19x09 - Million Dollar Season

[bunniefuu]

Roadrunner, how you doing?

Seeing a...

Got about 25, 20-footers.

There's a lot about 25.

Great.

Yeah.

- Well, sh**t.
- Yep.

I'm not looking forward to that.

Okay.

Good luck.

There's huge tides,
gonna be against the north wind.

And it's going to stack
the wedges straight up.

Kamchatka front is just
engulfing the entire Bering Sea.

I don't know how many more
days of this these guys can handle.

Argh!

She's a roll-y son of a g*n.

Big roll!

Watch yourself!

Whoa!

Stand clear!

Whoa! Whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Heads up back there, guys.

We got a stack that
just broke free on deck!

Hang on, guys!

Wait, wait, wait, wait!

We'll find out
just how bad it might get.

190 miles
northwest of Dutch Harbor...

near
the Pribilof Islands...

God help us out here.

on
the Time Bandit.

Coming up, ready.

Well, we're going deeper.

So, we've chased them
from 180 fathoms out

to about 350, 400 fathoms.

We get 4,000 or
5,000 lb out of this pick,

and we're gonna...

We're gonna have a
million-dollar season here.

Charging through the
200-mile-wide low-pressure system,

Captain Johnathan
Hillstrand battles 25-foot seas

for a career-topping
50,000 lb of golden king crab.

Coming up!

Big crab pot! Yeah!

Yeah, baby!

Yeah, baby! Whoo!
Look at that one.

I found the right
depth, 400 fathoms,

seems like the critters
really love it there.

Look at that! Those
are big. Holy smokes!

Look at that one!

It's supposed to get
rougher but we'll see.

Big crab pot!

All's we need is a
couple more good picks.

The crab are loving
a certain depth.

All my gear's showin' up.

So I'm gonna... in order
to stay in the same depth,

I've gotta go
around this pinnacle.

But if I don't set it
just right with the tide,

I'll lose some gear.

Ahoy,
baby. Look at that.

All right,
guys, go ahead. Let them rip.

Be careful.

We want to set them
400 around here.

Gonna look like a
horseshoe, lucky horseshoe.

But if the tide
was going like this,

these would be too deep.

I lose this part here.

If it's going that
way, I'd lose these,

because they'd
drift out too deep.

I feel lucky.

$80,000 worth of
gear and his season on the line,

the veteran skipper fires off a
surgical strike on a thin ridge line

nearly half a mile below.

I don't know for
sure, but I'm going to hope.

It's like this.

This has been on
the boat forever,

I don't know how it got here.

"Hope floats."

Well, no it doesn't
if it's on a rock.

And I'll show you.

Well, it didn't float. Hope
doesn't float on a rock.

Well, I'm puttin' my
hope in the canyon,

and I'm puttin' my
hope in the Lord above.

So, my hope floats, if you
put your hope in the right place.

But not on a rock.

190 miles southeast...

on the bairdi grounds...

As this is progressively
coming further and further north,

we're getting progressively
in worse and worse shape.

a
board the Wizard.

Some of the seas have
been hitting about 30-footers.

We only need, like,
a 50 average or less

through the gear,
and we've got our crab.

- Hell, yeah.
- Sweet.

And then lets the
out of here, all right?

Roger!

Hoo-rah!

All right, guys, I need
a little bit of luck here, okay.

Roger.

Captain Keith
Colburn targets his final 10,000 lb

of bairdi crab quota
before warm currents

from the south create
mast-topping breakers

and unfishable conditions.

If I can get about 12
hours of good weather,

then hopefully we
can get out of here

before the storm shuts us down.

Come on!

Good pot.

Good start, man.

First pot.

Fifty works, man. 50 works.

I know a 50 count
is more than enough

for us to hit our number.

Music has always been a
part of my life and my soul.

While I'm out here
all I hear is a song.

The Bering Sea
is just a symphony,

and I'm part of the choir.

That might hit triple digits.

That song is kicking a*s, man.

Good way to start, you know.

Right now it's just "Be safe...

be methodical. Tie
the pots down tight,

probably even throw a couple
chains on, just to be safe,

because the weather
is going to suck."

Now we're talking!

- Whoa! Whoa, whoa...
- . What's going on?

What the is
going on with the stack?

Heads up back there, guys.

We think we got a stack that just
broke free on us here. All right?

Stay away from the stack.
Stay away from the stack.

I don't even know
if there's ties on it.

