable today.
How the water looks pretty murky
and there's a really
nasty little swell.
I might have murked
up the bottom a bit.
[Rick] I don't care
what the visibility is,
I need to go check
it out regardless.
Let's see what happens.
[Emily] Conditions
are far from ideal.
In the past, I might have
turned around and been like,
"To hell with it,
we're gonna sit it out."
But not today.
Not for my gold this summer.
[diving mask hissing]
[Emily] How's the visibility?
[diving mask hissing]
[Rick speaking]
[diving mask hissing]
[Rick speaking]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Rick speaking]
- [laughs]
- [Emily] Woo-hoo!
[Rick speaking]
Oh, that's awesome,
dude. That's great.
[Rick] Yeah.
Getting a pay streak
right away with Rick
is exactly what we needed.
[Rick] Oh, golly, dude! Woo!
Hopefully it stays
like this all summer
and we can get a
good w*r chest going.
[Rick speaking]
We love chunks around here.
Me likey.
[water splashes]
[narrator] In Nome...
a new empire is brewing.
[tense music playing]
[Kevin] Oh, buddy, it's
great to be here, man.
[Kris] It's great
to have you here.
Can we take you in and
show you the investment?
You're gonna be so happy
with what I got going on.
[narrator] Captain Kris
Kelly takes his chief investor
on a tour of the
burgeoning Reaper Nation.
[Kevin] I'm kind of excited
and worried at the same time.
You know how that
fuzzy feeling is, Kris?
Like, I'm not too happy
because of all the money
that I've spent but
at the same time,
I'm excited to see what
you spent the money on.
Go get it. It's right
there. Look at this.
This is the big boy dock.
- [Kevin] Is this it?
- [Kris] This is it.
[Kevin] Wow.
You're gonna be so
happy with everything.
- We're finally here, baby.
- I mean, look at it.
- Look at this.
- [Kevin] Wow.
[Kris] You know, look
at how enormous it is.
[Kevin] This thing
is huge, huge.
[Kris] Wow, buddy.
Huge, big money.
Let's go on the boat now.
Come on. Show me what we got.
I have total confidence
Reaper Nation
is gonna become a force in Nome.
But running an
operation like this
is part of the song and dance.
Making sure the
guy that's supplying
the bulk of the money is excited
and believes in
what we're doing.
- The raw pieces are in this barge.
- Okay.
It's worth a million
and a half dollars,
- just the pieces.
- Right.
- This [bleep] right here... -
What is this big blue box?
- A Thrustmaster.
- Okay.
[Kris] It's probably
the biggest propeller
you've ever seen in your life.
[Kevin] Wow. What is
this rusted thing here?
This is our fuel source
of the entire operation.
Oh, so this is the
fuel here. I see.
[Kris] You know. The
$100,000 generator.
[Kevin] That's a nice generator.
That's where all
my gold will sit.
You'll be able
to see it stack up.
- Right.
- [Kris] Excavator,
which has seen better days,
I'll give you that,
but check it out.
That excavator looks
like it's waiting to fall apart.
This thing looks
like it's rusted.
- Does it even start?
- Okay. Look it, look it,
- jump this back up.
- Oh, man.
- Don't worry about... Don't worry about this.
- This is...
[Kris] I got another one.
[Kevin] What do you
mean we got another one?
It's gonna end up costing me
more money for another one.
[Kris] You... Don't worry
about the money, you know.
That's what I'm
worried about, Kris.
I'm worried about the money.
This is grungy and rusty.
We're not out here winning
a [bleep] beauty contest,
you know, we're
out here getting gold.
What else are you gonna
show me on this thing?
Everything I see
is rust around here.
Is this a flagpole?
[Kris] No, it's a ladder system.
This pulls the spud
up from the top.
This actually was a
lot more expensive
than I thought it was gonna be.
[Kevin] Well, how much?
$40,000.
You... I spent
$40,000 on just this?
No, we didn't.
Yeah, we did. Sure.
[Kevin] This is $40,000?
[Kris] So Kevin's
a little freaked out.
Okay? I get it.
It might be a lot of
money for what looks like
a heap of rusted
metal, but it's not.
The Mistress is gonna
make him and I a fortune,
I'm talking crazy rich.
But that's not all.
I'm also building
a top of the line bigger Reaper.
It's gonna be absolutely
k*ller very soon.
[Kevin] What the
hell is this, Kris?
What is this thing, buddy?
[Kris] Okay. Well, you
know, you can't look at it
- and, uh, judge it [indistinct]
- [Kevin] This is how
you're gonna make
money this year?
- Yup.
- Wow, Kris.
I wasn't expecting
to see this, buddy.
I'm starting to worry here.
Is that thing gonna even float?
[Kris] So I realize
nothing's done,
but we're getting close.
We're getting close
to being very close,
but Nome wasn't built in a day.
My vision is super simple.
All brand new
eight-inch equipment.
This is a new to us boat.
[drill whirring]
So, like, right now,
we're taking an old boat
and we're
breathing life into it.
[saw whirring]
Where's the rest of it?
Uh, this is the...
I have all the engines,
uh, and everything
but really, I have to
start off with structure...
- Mmm-hmm.
- Uh, build the cabin,
and then paint it, and
then put everything in.
[Kevin] Well, so
when do you expect
to have this thing
done here, Kris?
Well, you know, the cabin
should've been done today.
[dramatic music playing]
So new plan, the way
to get Kevin excited
and more confident
in what we're doing
is get him out on the water
and get him some gold.
He'll be so filled
with gold fever
they'll probably have to
take him to the hospital.
