[John] Can you believe that?
We haven't even been out here for two weeks,
someone's already messing with our gear.
[deckhand] Going over!
[Sig] I mean, we'll just keep watch, you know.
Obviously somebody's got a lot of guts to pull your gear, that's pretty ballsy.
Yeah. Yeah, well, they're pretty ballsy.
We just gotta keep an eye out, like you're saying, and, you know, take it from there.
[Sig] Roger, roger.
We got your back. We'll keep out eyes open.
Bye.
There's a couple of sneaky figures we've seen running around.
And I wanna get this crab in my tanks, for myself...
[deckhand] Going over.
...and that's just the bottom line.
I've been dealing with these trawlers all my frickin' career.
[Jack] I haven't seen 'em for 12 hours or so now.
Hope I stopped 'em.
Scared 'em at least.
I'm here to fish, you know. I'm not here to play games.
-[deckhand] Going over. -[deckhand 1] Whoa.
[Jake] Gotta stand our ground and fight for what's ours in our own backyard.
Anytime you find the crab you're gonna find that illegal fisherman are close by.
Set this right now. We're setting him down.
You just cost me 4,000 bucks, ass [bleep] !
Quit worrying about hashbrowns, and catch some [bleep] crab.
I played you like a fiddle, boy.
[Sig] Do they know how much time is left?
[narrator] On the eastern bairdi grounds...
We got a lot of gear. And a lot of gear covering a lot of ground.
[narrator] ...aboard the Wizard.
I love fishing.
Before fishing, I was actually homeless,
living in the back of my Chevy S10 going to school.
Since fishing, I've just learned to really appreciate having responsibilities
and having a family, having a crew, having a place to belong.
It's been a good learning lesson, for sure.
I think maybe I can learn a little bit from Keith before I take on my own boat.
[Keith] All right, guys, let's haul these pots fast.
...slurp or two, okay?
So be aware of that at the rail.
Whoo! Bairdi 2022.
[Keith] It's nice to see the crew getting pumped up.
Couple of days of bad fishing to start the season is not good for morale.
[narrator] Three days after tangling gear
with a suspected illegal vessel
on the northern Bering Sea fishing grounds...
We're got bullets up forward to set once we find some crab.
And we will find some crab.
...Captain Keith Colburn rallies his troops 60 miles south of the encounter,
prospecting for his $500,000 of prized eastern bairdi crab.
[Keith] Come on, show me something.
Give me a 50 count.
[deckhand] Come on, crab.
Oh.
[Keith] Waah, waah, waah.
I can't afford that.
I'm hoping it's gonna get better as we get into this string.
[deckhand] Ooh.
No table.
Goose egg. Zero crab, zero grab.
We're gonna go set these a little bit deeper,
see if we get a little better number.
[deckhand] Roger.
Going over.
[Jacob] Nothing yet.
Captain can't be happy.
[deckhand] Hey, hustle, hustle.
Watch yourself.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
Jacob, get outta there! Get outta there now!
Y'all good? All good?
[deckhand] Yeah, roger.
[Keith] Now we're gonna have a conversation with Jacob
about staying the [bleep] away from the [bleep] damn coiler
when that [bleep] going over the side.
[narrator] As the crew hauls in a pot, the line slips from the block.
[deckhand] Hey, hustle, hustle.
[narrator] Newcomer, Jacob Hutchins,
steps forward into what fisherman call the bite.
A pinch point only inches from rope
connected to 1,000 pounds of sinking steel.
Instinct took over, I wanted to jump in.
Roger already had it handled.
Keith let me know to stay back. All is good.
What Jacob just did was put not only himself,
but some of my crew in a position to where I might lose a man.
-Regardless of years, you're just there for support. -'Kay.
Okay. Thank you.
Sorry for getting in your way.
Even though he's got multiple fisheries, apparently, that he's been in
I'm seeing gaping holes in his knowledge.
Listen, clear the deck. And everybody come on in.
[deckhand] Roger.
[Keith] I gotta go have a talk to these guys real quick.