He says it's a slipknot?

We know that was Jacob
because he said they were slipknots.

He ties his knot with what
they call a quick release.

It doesn't do the job.

All right, okay, hey, we
gotta move these pots.

We're just going to take the
forward, stack them forward, okay?

Roger!

Our deck is a little concave,
it has a little crown in it.

So we tie up our
pots a little differently.

So I don't know what
he's done on past boats,

but it doesn't work here.

We don't need this right now.

We need to just
get back to fishing.

60 miles southwest...

where the Kamchatka front
meets the Pacific currents.

There's the roll.

Aboard the Aleutian Lady.

Big roll, big roll, big roll.

Hold on!

Shh...

Whoo-hoo! Ride on, cowboy!

Jeez!

Right now, I just need to
get this string off the boat.

And...

Hold on, guys. Here's a big one.

The wave height is picking up.

Mother Nature's just
kicking us in the face.

Crab, in storms,

end up burying themselves
in the mud as protection.

So, I'm setting all of our pots

on this softer muddier bottom.

They're gonna smell our bait,

crawl in our pots.

It'll be a buffet line.

Brandon, he's out
of commission now.

He's injured his back and...

I want him to be
able to go home and...

get an MRI and find out
what he really has going on.

If he goes back out there,

it's not worth having
him have a big problem

with his back because
I push him too far.

We got a four-man deck...

which is going to
make everything

a little bit rougher and harder.

Shorthanded and searching

for his last 25,000
lb of bairdi crab,

Captain Rick Shelford
deploys all 130 pots in the mud

amid the storm's peak ferocity.

All right, here we go.

Going over!

Buying this
boat is a dream of mine,

and my brother's.

We need to make
this bairdi season work

because we want to buy this
boat by the end of this year.

Big roll!

Watch yourself.

Dang, that was a big one.

I just need to keep
everybody safe.

Not get anybody taken
out by a wave right now.

Whoa!

Christ.

Watch out.

Stand clear.

On the Aleutian Lady...

Everybody stand
clear. Stand clear.

Are we swinging the crane
over to hold it in place?

I'll just jog into it.

Hey, hey!

- Let's run it over the port rail.
- Okay.

Stupid, stupid picking hook.

Picking boom.

The boat rolled, and the
picking hook, or picking boom,

popped up over the
actual stay holding it down,

since it's like this.

With the 6,000
lb forward crane unhinged,

the crew must latch the
free-swinging boom in place

or turn back to town for repair.

If it breaks free and
falls down on the deck,

it can k*ll somebody.

And good thing Cals
caught it real quick

and I was able to get the
bow up into the weather.

Yeah.

That's good!

Once it's secured,

we are gonna get these pots off

and we'll be able
to actually inspect it

without rocking and
rolling and screwing around.

There is no stopping.

We got to get it done.

75 miles
away, east of the storm...

Not good!

aboard
the Barbara J...

Not looking good.

We'd better go
find a different spot

and that's going to
be part of the search,

part of the hunt.

You're going to get some zeros.

Benefitting from
a short weather window,

Captains Jack Bunnell
and Steve "Harley" Davidson

hunt their final 15,000 lb
of eastern bairdi crab quota.

I'd like to go right here
on this side of the batwing.

That's where I'd like
to set them, there.

Yeah?

The depths are
nice. I like that.

We caught crab,
you know, nearby.

You know, this was 50. I know
it was for a lot of hours but...

You know, when
this weather picks up,

we'll... we'll waste our
time going out there

trying to pick it up.

You're not digging the batwing?

No, it won't be down here.

It's gonna be pretty damn gnarly

off here to the west.

All right, last pot coming up.

It's been garbage
from start to finish.

Well, let me lay
out a couple of marks here,

and you can,
take that over there

and just put those
about five a mile.

Okay.

I'm gonna take a little nap.

I'll see you when I get up here.

- All right.
- All right, be safe, man.

Roger.

What the hell?

Harley... Like, this is where
he wants us to set these pots at.

You know, but I was
thinking over here, you know.

It's a big difference,
10 miles of difference.

Okay, a couple
miles, get ready to set.

Roger!

What's up, dude?

What's going on?

Trying to catch
some crab out here.

I don't know, I'm
just missing them.

A little too far to
one side or the other.

Why do I even call you?

I'm trying to just fill
you in out here. Harley...

No, I'm not going to give up.

No, I do not want that.

Harley wants to go one way.