I'm just hoping that
we make some money.
Don't worry.
- Oh, buddy.
- Stop worrying so much.
I'll try not to worry too much,
I'll try to help you out
in any way that I can.
- We gotta make it happen.
- [Kris] Don't worry.
It's gonna work 100% for sure.
[dramatic music playing]
[Zeke] Oh.
Starting the season
off with a bang.
[laughs]
Literally.
[laughs]
It's a dud. Damn.
[narrator] Zeke Tenhoff is
hoping his plans for summer
will prove to be expl*sive.
[Zeke] Let's see if
this one will take off.
[narrator] And won't fizzle out
like they did last season.
Go, go, go, go, go!
- [man] No.
- [groans]
[laughs]
I spent most of last summer
tinkering with the
sailboat dredge idea.
It's a fun idea,
I still like it,
but I just ended up with a boat
that I didn't really
like that much
that was too
difficult to operate.
After ice mining,
I envisioned, like,
what I needed,
which was like a
large lightweight
inflatable catamaran.
I ordered a big
pile of aluminum,
a little drill press,
and I've been
assembling a dredge.
I'm ready to go out mining.
The deal that we
have with the Havilah
is perfect for where
we're at right now.
I was back in the
game last summer,
but I just did not
get enough gold.
When Shawn left
me on the Tomcod,
I could start to see
some future and
some possibilities.
After how poorly
we did last summer,
I'm sh**ting for, like,
somewhere around 50
ounces to make up for that.
And I've got a plan to
get maximum returns.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] Known as the
Mad Scientist of Nome,
Zeke has always
embraced innovation.
Copper, whole melting device.
It'll be our first time running
two sluices at the same time.
So we're gonna have
double gold today.
[narrator] And this
summer, he's unleashing
yet another of his
out-of-the-box contraptions.
The boat looks good.
Red, inflatable pontoons.
Blue hose.
Pump engines, gas
tanks, air compressor,
basically all my mining gear.
This boat is big and
I made it super wide
so it's gonna be super stable.
I've gotten a lot of gold
with a lot [bleep]
dredge than this, for sure.
I designed it to be as
light and fast as possible,
so I can do as much
prospecting as I need to
as quickly and
efficiently as I can.
With a small lightweight
dredge like this,
I don't really need a crew
and I don't really need help.
I can maneuver it
around from underwater
and I can tie it
without a tender.
I'm gonna use my rig
to go out and explore
a bunch of areas
of untouched ground
that Shawn pointed me towards,
while my brother Gabe
gets a crew together
and gets to the
Havilah in the water.
First trip out, good to go.
[upbeat music playing]
I pieced the whole
thing together by hand
over the last six weeks,
so I know that it's strong
and it's not gonna...
Nothing's gonna fall apart.
So I'm gonna go out on
Tomcod and test her out.
Basically, I'll motor
out to Tomcod.
And once I find a
spot that's interesting,
I 'll just drop the anchor
down and dive down there,
and I can pull the
boat around behind me
and explore kind of
wherever I feel like
the gold is leading me towards.
[suspenseful music playing]
We're, like, right about
in the center of
Tomcod right now.
It's my first time
out here, it's dope.
I'm gonna go ahead and
throw the anchor down
right about here.
[pump motor sputtering]
Yeah!
The scary part of diving alone
is that you're underwater
and nobody is monitoring
your pump engines
or your water heaters,
or your air systems,
or any of that stuff.
So if something
goes wrong up top,
there could be a
cascade of problems,
it gets away from
you really quickly.
Is it crazy to do this?
Yeah, possibly, it is.
But after last season, I
need to do whatever I can
to find some better gold.
[Zeke speaking]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Zeke speaking]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Zeke grunts]
What the hell?
[grunts]
[pump motor sputtering]
[Zeke] One of my
pressure hoses blew apart
while I was underwater
trying to get myself untangled.
If I had a tender up top,
then we probably could've
caught this problem
before it got away from us.
This is one of the
drawbacks of trying to dive
without a tender
and dive by yourself.
[pump motor sputtering]
I can't say I'm not a
little bit nervous about it.
That sucks.
[dramatic music playing]
[bird squawking]
[Kris] Come down here.
Let's have a company
meeting before we get going.
Okay. Thank you very much
for helping us make
it to the starting line.
You know, now is our
chance to make that gold.
Now is the time
for the marathon.
I know we're gonna k*ll it.
We've spent a lot of time in
blood and sweat, and tears,
making this operation go.
Now it's time to make
that [bleep] money.
- [man] Let's go.
- We need it, boys.
- Okay. Let's go.
- Let's do it.
[dramatic music playing]
[man] RPM's up.
[engine sputtering]
[narrator] The rollout of
the newest budding empire
on the Bering Sea,
the Reaper Nation,
is officially underway.
James, how long until we go?
- Minutes.
- [Kris] Minutes?
- Yup.
- [Kris] Let's get going.
This is crazy.
I'm about to hit the water
with my own excavation barge.
It's nuts. I'm talking same
level with Shawn here
and I'm even beating
him on the water.
This is the beginning
of an entire new phase
for the Kellys' career.
We're big time now.
[man] It's good.
[Kris] James, let's get going.
We got to get out there, man.
Let's roll.
All right.
[dramatic music playing]
Security, security, security,
this is The Mistress
exiting the south wall.
Any concerning
traffic on 72 and 16?
[dramatic music playing]
[Kris] It's a great day.
[Kevin] We're ready
to go mining, baby.
Time to make some money.