So I'm unimpressed
with how you responded to that snarl just now.
You drove right into while these guys are trying to deal with it.
These guys will explain what you do, but...
that's not what a [bleep] experienced man does.
[Jacob] Roger.
[Keith] I like Jacob's energy and he wants to learn.
I'll teach him anything he wants to know.
But he's gonna learn the Wizard way
or he's gonna learn how to pack his bags real fast.
[narrator] 56-miles, southwest...
[deckhand] Whoo!
-[bleep]. -[Harley chuckles]
[narrator] ...aboard the Barbara J.
[bleep]. Did you [bleep] lifted the waves?
Give me a break.
We're on the furthest west string.
And our deepest too, 53-fathoms.
Looking like a softer bottom.
Been quite a bit of boat activity
when we thought we were the only ones up here.
[narrator] After planting 1-ton boulder next to their vulnerable end pots,
a move designed to damage the nets of encroaching trawlers,
rookie-Captain, Jack Bunnell and veteran-Skipper, Steven Harley Davidson
look to see if they've laid the cornerstones of a jackpot.
If you can pull something outta this, buddy, then we're on 'em.
[deckhand] Jackpot, baby. Whoo!
First string that we set had over a crab an hour,
so we're hoping this one's the same thing.
Right now, I got a feeling we're gonna be on some money here.
All right, there comes the first one.
[deckhand] Oh.
Almost nothing.
Oh, man.
-That's not a very good pot there. -Oh, God.
That only looks like about...
ten crab on the table.
Wow, all right.
Well, that's just the first pot, let's get to the next one.
[deckhand] No good.
We have two keepers too.
-[deckhand] Yeah, baby. -Water haul.
This is not what we were looking for at all.
Where ya gonna find some?
There we are.
There's the Saga down there.
No, don't get bothered.
I [stuttering] I wanna find out what he knows.
[chuckles] I don't think Jake's gonna wanna work with me.
Yeah, that's right, you guys had a run in.
Yeah, after he fired me.
Ow! [bleep]!
[Jake] Jack, are you okay?
Yeah, I'll be honest.
[narrator] After Saga's skipper, Jake Anderson,
hired then engineer, Jack Bunnell.
Takes a lot more than 1,000 pound pot to put me down.
What are we getting fired, Jake?
[Jake] You disobeyed a direct order.
What was the [bleep] direct order?
[narrator] The fiery deckhand used his exit interview
for some constructive criticism.
You're the [bleep] worst skipper I've ever [bleep] seen in my life, Jake.
Thank you.
Get him outta here.
[narrator] Now, having climbed his way into the wheelhouse,
Jack targets 60,000 pounds of family owned crab quota.
[deckhand] Big [bleep].
You know, what Jake don't know don't hurt him.
Just be quiet when I'm talking to him.
[deckhands cheering]
Whoo!
That's a good one. That is a real good one.
[deckhand] That's some big daddy fish. Whoo!
[Harley] Hey, ya Saga, how about, Jake? Ya on here?
Hey, Harley. How's it going?
You're fishing bairdi, right?
Yeah. Yeah, I just, uh, I'm just heading now to... I seen ya over there.
I'm just curious if you're seeing
any kind of a activity with some bairdi around here.
I'm little bit concerned about sharing information 'cause you got Jack onboard.
I just... I can't work with him.
I'm little bit concerned about sharing information 'cause you got Jack onboard.
I really respect you and the fact that you've given him an opportunity.
But I just... I can't work with him.
Yeah, he's on the boat, but [bleep] he ain't up here, Jake.
He's frickin' down there chopping bait.
- Jack's on deck? - Oh, yeah.
All right, well, here's the lowdown.
Fishing's hot.
Big fish, lots of fish, lots of tanneri
and the 250 range, I couldn't get away from 'em.
That's interesting. All right, well, thanks, Jake.
Yeah, roger.
I don't mind giving out information,
but...
I did a lot for Jack.
I gave him an opportunity that nobody gave me.
