04x07 - Seeking the Catch

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
the vast bering sea --

Over a million square miles

Of the world's most violent
and unpredictable waters...

And home
of the deadliest catch --

Alaskan crab.

Yahoo!

The final days of king-crab
season are in sight,

And the race is on
to cash in one last time.

Everybody wonders why I smoke
like a [bleep] choo-choo train.

Narrator: for some, the end
is right around the corner.

Keith: 73.

Oh-h*-h*!

For others, it'll be a bitter
fight to the finish.

We're never going home.

Narrator: the men are pushed
to the brink,

Facing k*ller waves...

Now, there's a big one
coming here.

Man: whoa-h*-h*-h*!

And the tension on deck
is ready to explode...

Your brother's
[bleep] loopy, man!

...before their final
off-load...

Wow!
...of the deadliest catch.

Hang on.

[ Mid-tempo rock music plays ]

Narrator: 185 miles north
of dutch harbor,

The north american
plies through heavy seas

Trying to hunt down their gear.

I'm looking for the first pot
here in the string.

They're really spread out,
and they've been so frustrating.

Narrator:
skipper sten skaar is down

To just 10 days
to fill his quota.

But tracking down his pots
at night is a shot in the dark.

Sten:
the lighting on this boat,
I kind of forgot, it's awful.

Yeah.

It's pretty dark,
isn't it, eric?

Eric: yeah.

Narrator: most boats
in the fleet are equipped

With powerful
sodium forward lights,

But not the north american.

Even with gps, in the dark,

It's easy to miss buoys
by just a matter of yards.

Sten: 56°56'.

56°56'32".

There's something
on the bow there.

Is that a buoy?

That's a duck.

There it is.
It's coming out.

Oh, yeah, there you go.

Miss!

That sucks.

Working all the bugs out.

I missed a pot. Now I got to
turn around and go back.

Narrator: with only 27,000
pounds of crab on board,

Captain sten still needs 22,000
more to fill his tanks.

It's awful to be late, you know?

It's always catch-up,
and it's impossible to catch up.

Man: here it comes.

Oh, wow.

We got something here!

Man #2: oh, yeah!

[ Indistinct shouting ]

Narrator:
after spending their first four
days out pulling blanks,

Optimism is creeping up
on the crew.

This pot is half full.

Looks good.
Looks good.

Coming over. Ready?

Over.

39!
Awesome.

We got 39,
almost 40 on the first.

That's great.

Narrator:
they've landed on the crab.

The challenges
for the deckhands, however,

Are just starting.

Arket: we're a little rusty
right now.

We're still getting
into the work of things.

I don't know what's going on.

Kind of nerve-racking,
that's for sure.

Man:
got to get a system down.

Everyone's new to this boat,
so you got to get one.

We don't have one yet.

Crazy out here.

Narrator:
it's been a long three-year
off-season for the crew.

They need to find a rhythm.

And making the job on deck
even tougher --

They're working without
a crucial piece of equipment.

We're using totes right now
'cause we sold our table.

So it's kind of difficult.

Have to make
a little adjustment.

Narrator:
without a table,

The deckhands face hours of
bending, stooping, and sorting.

And as the weather picks up...

John:
watch the tote!

...they need to constantly dodge
sliding totes,

Especially the ones stuffed
with hundreds of pounds of crab.

Man: they're all over
the place.

It gets dangerous
when these things

Are choked full of crab, too,
and you're in rough weather.

Turn your back on them
for a second,

Next thing you know, they come
sliding underneath you,

Take your knees right off.

John: heads up.

He's doing that
so the totes don't slide.

That's what eric's doing.

Narrator:
heavy seas, lousy lighting,
and runaway totes on deck.

This out-of-practice crew
will need a miracle

To fill their quota
and go home victorious.

Fishing, man. Got to take
the good with the bad.

That's fishing, you know.

Narrator: 43 miles to the south
of the north american,

The sun rises over the wizard.

[ Birds screeching ]

Hoping to cross the finish line
before the rest of the fleet,

Captain keith laid out
a 60-pot hail mary

On grounds he hasn't fished in
for nearly 30 years.

We're in striking distance of
having this thing wrapped up.

We got 168,000 pounds.