[Kris] We're
gonna k*ll it today.
[dramatic music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
Beautiful day, the
beginning of the season.
It's a little bit wavy but
nobody else is out here,
I'm leading the way,
and that's the way I like it.
I just needed a good opportunity
and now I have one.
And now, I'm gonna run with it.
I used to live on
that beach right there
and I used to watch
the big million dollar
operations go by,
and I was thinking, "Maybe
that'll be me one day,"
and here I am.
It only took eight
[bleep] years of my life
to make it to this point,
but at least this is my plan.
So if I wanna be like the
mighty Shawn Pomrenke,
I got to go where
the big gold is.
Why the [bleep] would
I go anywhere else
where I know for
sure there's gold?
You know, like, this
is a multi-stage plan.
If you don't start
where's there's gold,
you're not gonna get gold.
And that can mean
only one place.
[Kevin] Pulling up to our spot
where we're gonna be mining
and finally making some money.
We're about to
lower the spuds down,
uh, get the boat
ready to digging.
And we're gonna see
what this thing does
and I wanna see
how much material
we can put in that box.
So, uh, it's... I'm
anxious, you know.
[machine whirring]
There you go. We're
almost ready to mine.
We just got to fire
up the wash plant
and start prospecting.
[machine sputtering]
[Kevin] Oh, baby. Look at this.
[Kevin speaking]
Everything is going great.
Fire up excavator.
[excavator humming]
Woo!
[excavator humming]
- [Kevin] Yes!
- Whoa.
This [bleep] right here
will make a crew happy
and you can smell the money.
[machine rattling]
[Kris speaking]
[Kevin laughs]
Now, I'm excited,
everything is running.
I couldn't be any happier.
[machine whirring]
[laughs] We're
making money, baby!
Woo!
[bleep] man, the bucket
looks so good, too.
I knew this was all
gonna work out, you know.
[narrator] Back in the harbor...
Hit it, hit stop,
and then hit start.
[machine whirring]
[narrator] there's
another excavator barge
ready to hit the water...
[Shawn] It all works perfect.
[narrator] as the
Pomrenke empire
begins its onslaught
on the Bering Sea.
Well, we got it all
put together last year
and now, we got it dialed in.
We're gonna kick
some a*s this year.
Last year was the first year
I made a deal with Dave
Young to team up on the Myrtle.
We spent most of the
summer upgrading her,
getting her ready to go,
didn't even make it on the water
till the last few
weeks of the season.
But once we did, she
was an absolute monster.
[Dave] I've been so excited.
What do you think?
I think it's gonna go very well.
[Dave] Let's make
some money this year.
- Sounds good, man.
- Okay, let's do it.
We're hitting the ground running
from the get-go this season,
no sitting on the
docks for weeks.
We got the biggest
barge in Nome,
the biggest operation,
and we know where
there's k*ller gold.
It's the ideal situation.
This is what I've
been waiting for.
This summer is gonna
be absolutely ridiculous.
Security, Myrtle Irene,
leaving the inner harbor.
Any concern or oppose traffic?
We'll be standing by
on channel 16 and 69.
[Shawn speaking]
Oh, yeah.
We're, uh, taking
the Myrtle Irene out
for its, uh, maiden
voyage this season.
We're gonna get out
of the harbor here,
go around, get onto the claim,
take a couple of buckets,
take a couple of pans,
find some gold.
Then we fire up the wash plant
and start making
some damn money.
We're gonna kick
some a*s this year.
[upbeat music playing]
Rig up that camera.
Drop it down and see
what you're looking at.
[narrator] To start his season,
Vernon Adkison is on the
hunt for a new pay streak.
So we got this camera here
and we're gonna send it down,
and see if we're on the cobble.
[Vernon] I got my
fingers crossed.
I wanna see some cobble.
So what's that expression
about the best laid plans
Of Mice and Men?
We were all set to
get back on super gold
and one of my, uh, miners
who's paying me royalties
is on the spot,
but hey, when you're
expanding your operation
to the next level like we are,
these kind of things happen.
What's it looking like, Brian?
Looks like sandy
cobble, it's like a mix.
Looks like you're
right on the line.
[Vernon] Keep us down
there. Keep looking.
Okay.
This side of the screen is sand.
This side of screen's cobbles,
so this is right at the line.
Usually, that's pretty good,
if you can get right on
the sandy cobble line?
How about now, Brian?
[Brian] Cobble.
Good cobble.
[Vernon] 56 is loaded.
This is a ground
that gives and gives.
And now we're getting
ready to do some taking.
Anchor up.
We've got good cobble.
We're gonna get down
there and start dredging.
We're getting ready
to send Brian down,
but at this point,
he's an unknown.
Last summer, he
blew out his eardrums
and came up bleeding
from every orifice
north of his shoulders.
It was a pretty gruesome sight.
[Brian] Ah, [bleep] is it bad?
- It's blood.
- [Vernon] Yeah, it's bad.
He's been medically
cleared to dive,
but that sort of thing
can mess with your head.
If he can't handle the pressure,
I'm gonna be in serious
trouble this season.
Okay, here he goes.
[Brian] All right. I'm just
gonna go down slow.
Yo, Brian, make some
stops along the way,
get your breathing under
control and equalize.
[Brian speaking]
Brian, just so you know,
we get a readout on your
jumps up here on the screen.
You're at 10 feet
right now. Ten feet.
[Brian] Copy.
[Vernon] You're in 15 feet.
Take a minute or two
right where you are.
Stay where you are,
equalize, and get comfortable.