And he [bleep] all over me and then wanted to beat me up for it.
I hope I don't regret giving that information out.
[Harley] Tanneri, they're deep water bairdi crab,
but they're the same family.
He's seeing 'em right in there.
I'm just gonna come right inside here
and get in that blue and that green there.
And go see what the hell's up there.
[narrator] 530-miles, northwest...
Uh, can hear it straining.
[narrator] ...aboard the Northwestern.
[deckhand] Big one in there. They're crawling.
-Yeah! -We have a quota!
I can see 'em.
[deckhands cheering]
[deckhand] Yeah, buddy.
What's it look like? Those big?
-[deckhand] It's big. -[deckhand 1] How big?
How many you think?
We need a few more of those and that'll fill that tank.
[narrator] After chasing an unidentified trawler from the grounds,
Captain Sig Hansen and Co-Captain and daughter, Mandy,
haul gear south of the Russian boarder.
With each pot clearing the rail averaging 1,600 bucks.
Jonathan had a pot that had the door ties were different,
so somebody's been poking around.
-[deckhand] Oh, yeah. -[deckhand 1] Let's go!
Loaded!
Maybe whoever's monkeying around
might kinda take the hint and get outta here.
[deckhand chuckling] Oh, yeah.
[Sig] Looks good. What'd you think?
Eighteen, 19?
[deckhand] Yeah, buddy.
Set it!
[deckhand] Going over.
Pot's in. Let's go, let's go.
[phone ringing]
Hello?
You don't sound good. What's wrong?
She's not eating and, um, it's not good.
-[June sniffles] -Okay, all right.
I gotta think about this.
You know?
Okay. All right, thanks, sweetie.
All right, now, Mom's doing bad, it's gotten even worse.
My mother's not doing well.
She's had, uh, it's what's called Lewy dementia.
And she's been very coherent, but lately it's been...
been getting worse.
[deckhand] Ready.
You know, I didn't say "I love you" when I left.
And I didn't say it because I felt like if I said that to her in that moment...
[softly] 253.
She would know that something was up.
Not quite sure how I'm gonna break the news to the guys.
Especially my brother,
you know, that's not something,
you know, anybody should have to...
think about while they're working on deck.
Let's just finish these pots and then we'll figure out what the hell we're gonna do.
[narrator] 570-miles, southeast...
...aboard the Wizard.
[Keith] We will find crab.
And when we do
will have to concentrate our gear on where the best fishing is.
[deckhand] Going over.
[Keith] 'Cause we know
where there's no fishing.
But right now, we've gotta add a shot to every pot,
so there's little extra work there.
[narrator] Captain Keith pushes his crew into their 19th straight hour,
adding 200-feet of line to every pot.
[Jacob] Here we go.
[Keith] Let's see what we got here now.
[deckhand] Get some, baby.
All right. [sighs wearily]
[deckhand] Nothing.
None at all.
None.
[Keith] God.
[deckhand] What is this?
Not good.
[Keith] All right, go ahead.
...like that.
[bleep] moron.
Yeah, we don't...
...they come untied.
[deckhand] Roger.
[narrator] A poorly taped knot can unravel under the 1,000 pound load,
stranding $2,000 pots and their captive crustaceans on the ocean floor.
[Keith] Can you say "clear" for them, Jacob?
I told you where to tape 'em, right?
So I just always measure right to the same spot on my arm every single time.
And when you measure it the same exact way every single time
you wind up with the same tail.
-Going over. -[deckhand] Yep, clear.
[Jacob] I'm not perfect, but I know my favorite bend knot.
You can blame me, that's fine.
All right, guys, that's probably 2-miles or so.
You know, we got breakfast and a little more down time.
Yeah.
Cody, you cooked those hashbrowns yet?
No, I just started 'em. I didn't know he wanted me to.
All right.
Quit worrying about hashbrowns and catch some [bleep] crab.
Jesus.
-Bad idea, bro. -Rude.
Bad idea.
God, I hate teaching people
how to do this job.