We got about, hopefully,
80,000 sitting in the gear.

We want to try and get in
and out of here.

Narrator: and the gamble
could come at a painful price.

The gear is set in an area
known around the fleet

As "the slime bank."

There's notoriously bad
jellyfish

Right through this area.

In the late '80s,

There was phenomenal
crab fishing going on here.

First buoy right here.
Where's your spot?

It's gonna be our new spot.
Maybe, maybe not.

This is either gonna be
a hero shot or a zero shot.

I want these strings to show,

You know, what kind of
fisherman I am.

Ain't got [bleep]

What the [bleep]

A [bleep] empty pot.

Ohh, wow.

There aren't any crab here.

That hurts!

Zero!

First blank of the year.
Totally blank.

It's not good.

Anything in it?

Son of a...

Leveen: currently, this is
our third goose egg.

So prospects don't look good.

Narrator:
for most of the season,

The wizard has pulled
high numbers.

Now the greenhorns
are getting a lesson

In why their occupation is
called "fishing" not "catching."

We're just picking empty pots.
It sucks. It sucks bad.

Just backbreaking work
for nothing right now.

You try to not get it
in your eyes at all.

It stings really bad.

Nasty stuff.

You get that all over your face,
you'll know it right away.

Keith: first 12 pots
and we are off to a big,

Blazing blank count.

Another big-money pot.

The slime bank looks like
it's not gonna be our bank.

We're at 19 pots,
and we've got 19 blanks.

Right now, it looks like
the decision's being made for me

That this gear's gonna come on,

And we're gonna take it
back up the hill.

We're gonna have to find
somewhere up the hill, though,

Where the fleet
hasn't really hammered yet.

Narrator:
striking out this big

Is a blow
to the skipper's wallet...

...and a tough hit to his ego.

Keith: I mean,
I'm not comparing myself

To anybody that's playing
a professional sport,

But, you know, this is
a professional business.

It's a select group of guys,

And we're definitely
very competitive.

There's no question about that.

I want to do well every time.

One.

Narrator: keith gives the order
to stack all 60 pots

And head to new grounds.

Nasty place to fish.

Narrator: coming up,
mother nature strikes.

Johnathan: oh, look at that wave
he just got hit by.

He's down!

Narrator: 270 miles northeast
of dutch harbor,

Captain johnathan hillstrand
of the time bandit

Is also testing out remote,
seldom-fished grounds.

I've seen them up on the side
of this hill I set.

This is one of my old
secret hot spots

Where the string ends up.

So I came here.

Hopefully, it's not
a blank spot here.

Narrator: they have 36 hours
to catch 98,000 more pounds

Of king crab before heading in
for their final off-load.

There was nobody here but us.

Narrator: there are no
other boats in sight,

But last night's storm blew
an unexpected visitor on deck.

Ended up with us.

Busted up like most of us
on this boat.

Is he saying,
"I want to go in the water"?

You hear the sound
he's making?

I'd leave him right there,
just let him be now.

I think he'd be better
in the water.

That ain't the way of nature,
my friend.

I say let him go free
where they were born.

They got people in king cove
that'll take care of him

And try to fix his wing
and send him back in the wild.

They'll eat him
for, like, soup.

Just leave him alone.
Don't touch him.

Don't touch the [bleep]

Well, he wants the bird
to suffer

And, like, die a slow death.

What do you think's gonna happen
in the water?

He'll be wet.

He's gonna get eaten
by other animals,

And that's the circle
of life.

That's what we have to deal with
around here.

If I fall in, what do you
think's gonna happen to me?

They're gonna eat my a*s!

If you break your leg,

I'm gonna throw you
in the water.

Yeah, if I break
my leg --

Yeah, I won't try to take you
to town, fix your leg,

And then throw you in the water,
release you later.

Narrator: captain johnathan
overrules younger brother andy.

I'm gonna leave the bird
to die a slow death.

Captain andy out.

And, at least for now,

The cormorant is a welcome
stowaway aboard the time bandit.

Johnathan: but the karma --
what are you gonna do?

Are you gonna help him out?
What are you gonna do?

That's karma.

Narrator: on deck, a little good
karma might come in handy.

The crew has 19 pots to pull,

And the weather
is coming up fast.