I don't like that
plan at all, so...

I'm not going to do that.

I'm gonna go over
here in the deep.

No, I'm not a liar. I just...

I'm not a liar. You're a liar.

"Don't suck." Roger that.

I love you too, later.

Where is...

I'm gonna do it.

Two miles and
we're going to set these off

right where I want them, here.

The only thing that's
going to save me

is if there's crab
in these pots.

If they come up empty,
I am double-.

Going over!

195 miles northwest...

on the northern
edge of the storm...

Watch out, watch out, guys.

aboard
the Time Bandit.

It's blowing, like, 35, 40.

We got 15, 20-foot seas

are building.

It's gonna come
up to 50 tonight.

It's gonna get ugly.

So we're hopin' this is
gonna be a good thing.

Pullin' up on the
lucky horse's string,

and I have high hopes.

Approaching pots
set on a 400-fathom ridge,

Captain Johnathan throws
caution to the 40-knot wind

for a chance to reach a million
dollars of golden king crab.

I have a good feeling about it

'cause everything
we've been seeing,

that it's showin' us, go to 400.

We got high hopes.

But we'll see what happens.

That was a smokin' pot.

Look at those big ones.

Look at those big boys.

Dude, big boys.

Who did a count on it?

Yeah, baby!

Good job. Good job, guys.

Watch out. Grab on to something.

Hey, heads up.
Heads up. Heads up.

Watch out.

Here's another big one.

It's very marginal today.

We're getting it done.

Last thing I wanna
do is hurt somebody.

Wow!

Hang on, guys.

Runner, runner, runner, runner!

Watch out.

You guys okay?

On the Time Bandit...

All right.
It's nautical out here.

It's definitely getting
more nautical out here.

Get your nautical pants on.

I'll start racking.

Very stressful that one.

Wow. It is gettin' gnarly.

No.

I could hide behind that island.

Shut the boat down.

But, we can't stop hauling.

We don't even have
half our gear on board.

At least we haven't hurt nobody.

Stack this pot, then
everyone go hide in the bow,

and I'll... and I'll run
up to the next pot

and I'll tell you
when to come out.

Yes, sir!

I'm gonna have the
guys hide up in the bow

and then I'm gonna
run to the next pot.

Boys, that's pretty big.

Yeah!

Back in action.

Let's go, brother!

Don't want no
one to get hurt or...

green water hit 'em.

Looking good! Looking good!

Hell yeah! That's
a good-looking pot.

Booyah, baby!

- Two-zero!
- 20. Two-zero. 20!

Whoo! 20.

Booyah, baby! 20!

Okay, run up and hide
under the bow, guys.

Now we're buckin'
into it in between pots.

There's some big
waves coming through.

Come out and throw the hook.

Okay, you hide.

Gear up and hide
under the bow, guys.

It's like a chess game
going on right now.

A gnarly chess game.

Chess game that I'm gonna win.

185 miles southeast...

on the Wizard...

We're racing to get our gear on.

At some point,

we're gonna have to,

pull the plug and not fish,

because it's just
gonna be too bad.

Fighting the
Kamchatka front tooth and claw

for every last dollar of
his bairdi crab quota...

Basically, I need a 50 average.

Captain Keith
leans on the last 40 pots

of a marathon string.

Whoa!

That'll wake you up.

Damn it.

That's not what
we're looking for.

Boy.

How many you got?

That's what we're
looking for. Right on.

So far,

this string, 68, 50, 33.

Whoa!

Real close to being right on
the money on these numbers.

Right on.

Roger.

Hey, Robby, how confident
are you and Jacob's knots now?

You comfortable with
him up on the stack?

All right.

We'll take you out of the
outhouse and the dog house.

You're back on the stack, Jacob.

We've had some
issues with Jacob's knots,

but I think we've
cured those problems.

So, we're gonna put
him back up on the stack.

Whoo!

Six-eight. Right on.

I think that just
did it right there.

Guys, you have
officially hit your number.

And we got it
on the last string.

We're going home, boys!

- Whoo!
- Hell yeah!

We hit our number with,

one, two... three pots to spare.

We've been
struggling all season,

trying to teach Jacob
to be a Wizard crewman

and not just some roustabout
that bounces from boat to boat.

Yeah!

That's what I'm talking about.

But, I think we've
finally started

get him to turn the corner,

and become a pretty
damn decent deckhand.

Another lesson learned.