You, don't ever [bleep] hang up on me on the phone.
And number two, don't tell me the to catch [bleep] crab.
You do your [bleep] job and that's what you do.
And you keep your [bleep] mouth shut. Got it?
Got it!
[Keith] Hey!
Don't say it with any attitude.
Say, "Yes, sir."
-Yes, sir. -"Captain."
Thank you.
Last thing I need right now is this bull- [bleep] with Jacob.
The [bleep] with this kid's attitude, man?
[narrator] 545 miles northwest of Dutch Harbor...
...on the golden king crab grounds...
[Sig] I'm always the one who preaches,
"Don't let the baggage at home affect your work."
But, uh...
...she's not eating.
[Mandy] I don't think that my dad's told Norman yet...
...the extent of their mom's situation right now.
He'll probably try to hold that off until he gets
a real game plan.
It's not fair to give someone bad news out at sea
when you really can't do anything about it.
[narrator] Aboard the Northwestern...
I see some!
[deckhand] Some king in?
-Yeah, buddy! -[all cheering]
[Mandy] Nice!
[phone ringing]
Hello?
[June on phone] Oh, hey Sig.
What's wrong?
[June] So, she's in hospice.
It could be hours, nobody knows.
[Sig] Okay, I'll, uh...
I'll get this thing turned around.
We're gonna head in.
[June] Maybe, you know,
you guys will be lucky and make it before, you know...
[Sig] I'll... I'll connect with you, uh...
...when we're on our way in, okay?
[June] Okay. Okay, talk to you soon.
That's bad.
Well, that's... that's it. Probably.
That's really hard getting the news out here.
[Sig] I didn't want to end the season on a note like this,
but, uh... we're not talking days anymore.
We're down to hours.
I gotta let my brother know.
Hey, Norm?
Clark, do you wanna come up here for a second?
-Roger! -[Sig] Okay.
[Norm speaking]
Well, what's up is...
...a phone call I just got.
From Mom, and she's not doing good at all.
And so, with that being said, uh...
I mean, I know I wanna get out of here.
I'm sure you do too.
So...
You agree with that?
[Sig] Um...
It's not the golden crab season we wanted, but...
...she's withering away.
[Norman] Okay.
And if we're lucky, we can see her before she goes.
But, uh, I can't guarantee that.
All right, let's get the gear onboard so we can get home.
Right now, we're hauling gear for a different purpose.
It is literally just to try to get down
before she goes.
That's... It's...
It's happening.
I'd like to see her one last time.
[narrator] 530 miles southeast...
...on the Barbara J.
[Harley] Saga, he's right in here.
I gotta come and check with him.
Hey, hey. You pick me up on this one, Jake?
[Jake] Yeah, roger.
[Harley] Yeah, I'm just making sure.
You said right above that 12 line, right?
That's where... That's where you saw the Tanner, right?
Yeah.
Roger.
[Harley] I got you.
You can keep it about 83,000,
right above that shelf.
Yeah, that's where I would do it.
Roger.
All right, bud. Thanks.
Okay, let's let this one go.
[deckhand] Going over!
[narrator] After stacking and moving all 125 pots
to the westernmost edge of the grounds...
We gotta take anything we can get right now.
[narrator] Co-captains Harley and Jack
bet a tip from Captain Jake Anderson
will put them on track to catch their $700,000 fall season take.
Whoo-hoo-hoo!
Do or die, get 'em!
[deckhand 1] Whoo!
[deckhand 2] All right, let's come and check this out, I'll show ya.
Just keep it right straight in this course,
and right on that edge.
-You got it. -[Jack] Yeah, right on.
[Jake] Hey, Harley.
I still don't understand why you bring that guy in your wheelhouse.
He seems to be...
...a liability.
You know, Jack...
...you know, it seemed like he had a lot of potential,
but I think you're making a mistake.
He called me a terrible captain
when he's the one getting drunk.
And I had 100,000 pounds of king crab to get.
Honestly, I can't even believe you hired the guy.