[Brian] All right.
Just try and doing some yawning.
All right. I think I'm good.
I'm going down.
All right. I'm at the bottom.
[Vernon] You're
at 22 feet of depth.
How are your ears?
[Brian] Ears are good.
[Vernon] All right.
I gotta give it to Brian.
A lot of drivers
would hang it up
after the experience he had,
but he's tough as nails.
And now it's time for
us to get after that gold.
[Brian] I think I'm
mixing sandy and cobble,
man, I'm trying over
here to see how deep,
uh, down the line I can get.
All right. I'm gonna
just punch it over here.
[Vernon] Let me know
when you see the gold.
[Brian] All right.
Yeah. There's a piece
of gold right there.
See it?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
He's seeing gold.
[Brian] Oh, look at that
[indistinct] right there.
See it?
There you go,
there's one right there
and one right there.
One right there, one
right there, one right there,
and one right there.
So you find them
stickers on the bottom.
[Brian] And another one right
there and there, and there.
Oh, look at that one.
[chuckles] All right.
All right, Brian.
[Brian laughs]
Suck it up. Put it in that box.
[Brian speaking]
Well, that is the plan, my man.
Our first diver is in the water.
He's on the gold.
Couldn't ask for a better day.
[Brian] Whoa!
[Vernon] You're
doing a hell of a job.
[narrator] Eleven miles west.
[boat engine revving]
[Zeke] She's good
to go, she's a runner.
[narrator] Despite a
hiccup, first time down,
Zeke Tenhoff is
ready to get back
on the solo dredging course.
[Zeke] My motor is running.
We're good to go now.
Dredging solo is proving to
be a lot harder than I remember.
It's enough to have to deal
with pulling the boat around
and looking for
gold on the bottom,
but if I have to be
running up to the surface
over and over all day,
I'm just gassing
myself out too quick.
I'm not operating as
efficiently as I should,
but I can't make any
excuses right now.
I have to find
good gold out here.
[tense music playing]
[Zeke speaking]
[boat engine revving]
The good news is,
I keep finding good
gold out here on Tomcod.
I think that this
lease is gonna rock.
I think that there's a
lot of potential here still.
The bad news is, I'm wiped out.
Man is not meant to solo dredge.
There's just too much to
do. I'm wearing myself out.
I need to find some more help.
The gold's phenomenal,
but I pushed it
a little too hard.
Probably good for
me, it toughened me up,
but when you're deep like that
going up and down and up
and down and up and down,
dropped down,
so your body gets stressed out.
Eight, 10 years ago,
I probably could've
kept going...
[chuckles]
[rock music playing]
[Kris] Here, everybody.
My girlfriend made
everybody a sandwich,
that she wants
us to all do good.
Hey, Kevin, give
me half that sandwich
[bleep] I didn't... She
didn't make me five.
Okay. I'll take half
of your sandwich.
I'm taking half of a couple
because I just gave
my sandwiches away.
[narrator] Kris Kelly
and the Reaper Nation
are looking to devour gold.
[Kris] Here you go, buddy.
[narrator] On the
captain's maiden voyage
as co-owner of
the mighty Mistress.
[Kris speaking]
Kevin was a little
skeptical at first,
but now he's catching the fever.
[Kevin] Okay. Now, here it goes.
[Kris] That sound
right there is money.
And that's because
what's happening is real.
Reaper Nation is a beast.
We're heavy hitters, baby.
It's us and Shawn.
No one else is on our level.
I can't wait to take a test pan
and see how good
the gold is already.
[man speaking]
How many in gold?
[Kevin] How many colors?
How many?
[man speaking]
Too many to count.
Well, that's a great
problem to have.
And you know what?
That's my favorite
kind of problem.
I wish that would
happen to be more.
Oh, yeah [bleep] yeah.
Wow.
[man] Look at this.
You see all the gold?
Because that's too
many colors to count,
you can see there's about
maybe 60 to 70
plates for a test pan.
So we're on the gold for
sure, a hundred percent.
Yeah, we're on the gold, baby.
Let's keep it rolling.
[Kris] Yeah, we're
k*lling it right now.
- [Kevin] We're on the gold!
- Well, you know what?
So right there you
saw a lot of gold.
Times that by a hundred
and twenty scoops an hour
and what the [bleep] you know?
We should be getting
something pretty good right now.
[narrator] But the Kellys
are not alone on Tomcod.
[tense music playing]
[Shawn] Well, we're
in the spot here,
gonna go ahead, spud down,
do a little prospecting.
The Tomcods' been
my life for 20 years.
I know all the
spots you wanna hit,
and the spots you wanna avoid.
And over the winter,
we hit some
seriously good stuff.
And that's what I'm
trying to tap into right now,
it'd make a perfect
start to the summer.
All right. We're
about ready to start.
Taking some test pans,
first bucket of the summer.
Right now, I'm trying
to see how deep it is.
It's deep so there
better be a lot of gold
at the bottom of
this to make it pay.
Now we got something.
All right. Let's go see
what the hell we got here.
Just because we're on
a k*ller pay in the winter,
doesn't mean we
automatically go out,
drop the bucket down
and we're on perfect gold.
Pay streaks can dry
up. They can move.
Especially after it's
been a few months
and the ice has melted.
Here we go. Let's
see what we have.
There are so many
things about this summer
that that's gonna be amazing.
One of the best things is
having my oldest son,
Dylan, on my crew.
I'm so glad to
have him out here.
I can't wait to pass
on my knowledge
to the next generation.
In the end, that's
who I'm doing this for.