If you look over here,

I'll show you my least favorite
color in the whole world.

It's everything over my head

And between my hands that way.

It's called aleutian gray,
and we hate it.

Narrator: the billowing,
gray clouds on the horizon

Are the leading edge
of a storm front

That will collide
with the time bandit

In a matter of hours.

But johnathan will keep fishing

Until the weather
shuts them down.

Hold on!

Here you go, buddy.
Here's some water for you.

Got to get squawky to town.
Squawky's under a deadline.

Squawky might die.

[ Birds screeching ]

I'll be glad
when the weather comes down.

Narrator: with the wind
and waves on the rise,

Johnathan decides it's just
too dangerous on deck...

For squawky.

Jonathan: [ chuckling ]
he's writing his last will

And testament out there.

Narrator: he'll be
much more comfortable

In the captain's quarters.

You want some food?
Here's some food.

Here's some more water.

[ Squawking ]

Here's some water here.
Here you go.

How's the bird doing?

He's doing okay.
Squawky is doing all right.

His name's squawky now?
I thought it was "woody."

I gave squawky a new bowl
of water,

And he jumped in it
and sat in it.

Sounds like a bird.

Yeah, we're surfing
now, baby.

Surfing a 114-foot surfboard
right here.

[ Laughs ]

That was...

[ Laughs ]

Little slippery.
Things to trip over.

Squawky, he's not eating.

I just -- I don't care.

I put him outside
so he has fresh air

And is not so freaked out.

Oh, look at that wave
he just got hit by.

He's down!

Russ is down!

[ Laughs ]

His eyes were bigger
than those glasses, dude,

When he went flying.

[ Laughs ]

He was sliding diagonal
like this,

And I just seen his head
go by the table.

The rogue came -- pow! --
Hit him -- right out of nowhere.

Johnathan:
russell's k*lling me, man.

I wouldn't be laughing except
he's not hurt or nothing.

I'm not evil, man.
[ Laughs ]

Narrator: by the end
of the string,

The time bandit pulled on
3,000 pounds of crab.

All right, brother.
Well, we lived through that one.

As the crew heads inside
to rest and recover,

Johnathan heads outside
to check on his new pet.

I see his little box back there.

Squawky's gone.

[ Ominous music plays ]

He's not here.

He's been a pain
in our [bleep] a*s.

Freeloader.

Mother nature put him here,

And then mother nature
took him back.

Hopefully, he's happy now,

But he's probably
out there squawking.

Probably out there bitching
about something else,

Like most of us on this boat.

That's the way it works.

Narrator:
195 miles to the southwest,

After a 3-hour nap,

Captain phil harris is back
at the helm

Of the 128-foot cornelia marie.

We got gear to the north.
We got gear to the south.

We're kind of right smack
in the middle.

Narrator: the fishing
on phil's southern strings

Has been mediocre at best.

While he plots a course
to head back up the hill,

Down in the galley,
his oldest son, josh,

Does some plotting of his own.

I was thinking about making
a sandwich for the old man

'Cause he never gets out
of his chair or has time to.

He needs to eat something
beside smoke cigarettes

And drink energy drinks.

Narrator: this season, since
phil won't take care of himself,

Josh is busting his hump on deck

And playing nurse
to dear old dad.

Once we get that
taken care of...

Currently getting some energy
drinks for the old man.

You know, every pot
that you set can't be
filled to the top.

Find us some decent crab
in our pots

When I wake up
in the morning.

For you, buddy!

I can't believe
they did that.

An egg/sausage sandwich.

Not the healthiest, but at least
it's got egg in it, so...

That's one of
his fave sandwiches.

And he's probably
not expecting it

'Cause he never plans on eating.

It's like a sick diet of energy
drinks, cigarettes, and coffee.

Then you throw on something like
this, and he feels pretty good.

Then he's easier on us, so it's
kind of a win/win situation.

He's got to eat,
or else he gets sick.

Ah-choo! Ah-choo!

There you go.
That's for you.

Thank you, buddy.

It's not too gourmet,
but it'll be up your alley.

Just eat something.

Thanks.

You want a water
or anything?

Yeah. Please.

Narrator: coming up...

Heavy seas...

Someone will get k*lled
if I'm not watching.

...and deadly steel.