What, you're just on the radio talking [bleep] behind my back?
Real [bleep] manly, Jake.
[Jack] Why don't you go ahead and say that to me when we're in town?
The only [bleep] reason why you're on that boat
is because of the quota you have!
I've been in the wheelhouse the whole time, Jake.
I played you like a fiddle, boy!
[Jack speaking]
[Jake speaking]
[Jack speaking]
Came up here and Jake's talking [bleep] on the radio
as I'm taking the seat.
I don't wanna hear that [bleep].
It's ridiculous.
He fired me.
I don't need to work with him.
It's all reputation out here in the Bering Sea.
And he took that away from me.
[bleep], rat bastard!
[bleep]! Come over here and call me,
absorb me for information...
...and put me in that [bleep] position.
Now I need a new [bleep] damn VHF.
[bleep], this [bleep].
Set this [bleep] right now, we're setting this [bleep] down.
We're setting down the Barbara J for good.
No fishing in our grounds.
Let's go!
That's it.
I'm gonna bury his gear so much
so his block won't even be able to pull it.
We're gonna teach him a [bleep] lesson.
[narrator] 350 miles northwest...
[Sig] Right now...
Uh, we're trying to get back to see my mother.
She does not have long to live.
Honestly, this is a race to get in.
But, uh, with half the gear on board,
I don't want to leave a couple hundred thousand dollars
of pots right there, either.
Hillstrand.
[cheering]
[deckhand] All right!
[Sig on walkie talkie] Are you there?
Yeah, roger.
[deckhand] Jackpot!
Yeah!
Whoo!
[Sig] So, just FYI, my mom's like...
...not doing well.
Oh... Oh, I'm so sorry, brother.
Me and you lost our dad when...
I mean, mom's gonna be way...
...that's a big one, ouch.
Sorry, brother.
[Sig] Yeah.
So we decided to cut the season short.
But, uh, if there is somebody that comes in here,
especially if the guy that checked your string comes in here,
I don't know...
...if the gear's gonna be safe.
But maybe you can take a whack at 'em.
Uh, is that possible?
[Johnathan] Yeah, roger that. Yeah.
See what happens here.
-Thank you. -Okay, man.
Uh, spares to ya.
And I'll... I'll see you in town.
[Sig] So the guys on the Time Bandit know what's going on.
Still gotta catch a flight.
And then you gotta catch another flight from Anchorage to Seattle.
You know, just, uh...
...hope and pray we get there.
Before it's too late, or at least be able to say goodbye.
See what happens.
[narrator] 390 miles southeast...
[Keith] And you don't find crab...
[narrator] ...on the Wizard.
...without looking.
We're banking on the deep.
I'd like to think we get something out of this [bleep].
We've put, like, virtually nothing in these tanks right now.
Come on, show me something.
Show me something, show me something.
[tapping]
[deckhand] Come on, crab!
[Monte] Time for a comeback.
[deckhand 1] No!
[deckhand 2 speaking]
We don't need this right now.
We need to find something more substantial.
[deckhand] Damn, that's...
[Keith] Pretty pitiful here.
I'm not seeing much.
This gear sucks.
[yawning] Oh! You want a break or what?
[Keith] Yeah.
All right.
Get that started.
[gear thudding]
[all] Oh!
[deckhand speaking]
Oh, man.
We [bleep] went through this days ago.
Tape the [bleep] nod up by [bleep] tape,
and then the [bleep] last when the tail was too short or both.
We just lost a pot because some of the guys tying the knots
left the tails too short, and...
Yeah, pot's gone.
Hey...
Jacob, I don't know what kind of [bleep] bull-[bleep] knot you're tying.
What's going on?
[shouting angrily] You just cost me [bleep] $4,000 ass-[bleep]!
Hey, Jacob!
[Sig] I remember Dad was always gone,
so, you know, my mother was left to raise us.
Because she was on her own...
...she kind of had to push her boys a little bit harder sometimes.
If you messed up, you knew it.