Nothing on the first pans
but we're gonna try
to pull back a little bit,
see if we can find
some other color.
[Shawn] You got to
get a different example,
maybe a little deeper.
We could be right next
to a thousand ounces.
It's here somewhere.
[narrator] Back
on The Mistress...
[Kris] Do you hear the rocks
as they bounce
across the screen?
Like sounds like a train track.
That's money.
You know what? That...
You can hear the
money coming right there.
Choo-choo!
It's called, the
money train, baby.
[narrator] Captain
Kris has Reaper Nation
firmly on the tracks.
[tense music playing]
[Kevin speaking]
[bleep] yeah.
[bleep] enormous.
Okay.
My competition just
finally came to the party.
That's a super excavator,
um, four or five yards a bucket.
That's a big-a*s [bleep] arm.
You see that thing?
Look how far he can
go out there to hunt.
They don't go... Don't make it
look like we're looking at them.
Mind our own business...
[laughs] You come [indistinct]
Shawn can be super-pissed
we're out here, but whatever.
We got a job to do
and I'm not gonna worry
about precious Mr. Gold.
There's plenty of room
for another empire in Nome.
- Hey.
- Yo!
- So let's get going soon.
- Yeah. I'm ready.
Hey, just don't
worry about Shawn.
We're over here doing our thing.
[Kevin] That's for sure.
[Kris] And our test
pans look great.
- [Kevin] Yeah.
- Let's go do it.
Let's do it.
Screw Shawn.
I'm not gonna lose
any sleep over him.
I'm worried about beefing
up the Reaper Nation.
Let's go.
These guys are on gold.
I'm gonna leave 'em and go
back to the dock with Kevin.
I've got another piece
of the puzzle to get going.
- [man] Hey!
- [Kris] Yeah.
Shawn and I are
gonna be good buddies
working right next to
each other all season.
[tense music playing]
[narrator] On the Myrtle.
Not liking what I'm
seeing so far but...
Hell, you gotta check it out.
Nothing ventured,
nothing gained.
[narrator] Shawn is
still trying to jumpstart
the Pomrenke empire
for its summer campaign.
[Shawn speaking]
Looks like the [bleep]
Mistress is out here.
Kris Kelly and
James [bleep] idiots.
So little Kris Kelly
got himself an excavation barge,
must have found himself a
loophole to get on to the Tomcod.
That little punk is
out of his league
and he better tread lightly.
This is my back yard.
I've been here for years,
diving, exploring
every coordinate
and mapping it out and
coming up with a plan.
I'm not gonna take
kindly to somebody
trying to weasel in
and take advantage
of all my hard work.
He better stay the hell
away from my operation.
Don't worry about
them [bleep] later.
Later on, I'll go digging
up all around them.
But right now, I'm
gonna find some gold.
[upbeat music playing]
[Shawn] Yeah, this
looks way better.
Look at that.
I think this will be the one.
[dramatic music playing]
[man speaking]
[Dylan] Oh, yeah.
[Shawn] Oh, [bleep] yeah.
Lots of gold.
My boy has a good nose for this.
Must run in the family.
This is where we're
gonna get digging.
Not only that, I'm calling Cody,
gonna get the Christine
Rose out here too.
It's time to get this
summer started right.
[Dylan speaking]
I like to see smiling faces.
Whoa! Here we go!
[tense music playing]
[Emily] How's it going
down there, Ricardo?
How's the gold?
[Rick speaking]
Good.
[narrator] New
bride, Emily Riedel,
is trying to marry The
Eroica to gold-rich cobble.
[Rick] Oh! Ow, ow, ow, ow!
[Emily speaking]
[Rick speaking]
[Emily] Oh, no.
[narrator] But Mother
Nature has other plans.
[Rick] I'm just trying to get back
to a place where I can mine...
[grunts]
[Emily] Weather is kind of iffy.
The current just
got turbo-charged
and out of nowhere it's like
throwing us over off the spot.
We just moved like 70 feet away
from where we want to be mining.
We're dragging both anchors.
The current is ripping so hard.
This might be a
dive k*ller for us.
How are you feeling?
[Rick speaking]
[Emily] We're so far off of our
spot, where in Nowheresville.
You make the call, dude.
[Rick] I'm coming up.
[Emily] Roger. Okay.
I'll see you at the top.
[tense music playing]
[Emily] All right!
A nice juicy nugget.
We weren't down as
long as I would have liked,
but we got on gold right away.
And it's good gold too.
Oh, look at it, it's so nice.
It looks like a Z.
That freakin' box looks amazing
and there's a nice
sweet little nug in there,
so that's a good
omen for the summer.
It's a good nugget.
I'll believe we have a
nice healthy cleanup.
We're good. Strong
start for the season.
Get this boat cleaned
up and get out of here.
[narrator] One mile west...
[tense music playing]
[Vernon] Hey, Brian, you
see any gold down there?
[Brian speaking]
- [Vernon] You're my man.
- [Brian chuckles]
You know, after all this work,
getting all that stuff together,
it's a pain in the a*s,
but when you get out here
and get on the gold, it's worth it.
It really is.
[narrator] Despite
the growing pains,
Vernon Adkison's enjoying
the seemingly unending
riches on Claim 56.
[Vernon] Dive of the season.
Uh, things are looking pretty damn
good down there, don't you think?
[Brian speaking]
I think, um, we'll be
coming back here for a while.
[Brian speaking]
Hitting new ground running,
that's what we're doing.
With a new hot spot
and then all these dredges
feeding me royalties
for working on my claim,
this summer's gonna be lit.