Narrator: 270 miles northeast
of dutch harbor,

The time bandit
is turning and burning,

Banking 35,000 pounds of crab
in just 12 hours.

Someone will [bleep] get k*lled
if I'm not watching, you know?

Someone will get hurt
or something bad will happen.

Narrator:
the fishing is good,

But the storm front they were
keeping an eye on earlier

Is right back on top of them.

Newberry: it seems our weather
has deteriorated.

Our weather is getting bad.

Johnathan:
if it gets rough out,

I can't run and grab something
to drink or eat

Or take a piss or nothing, man.

I got to take a leak out that
back window, like, in godspeed.

The deck's really slippery.
You got to watch out.

It can get real dangerous
real quickly.

Man: hang on.

One slip and you'll be,
like, broken ankle,

Knock yourself out,
break your arm on the way out.

This is a good one.

61.

Whoa!

Oh.

Narrator:
as the launcher raised up,

The pot broke free,
nearly crushing the crew.

The dog didn't hold the pot in,

And the pot flipped out
of the launcher.

That's when guys get hurt.

Whoa!

Narrator:
dogs are the mechanical hooks

That secure the pot
to the launcher.

When the dogs fail,
the result can be fatal.

That could k*ll a guy
right there, my friend.

Narrator:
complicating an already volatile
mix of work and weather,

The time bandit's rookie,
greenhorn shea,

Is working the rail.

Man: that's a miss.

Strike one.

He was just saying
how he was the best.

Hang on. Watch out.
Watch out. Watch out.

Block, man.

That is
greenhorn-maneuverable stuff.

We gonna haul some gear, or are
you gonna dodge the weather?

Aw, come on!

Narrator: with the season
drawing to a close

And wicked weather
to contend with...

New plan.

...johnathan puts his most
seasoned deckhand on the hook.

Russell hasn't missed a shot
all season.

Whoo! Coming in hot!

Russell does not miss.

[ Triumphant music plays ]

I'm still better than he is,
hands down.

Johnathan:
every throw for russell
is like life-or-death.

He don't miss.
He makes it count.

That's the difference between
your -- a lot of guys.

He'll miss.

[ Laughs ]

Andy:
you got to be accurate

'Cause you're throwing
about a 5-pound hook.

Russell's throwing
perfect hook shots.

Pulling on them backwards
and upside down,

He's still gonna get the block.

I haven't missed yet now.

Johnathan: well,
here's a backwards one here.

Russell's gonna miss.

This is the last...last pot.

[ Cheering ]

Everyone's just cheering
'cause he just missed.

Oh, that made my night.

But, no, he did not miss!

[ Laughs ]

Whoo!

Take that
over the rail, man.

Whoo!

Russell's a veteran.

He knows what to do
and when to do it,

How to do it the easiest way,

Get the same job done
in three moves

As it takes guys
six, seven moves.

Shake and bake.

Shake and bake.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: next, the future's
unclear for captain phil.

I'm just getting worried
about you, man.

I want to see you around
for a little while.

Narrator: while the
time bandit boys rest up

From hauling in
big, steady crab,

75 Miles to the southwest
on the cornelia marie,

Captain phil harris' luck has
roller-coastered up and down.

Now, after weeks of prospecting,

He's still trying to dial in
to steady numbers.

I don't have any of the answers.

I'm just struggling to do
the best I can do for us.

You don't realize
what a mind screw this job is.

I mean, you're in charge
of every [bleep] thing,

Everything on this boat --

When they eat, when they sleep,
what you catch,

How much you catch,
where you go, what you do.

The whole damn thing is riding

On my decisions,
on everything I do.

Everybody wonders why I smoke
like a [bleep] choo-choo train.

Gee, I wonder why?

Narrator:
the stress has taken a toll

On phil's nerves
and his overall health.

I've felt better.
I'm getting a cold, you know.

So I got a sore throat.

It's not fun, but it doesn't
change anything.

Narrator: with just 90,000
pounds of crab on board,

It's make-or-break time

As phil nudges up
to another prospect string.

[ Whirring ]

Right there.

[ Laughs ]

That's what we want to see.

We're not talking just keepers.
We're talking hubcaps, dude.

Oh, yeah. Golden.