When I first started fishing,
I was like 12 years old.
She was very positive about it.
The old man was scared to death.
He didn't want me up here.
And so it was her that basically pushed him...
...to let me do what I wanted to do.
So I suppose you could say,
she's waiting on the family fisherman one last time.
I really hope and pray she can hang on.
[narrator] On the Wizard...
[Keith shouting angrily] Hey, Jacob!
I am [bleep] so [bleep] tired of your bull-[bleep]!
What did I do?
You just cost me a [bleep] [bleep]-damn crab pot!
-How do you know that was me who tied that knot? -[spitting]
-I know it's you! -How do you know?
[Keith] I haven't seen it in [bleep] 15 years!
That's the first time I've seen it too!
Oh, that's bull-[bleep]!
[Jacob] I'm not trying to be disrespectful.
There's a reason why you haven't lasted on any boats!
Yeah, just maybe go up and make bait.
[deckhand speaking]
[Jacob] We lost a pot.
Kind of a knot malfunction or whatever, and...
...I'm getting blamed for it.
That's fine.
I'll make bait.
[Monte] Come on in. Gonna take another break here.
[deckhand] Roger, copy.
[Keith] When you're the new guy on the boat...
...you don't question the captain that's been on the boat for 30 years.
You just do what he says.
[deckhand speaking]
-[Jacob] Mmm-hmm. -[deckhand speaking]
[Jacob] It's fine.
[deckhand speaking]
[Jacob] I'm hoping and trying to...
...be a valued member of this team.
It is what it is.
I'm not exactly sure where we go next, but...
...I'll succeed.
And I'll be a captain up here.
[narrator] 100 miles southwest...
-Coming up on the Tanner crab stream? -[Harley] Yeah.
Man, we're following the lead to see.
[narrator] ...on the Barbara J.
Okay, here it comes. First one on the bow.
[narrator] After feeding Saga skipper Jake
some alternative facts...
...co-captains Harley and Jack
discover if the prize is worth the lies.
We need a hit right now, dude.
We can find 'em right here at this depth.
We can... We can zero in on it and kill it.
[Jack] It could be really good...
...or really bad.
[deckhand] What do we got?
Oh, yeah!
Boom!
[deckhands cheering]
Whoo!
Look it's... hey! That... That'll work!
Bam!
That's a good four... 40-50 in that.
Yeah, keep 'em coming!
[deckhand 1] Yeah! Whoo!
[deckhand 2 speaking]
What the hell is that other buoy right next to it?
[deckhand speaking]
Tangle! We're... We're tangled up!
[Jack] Roger.
[deckhand] Oh, God.
[Harley] Anytime you find the [bleep] damn crab,
you're gonna... find the [bleep] damn
illegal fishermen that are close by.
What's the fishing game number on that other one?
[deckhand speaking]
[Harley] Two...
[muttering to self]
Are you kidding me? That's freakin' the Saga.
How about Jake, you got me on this one?
And now you see where I'm at...
It... It tangled when you're here, dude.
Yeah, well you can thank your partner for that.
[Jack] I blew up on him.
You know I don't like being lied to.
No, no. I get it. Thanks, Jake.
Yup.
It sounds like it's time for you to put those swords down, man.
You gotta have a short memory.
That's part of being a captain.
We just let that stuff go and move forward, you know?
There you go Jack, he's coming along.
You gotta have those skills if you're gonna be a captain and sit in this chair.
Hey guys, we gotta stack this stuff.
[deckhand] Roger.
[Harley] We have too big of an ocean to be fighting with people.
[phone ringing]
[Sig] I can hear you, go ahead.
So is she...
...she's gone?
Was she in pain?
All right, thank you for that. Thank you very much.
Well, we just...
...found out that my mother passed away.
Uh, literally we missed her by...
...seven hours.
So, now we move to the next phase.
Um, you know, we have a funeral, uh...
We give our respects.
And, uh, we try to, uh...
...you know, acknowledge the person that she was.
And, uh...
I'll be very proud to do that.