[tense music playing]
Brian, um, something's
going on with the boat.
I say we just drug
anchor or something.
[Brian speaking]
[Vernon speaking]
I'm going... At this
point, I'm gonna stall it.
It's time for you to come up.
[Brian] All right.
[Vernon] I'll tell
you, I'mma dive,
I'm sure you put
gold in the box.
Weather's getting rough.
We got a long
season ahead of us.
I'm not taking any
chances with Brian.
We gotta keep those
ear drums kosher.
All right. Any... Anything?
- Any blood sh**ting out of any
of that... - No. No blood this time.
That's good... [laughs]
A beautiful sight.
There's no blood coming out
of the ears, or eyes, or nose.
Woo.
With day one in the books,
I'm on my way to the
best season of my life.
I can feel it.
All in all, today went good.
There's nothing like
taking it to the limit.
Good to be back.
[narrator] 12 miles west.
[tense music playing]
[Cody] Looking good.
[Shawn] Oh, there are
some cobble in there.
We're making gold right now.
[narrator] Mr. Gold
is once again
living up to his name.
[Cody] Hell, yeah.
[Shawn] We're firing
on all cylinders today.
[narrator] And
joining in on the fun.
That's some good-looking
[bleep] pay there, boy.
[narrator] Cody Moen, mans the
Christine Rose only half a mile away.
Sure on some
good-looking material.
That's a bonus.
[Shawn] Christine
Rose, Myrtle Irene.
We're having a party.
The only one that wasn't
really invited was Kris.
[Cody] Hey, dude,
we got a problem here.
[Shawn] Yeah, go ahead.
These Kellys just
will not back off me.
I can't [bleep]
believe this [bleep].
Kris and his family have
been a pain in my a*s for years.
Are you [bleep] with me?
Did you guys come find this?
- Dude, you're over there, son.
- I'm gonna follow you wherever you go.
[man speaking]
Have a good day, Shawn.
[snowmobile revs]
[Shawn] I know James has
paperwork in for the Tomcod.
But here's the thing,
this claim is massive.
Kris could mine anywhere
and I wouldn't even see him.
But that's not the case.
What's he doing?
Gonna come jump on top of us.
And I'm the guy that knows
where the gold's at on the Tomcod.
I've done the work,
I've done the research,
and now he's just trying
to be a little parasite.
Well, he is gonna get a rude
awakening the next time I see him.
I ain't gonna let him get
away with this [bleep].
[Cody] Yeah, they're
out of their element, man.
They need to back off.
There's plenty of
ground out here
for everybody to
mine a good distance
away from each other
and everybody be profitable.
There's no reason for this
[bleep] whatever [bleep] 10-4.
Yeah, 10-4.
And not like I got enough
[bleep] to worry about,
and got to worry about
everybody jumping on top of me.
I've [bleep] had [bleep]
like this happened before,
but I just deal with it
but it just gets frustrating.
Spend all day, you know,
thousands and
thousands of dollars
in fuel and labor,
coming out here [bleep]
prospect all day,
and then there's somebody
set up on your hole
'cause they don't
wanna do the work
to find the gold and
just pisses you off.
[tense music playing]
[Shawn] I need to put
some gold in the box.
I got all these guys, and fuel,
and insurance, and
payment on the claim.
There's royalty payment.
I have to make gold.
So I wanna just not worry about
these other guys and
do what I need to do.
[tense music playing]
[Shawn] I think
we are in the water.
That's a good day.
I mean, these guys are
close and it really piss you off.
But Kris, he just [bleep]
pushing his luck with me,
he has been for years.
He needs a good
a*s-kicking is all he needs.
[upbeat music playing]
[Vernon] What do
you think there, Brian?
I mean, we got a pretty
good day of dredging
and you were seeing gold.
[Brian] So I saw some
chunkies that might add up.
[narrator] Vernon Adkison
is looking for his first bite
of the golden apple this summer.
Only one way to find
out, let's clean it up.
We had to call an
audible on the first day,
find a new pay streak
and find a new
pay streak we did.
And it looks pretty damn good.
Great way to start the summer.
Yeah, this is the best part of
the whole process right here.
This is when you see the payoff
for all your effort
and hard work.
[Brian] Well, maybe they're a
little bit better than I thought.
I'll tell you, that's a pretty
tasty little pile of gold right there.
[Brian] Yeah.
[Vernon] Well, let's pour it up.
See what we got.
[tense music playing]
Call it up, three, four, five.
[Brian] 6.3.
- Good days' wages.
- Oh, yeah.
[narrator] 6.37 ounces
is worth over $11,000.
Not too shabby for
a shortened dive.
So we didn't get
down a full day.
Only one diver
down. I'll take it.
It's a decent start.
We're just getting going.
It's a good sign that the gold
is still waiting for us on 56.
Now we just need
to put in the hours
and the kingdom is in the bag.
All right.
It's not yippee-ki-yay
but I'll take it.
Ain't bad for a one-day haul.
[narrator] On the
outskirts of town.
[tense music playing]
[Emily] Cleanup time.
How many cleanups have
you done in your shower, Rick?
[Rick laughs] A few.
A few?
[narrator] It's Emily Riedel's
first cleanout in nearly a year.
[Emily] Nice.
See how the box looked like
it was pretty well distributed.
[narrator] And she's looking
to make up for lost time.
[Emily] This is the
last little bit for the cube
and then, um,
we'll, uh, be ready
for the finishing stages here.
I'm not delusional.
I know I've got a
lot of work to do
to get back
everything I've lost.