94, Baby.
That's a good pot.

94.

That's sweet.

Yeah! That's what's
called fishing!

Narrator: the good numbers
boost spirits on deck.

But up in the wheelhouse,

Phil's got a new dose of stress
from his processor.

Bye-bye.

[ Radio squawks ]

Well, today's wednesday.

They want me in there
on saturday before noon.

I have no idea
what I'm gonna do.

Narrator: the numbers will have
to hold for the cornelia marie

To have a prayer of making
their new off-load date.

Ah-choo! Ah-choo!

Ah-choo! Ah-choo!

Ah-choo! Ah-choo!

Ah-choo!

96? Spread your fingers
really wide.

Somebody grab him and [bleep]
crank on your [bleep]

Like electricity's
running through your body.

Spread the [bleep] fingers.

Just spread your [bleep]
fingers so I can see.

Give me a five.
Dave does it.

Why can't you?

Is it a struggle
to open them fingers up?

Give me a count again.

Dave, give me the [bleep]
show him how to do that.

See this?
See what he's doing?

You lame a*s.

[ Laughter ]

What the [bleep] is that?

♪ Baby, it's all right,
all right ♪

♪ This is what work you've got
by a damn sight ♪

♪ You know it was... ♪

♪ Someone's coming down ♪

♪ Anyone else could do a damn
sight better here and now ♪

♪ This is all you've done
by a damn sight ♪

Would you like a break?

Just a half hour.

Okay, buddy.

Thanks.

Narrator: after 26 hours
of sitting in his chair,

Phil heads down
to his stateroom,

Hoping to get some
peace and quiet.

[ Knock on door ]

What's going on there,
chief?

I heard you're not feeling
too well.

I think I just got a cold.

It's probably all
this clean living I'm doing.

Clean living?
Yeah.

Oh. You smoke like it's going
out of style, man.

You're constantly pounding back
the red bulls.

I don't even know how many
gallons of coffee

You drink a day.
You hardly ever eat.

I just get worried
about you, man.

Thanks for worrying.

I want to see you around
for a little while.

Oh, I'll be around
for a while.

Yeah. I hope so.

Anyway, I'll let you get
some snooze time in, man.

Just making sure
you're all right.

See, this is new-school
versus old-school.

Old-school, unless, like,
you can't move

And someone's got to carry you
to the doctor,

You know, then that's the only
time you typically go.

But, you know,
in your case,

Someone might be carrying you
in a [bleep] casket

To the doctor if you don't
just go check yourself out.

If I think I need to go
to the doctor, I'll go.

Typical fisherman.

Get out of here.
Yeah, all right.

Phil: he's a great kid.
Both of them are.

And I know they both care.
You know, they really do.

I can tell it's gonna take
something drastic in his life

For him to change his lifestyle,
bottom line.

Narrator: coming up...

Tension threatens to end
the north american season

Before it starts.

Your brother's
[bleep] loopy, man!

Narrator: 185 miles north
of dutch harbor,

The north american
plows through 15-foot seas.

Captain sten skaar
has divided his gear

In hopes of conquering the crab.

Two different areas,
haul half the gear a day.

If one area out-seeds the other,

I can always move the gear in
and consolidate.

But at least for now
in the beginning,

Get things kind of situated
and spread out.

Narrator: with only a few days
left to catch their quota,

The pressure on deck is intense.

You got the launcher down.

Launcher down!

In order to get the next pot
in there fast enough,

You need to have
the launcher down

So it doesn't slide underneath.

I'll stand here
and hang onto the line

Till we let the launcher down
if it makes you happy.

Good.

Narrator:
with the clock ticking

And under huge pressure
from his father,

Deck boss john
wants to save time

By dropping the launcher
to the deck

And placing the next pot

Before the lines and buoys of
the falling one clear the rail.

We're gonna let the launcher
down now for john.

He seems to think it's faster.
I can't see it.

It's just a little faster.
Sorry.

It's just a little
faster.
[Bleep]

Narrator: veteran davin ness'
main concern is safety

And wants to leave
the launcher up

Until the lines and buoys of
the falling pots clear the deck.

You got to get the pot in
before the launcher's down.

Bring the launcher down.
It's very simple. Bring it down.

A very simple --
something that's very simple.

He's trying to make a point.
What? I have no idea.

Sten:
john, maybe, is feeling a little
intimidated, too, you know?

There's veterans
coming on the boat,

And john's usually been
the main guy.

And you can learn from anybody,
you know?

No one is self-made.

Just faster the way I set it.
So, you know, it's very simple.

Guess I'll just have to show you
when I set.

Oh, please do.

I will.

The god of line.

Man:
make sure it's next!

Watch what the [bleep]
you're doing.

Get that [bleep]
launcher up.

[Bleep] freak.

Narrator: dropping the launcher
can save a fraction of time,

But at a potentially
dangerous cost.

If that buoy would have got
caught on that line,

The pot would have shot back,

And I was standing right there,
and I saw the whole thing.

If that buoy would have got
caught on that --

The buoy's sh**ting out --
the buoy's not gonna stop.

Now it's gonna pull
the whole pot at me.

I feel more comfortable
throwing lines,

Getting rid
of the lines first.

I've never seen it.
It's always done the same thing.

Oh, really? Okay.
Well, that's fine.

If you can't convert,
that's fine.

Just keep on doing it
that way.

But when a pot comes up --

Your brother's
[bleep] loopy, man!

I'm getting a little offended.

The best thing we can do
is find a rhythm.

We're on a time limit, too,
if you don't remember.

Find a rhythm, johnny.
Find a rhythm.

Time limit, too,
my friend.

We're trying to learn
the system here, buddy.

You just came on the boat,
my friend.

Okay.
You just came
on the boat.

It's very simple.

I can tell you one thing,
all right?

Going faster and faster
and faster

Out of anger isn't gonna [bleep]
fix anything!

It's not about speed.
It's not about speed.

Oh, yeah? Well, then
don't make it about speed.

It's about bringing
the launcher down, and a pot --

That part I get.

Bringing the pot
into the launcher

When the launcher's still up
to make a point --

That I don't see.

I don't go for any
of that either.
I agree with that.

All right. All right.
Truce.

Ah, there we go.
There's a handshake.

There we go.

Right on. You bet.

Man:
we got a four-man crew.

This boat's never had
a four-man crew.

We had fishing out of totes.

This boat never fished
out of totes.

We're fishing with pots
that this boat never had before.

Things got to change
a little bit.

I don't look at it
like the "deck boss."

We're all so experienced
on here.

But, at the same time, I would
say, ultimately, on deck,

I would have
the final say, yeah.

I'm sorry you're --

Apparently, you have
to go to school again.

Hey, I'm sorry
you're offended, davin.

I'm really sorry.

I apologize for that, that
you're offended, all right?

Throwing shots, closing doors,
throwing bags,

And doing the launcher --
how much faster can you go?

What are you gonna do?
They got to work it out.

They're mature adults,

So, hopefully,
they can come to a compromise.

Narrator:
40 miles to the south,

The wizard has spent
the last 24 hours

Setting strings on new grounds.

After pulling 19 empty pots
at the slime bank,

Keith is looking
for better numbers

And some more excitement.

Keith: you know what?

I don't get a real rush out
of hauling scratch fishing.

Man, I'm an adrenaline junkie.

Narrator: after 24 hours
of backbreaking work,

They have 150 pots soaking --
another big gamble,

And captain keith
is hoping to cash in.

We're about to spot-check
our first pot.

I need each one of these pots
to catch 50 crab.

I'm done.

Man: whoo-hoo!
We got a good one, buddy!

Oh, yeah.

[ Telephone rings ]
oh, yeah!

Phone! Crab!

70?

73.

Oh-h*-h*-h*-h*!

Whoo!

Man: yeah, baby!

Ooh, lenny.

Keith: I don't know.

I think probably all fishermen
are trophy hunters.

Isn't that why we do it?

Narrator: if they can keep
this pace up,

The wizard will be ready
for their final off-load

In a matter of days.

Leveen:
keith made his decision,

And here we are in the land
of plenty.

[ Rope cracks ]

Come on.

What's going on?

That [bleep] thing
broke again.

The well broke right here.

There's a little piece of it
right there.

It just broke.

When the boat came north
this year, we took a wave,

And a couple pots broke loose
and came flying down the deck,

Snapped off the arm
on the coiler.