We have a little bit
of a trough going.
- [Rick] You got it?
- Yeah, I got it.
And build up the bank
roll to at least 250 ounces
for, uh, me and my husband,
and our future
plans depends on it.
[man] First cleanup of the trip.
[Emily] All right.
Let's see how we did.
Two, six, nine,
[man] Sixteen.
Is it 17, 18...
- [man] Yeah.
- [Emily] Woo-hoo!
[narrator] 18.35 ounces
is worth over $33,000
and Emily started the
season with a major statement.
Doing pretty good.
It's awesome.
Not a bad first cleanout.
- [man] Yeah.
- We're in over an ounce, an hour a grand.
Yeah. I'm down with that.
We need to stick
out there for a while.
If it's this good on
a shortened dive,
then the gold must be amazing.
I'm shaking off the rust
and we're off and running.
- Bam!
- Bam!
Bam!
[Emily laughs]
Good first start, guys.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] Back in Nome.
[Kevin] We need to
get this up and running.
- I mean...
- [Kris] We will.
Two extra feet puts us in a whole
other little area that nobody's mined.
[Kris] Look at how
new this thing looks.
It's gonna be great.
[narrator] Ah, the life
of a gold mining mogul
with the Mistress
already on Tomcod gold
and Father Brad and brother Andy
putting the extensive
final touches
on the new Reaper.
It's time for Captain Kris
to check in on his newly
purchased upgraded excavator.
This machine right here will give
me an extra half a yard per scoop.
So it's like doing the same job
but getting a 30% raise all day.
I love 30% extra.
[phone rings]
James, what's up, man?
[James] Oh, dude,
we're on hot gold
but we got a little
bit of an issue, man.
Okay, what's going on?
[James] Um, I got the
Christine Rose probably
maybe 40 yards from me.
They're [bleep]
interrupting our lines,
jumping like right on our spot.
[bleep] Dude.
What the [bleep] is
going on out there?
[James] Dude,
it's [bleep] stupid.
They're supposed
to be 900 feet away.
That's [bleep]
regulation, that's law.
They're [bleep] right
in my [bleep] dive zone.
They're off one of my buoys
[bleep] jumped my buoy.
[Kris] Dude, I'm
gonna get down there.
I'm gonna get on the skiff
and I'll be there
in like 30 minutes.
[James] All right. 'Cause
I'm [bleep] pissed, man.
This is [bleep] stupid.
[Kris] Yeah, this is stupid.
Stay on gold 'cause
that's our concern
right now is staying on gold.
You know, we've worked
really hard to get to this place.
We don't need Shawn
trying to bully us.
You know, like we'll [bleep]
run right over that little barge.
[James] Oh, no [bleep] dude,
I'm gonna [bleep] flood
their box full of water
and blow out all their gold.
Okay. Look, don't
do anything rash.
I'll be there in 20
minutes, okay?
Don't do anything rash.
So basically Shawn's
messing with us,
trying to intimidate us.
He thinks he's the big
player up here in Nome.
And he thinks I'm
supposed to run away
when he tells me to.
But you know what? The
game in Nome is changing.
I've worked for years
to get to this point
and I have a little
daughter to support now.
I'm not gonna back
down from anyone.
Screw that.
Let's roll.
They're right next to us.
They're on our line of gold.
So he jumped
right in front of us.
- What?
- I don't know what the [bleep] is going on.
Oh, [bleep] I was
having a good day.
[upbeat music playing]
[Vernon] Hey, Janet.
[Janet] Hey, Vernon.
Nice to see you.
Let's see what, uh, the
tolls have to say today.
[narrator] And now another
episode of Social Hour with Vernon.
[Vernon speaking]
Wyatt Earp really, truly
is one of my heroes.
I mean, he shaped America.
So, uh, have I been
mining gold since 1804?
No, I'm not quite that old.
I mean, do the arithmetic.
I was born in '46.
No, I did not.
I did not ask for one.
I don't need one.
I'm old. I got money.
It's the old people that's
got the frigging money.
And now I take it as an insult
when they ask me,
are you a senior?
Well [bleep] business is
it of yours if I'm a senior?
And you want to give
me a discount now?
Where was you when I was
like 20 and I needed the money?
Now I got enough [bleep]
money to burn a wet stump with
and you wanna give me
a discount [bleep] you.
And I mean that from the heart.
[narrator] This has
been another episode
of Social Hour with Vernon.
What's the damage there, Janet?
- [Janet] It's 14.
- Fourteen?
That's with the senior discount.
[laughs]
[tense music playing]
[Kris] Comes right next
to us first chance he gets.
[man] Dude, I don't get
that. The ocean is huge.
What's he doing 50
feet away from my boat?
Trying to [bleep] stop
me from making it.
That's what he's doing.
That's why we're
gonna go out there.
We're gonna wrap
this is in right now.
[narrator] With the Mistress
and the Christine Rose
headed for a showdown,
Reaper Nation Chief,
Kris Kelly heads
for battle stations.
[Kris] Nobody steals
anything from me.
- [Kevin] Yeah.
- [Kris] We're gonna go out there
and we're gonna
handle this like men.
Okay, Kevin, let's
rock and roll, baby.
Warp speed [bleep].
When Shawn goes and tries to make
trouble for me, I'm not gonna back down.
I'm determined to
join the heavy weights
and nothing's gonna stop me.
[Kevin] Wow. That's
crazy. They are close.
[Kris speaking]
Give him a little
wave as we pass by.
- [Kevin] Yeah.
- Hey.
Well, I'm glad to know
they feel threatened.
Come on, let's go on the
boat and make some money.
- Hey, what's up, buddy?
- [man] Hey.
[Kris] He's [bleep]
pissing me off.
- What's up, dude?
- [Kevin] What's going on, James?
They jumped my buoy.
That's my [bleep] spot.
This is a bunch of
[bleep] bull [bleep]
[James speaking]
Let's swing our a*s right
into their [bleep] face.
Protect our area.
[James speaking]
- [Kris] Let's do it.
- [Kevin] Let's play hardball.
- [James speaking]
- [Kris] Spud up.
Let's rock and roll, baby.
[engine whirring]
[Kris] Stand by!
Right now we're gonna
move into position
and defend our hole.
No one's taking [bleep]
from me this season.
We're going to
w*r it looks like.
We're gonna take
this fight to them!
Yeah, baby! Let's move out!
[tense music playing]
Keep going!
We're getting really
[bleep] close now.
[bleep] them.
They think this is their ocean.
I don't think so.
I'm here to stay.
Okay. We're in position!
And we're locked!
We're ready to work.
It's all about the gold.
Come on, James. Let's do it!
[intense music playing]
Look at this right here, man!
Look at this bucket, baby!
Yeah, eat it!
Yeah, it's gonna
be a great game!
[Kevin] Oh, yeah.
Pomrenke and his minions
think they can scare us off,
but we're not backing down.
We're right in the perfect spot
and we're gonna load
up on that sweet cobble.
Reaper Nation is taking over
whether Shawn likes it or not.
[Kevin] Yeah! Yeah!
You know, the ground I'm on
right now is what they're after.
This is never ending cobble.
It's absolutely loaded.
Uh, this is definitely some of
the better gold I've seen in years.
So if Shawn wants to
[bleep] with me, I can handle it.
You know, he wants a
[bleep] w*r, I'll give him one.
He's gonna [bleep] lose.
[tense music playing]
[Kris] [bleep] they're
right next to our bucket.
He better not [bleep] my machine
up 'cause he's breaking the law.
What's going on right
now is a little battle
and it's super against the law.
You know what, in
reality, I was here first
[bleep] encroaches my area.
Back in the day, I bet you could
sh**t somebody over this [bleep].
Well, here we go.
They're coming closer.
He's making it
dangerous right now.
[Kevin speaking]
[Kris] He's getting mad back.
We are [bleep] [indistinct]
[tense music playing]
[Kevin speaking]
What the [bleep].
So they wanna drop
material on the [bleep] barge.
Those [bleep] pieces of [bleep].
[bleep] him.
[Kris] What the
[bleep] is going on?
I'm pissed.
Turn on the water
hose and spray them.
Water blast them, dog.
Battle station!
Hey, water blast them!
They threw rocks on my
barge. Now we're blasting them.
Another day at the Bering Sea
and it's all-out
w*r, and I love it.
Ready?
Are you ready?
Yeah.
[Kevin] Yeah!
Yeah!
[Kris] I'm not a [bleep] coward.
I'm not gonna be bullied.
I'm not gonna be pushed around.
You're not gonna stop
me from making money.
I gotta make this happen.
[narrator] Just a
quarter mile away.
[Shawn] Piece of
[bleep] Kris Kelly.
Stupid little [bleep]
Idiots on the Mistress
do it ill*gal [bleep].
Kris is about ready to
get his [bleep] a*s kicked
thinking he's [bleep]
gonna jump on our spot
and [bleep] [bleep]
with my guys?
That [bleep]
doesn't fly with me.
The situation has
hit a boiling point.
I got plans for the summer.
If this keeps going on,
it's never gonna work.
I think it's time for
that little punk and I
have it out face-to-face.
Hey, guys, uh...
[Shawn speaking]
[Shawn] All right,
sounds good to me.
[bleep] waste my
[bleep] damn [bleep] time
with this stupid [bleep].
Kris Kelly and Tattoo Face
are gonna get a rude awakening
about who in the [bleep] I am.
Gold game is always competitive,
but Kris is
pushing it past that.
It's not a friendly
little competition.
This is w*r.
And I don't plan on losing.
This [bleep]
[indistinct] laid out!
[narrator] Coming up this season
on Bering Sea Gold.
[Shawn] I've had
it with Kris Kelly.
I'm gonna beat his a*s.
[Kris] I'm ready for the world
to come against me right now.
I'm not gonna quit.
[man speaking]
- [man] That's huge!
- [woman] Woo! Oh, my gosh.
- Yeah.
- That's a lot of money down there.
Yeah, baby!
The gold first and safety last.
Whatever it takes.
[man] Hand got
completely crushed.
We're going to the ER.
[man screaming]
[man] There's a storm coming in.
It is rough.
[Vernon] Abandon
ship! Abandon ship!
- [man] He flipped over.
- This is all very crazy.
I'm just as horny
as the next guy.
Don't get me wrong.
[Shawn] I'm gonna knock
you the [bleep] out, Kris.
You stupid [bleep].
He can take that barge and
ram it right up his [bleep] a*s.
Get the [bleep] out of my face.
Yeah, what are you gonna do?
It's go time!
Hey, you wanna fight [bleep]?
- [laughs]
- Go, go, go, go.
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15x01 - The Empire Strikes Back
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The show follows boats equipped with various setups to achieve gold mining in a summertime, cold northern latitude, shallow water, ocean environment.
The show follows boats equipped with various setups to achieve gold mining in a summertime, cold northern latitude, shallow water, ocean environment.