We took it in and had it welded.

Now I come to find out

That's potentially gonna bite us
in the butt.

We asked them to reinforce this
with some other stock,

And they didn't do it.

Narrator: until they can
get back to town,

There's no way to fix
the broken coiler.

You know what?
We've got 25 pots here.

Well, let's get them
on here.

Haul them by hand.

After what you guys
went through,

Got to get them on here.
Good luck.

All right, well, I knew
there'd be days like this.

Narrator:
without the coiler working,
hauling pots will slow.

We could very well
be hand-coiling

For the rest of this trip.

Man, do it like the old days.
That's fine.

Man: just fine.

I mean, there's
definitely an art

To hand-coiling and doing it
and not k*lling yourself.

I mean, the guy that doesn't
know what he's doing

Could just wipe himself out.

Arms, back, everything
could go like that.

Like riding a bicycle!

It's about not pulling
on the line.

You got to let it
kind of come to you.

The good news is, is that we're
catching a bunch of crab.

There's probably 50
in that one, too.

That's what we want to do
is catch crab.

We'll do whatever it takes
to get them in the tank

And get the hell out of here.

Narrator: coming up...

Watch out on the rail, man.
There's a big one coming here.

Man: whoa!

Narrator:
160 miles north of dutch harbor.

After a brutally slow start
pulling pots of junk crab,

Captain sig and the northwestern
are on the grind.

They have 85,000 more pounds
to catch,

And mother nature
is not making it easy.

It's just real sloppy.

It's not the greatest
of fishing, but it's doable.

You just got to really
watch it, you know?

It's about time we got a little
excitement around here.

Sig: hang on.
Hang on. Watch out.

Bradley: right now all
the weather's on the port side,

So these pots are getting stuck
underneath the boat.

You know,
them pots are so damn heavy,

They're just whipping them
right in the water.

I can go up against it.

You're still gonna roll
like a [bleep]

That's a lot of money
sitting right here.

It's like having your hand
in a pile of gold.

64.

Narrator: the men have gone
from pots with 3 or 4 crab

To counts of 50-plus,

With 20 more to pull
in increasingly volatile waves.

The wind perks up,
and so does everybody on board.

Watch out on the rail, man.
There's a big one coming here.

Edgar:
that's the way we like it.

Whoa! h* h* h* h*!

Yahoo!

[ Groans ]

Watch the rail there.

Look at them big, white,
foamy [bleep]

Narrator: with 15-foot waves
and crowded fishing grounds,

The youngest deckhand
is struggling at the rail.

Jake hasn't had a whole lot
of experience

Throwing the hook
in bad weather...yet.

He's doing all right.

He's still got a few things
to learn.

Ow! Hang on.

What are you doing?

Narrator: matt bradley redeems
himself with a hail mary play

Only a handful of men
could hope to pull off.

Layer!

Layer for sure?
Okay.

There was no way he was gonna
pull it to him.

This thing's, like, going
3 1/2 knots forward.

He ain't pulling it in.

I got lucky.

That's what it really
amounts to.

Matt saved the day.
He's a hero.

I don't know.

It's just being a good backup.
That's all.

It was an amazing shot.
It was a double-good shot.

Now that's crab fishing, dude!

Sig: that just kind of
goes to show

That he's concentrating so much
on throwing the hook at a bag,

He didn't even pay attention
to what bags they were.

And it kind of leads into
the whole experience thing,

You know?

Okay, that's
a northwestern pot.

Reel it in.
Come on, chucky.

It's just one of those things,
you know?

That's where a little more time
on deck goes a long way.

It was a great throw.
Too bad it was the wrong bag.

38.

Rad day.
That was a rad day.

That's k*ller.

Threw a lot of crab on this boat
in the last 24 hours.

Narrator: on the next
"deadliest catch"...

Danger on the deck...

Whoa! Ouch!

...and danger above it.

Watch and make sure
it doesn't fall over.

Narrator: and below,
hope for a miracle...

Come home, baby!

If we don't get this,
we're screwed.

Narrator: ...while two titans
battle for bragging rights.

Yes!

The rout is on.

It's down to the wire...

[ Cheering ]

Yeah!

...for the deadliest catch.

Whoo!