One step close to
becoming a captain.

We gotta get the hell outta here

so we don't get our asses
kicked going into town.

50 miles southwest,

in the heart of the storm...

aboard the Aleutian Lady.

We tightened up the
turnbuckle on the cable stay.

We added on this line right here

as extra precaution.

That'll make it so it will get us
through our next couple days.

And we'll be able to go to Dutch

and get everything
inspected 100% properly.

It's time to go fishing.

We're coming up on a string

that I found this
nice soft bottom

that has a good contour,

and I got high
hopes for that area.

Down a man on deck

and now a picking boom,

Captain Rick looks
to his 130-pot string

to bring his season

and his purchase of the
Aleutian Lady to a close.

All right, guys...

Roger!

Crab hunker down

when you get storms
for days and days.

So, there could be a lot of crab

right around all this gear.

I got 54,000 lb
of bairdi to catch.

If I don't get it,

I won't be able to write
a check for this boat.

Here we go.

On the Aleutian Lady...

Here we go.

Yeah!

Yeah, baby!

Yeah!

Hell yeah!

Hell yeah to that.

Get back, back, back.

Look at these bad boys.

Yeah!

Four-one, baby.

Four-one.

There's more.

Frickin'.

That's a lot of crab.

I feel good finally.

I feel relieved.

Yeah!

Whoo!

Four-six.

Forty-six.

It's time to rock and roll.

This is the point where
we turn our season around.

This is the point

where I start making
these guys money.

Where I start making money.

Whoo!

Such a burden relief right now.

70 miles northeast.

All right, first one comin' up.

Mile and a half.

On the Barbara J...

This is the one where Jack
kinda went rogue and,

set his own direction

when Harley wanted
him to go the other way.

So, we'll see if he
gets any crab out of it.

What's goin' on?

That's not where you
were supposed to go.

I liked that area.

No, no.

That's bull, man.

Get... Let me have this.

It should be right here, man.

Your tide's racing that hard,

it's holding the buoys down.

There's nice
bottom all over earth

but I told you where I
wanted the damn gear.

Maybe next time, you think about

when I tell you
to go a direction,

you'll go the right direction.

Hey, we're trying
to find this string.

Maybe you guys can
look over the portside.

Argh.

Now this should be right here.

I... I can't see nothing
on this side at all.

This weather and tide are up.

Come on, tide.

She's a roll-y son of a g*n.

Hey, we think there...
Our bags are down.

We're gonna shut down
until I see a bag, so...

we'll get back up
and going here in a bit.

You better have some crab in it.

That's the only way
it's gonna save your a*s.

This is gonna be
a b*tch pickin' up.

In Dutch Harbor...

Pretty gnarly.

Not for the faint of heart.

Hey, Robby,

let's just get four
lines to the dock.

Real quick.

Roger!

With his tanks brimming,

and his 170-pot
stack acting as a sail,

Captain Keith
fights for safe berth

in 45-knot winds.

Comin' in extremely
hot to the dock.

I mean, here's
the dock right here.

Holy.

Bring it forward.

Back up about 40 feet.

Back it up 40 feet.

No, Brick, walk
it down the dock.

Walk that down the dock.

Yep. Yep.

Pull, pull, pull!

Still comin' back.

Hey, Mouse, tell me as soon
as we're straight across there,

that's where we're
gonna stay, all right?

Move it, boys.

Ooh!

Man.

What happened?

You're doing everything wrong.

You've got guys
that can't count.

You got your rig set down wrong.

And what're you
doing this whole time?

I'm looking for support,
not negativeness.

No, I'm not gonna quit.

Well, you know,

you're the one who
makes the big money.

And if you can't find the crab,

then why do they
have you doing this job?

All right.

Deal with my sisters

and have to catch crab.

It's a pain in the a*s.

You are not the nice sister.

By far not the nice sister.

Yes, I am!

Dude, no.

Captain Jack
holds down third place,

in spite of the scathing winds

blowing sisterly
from the mainland.

A little bit more.

On the Wizard...

What happened?

Did we just part a bow line?

No, that's a line just exploded.

Wait a second here. Maybe
back up real hard.

I'm backing up.

Hey, let's go ahead and get
lines back to the dock, okay?

Jacob, go ahead and
take up all your slack.

All right, guys, be super
safe with your fingers, okay?

Take that line fast, Jacob.

You gotta keep
doublin' these lines up

until this boat is just piss-tight
against the dock, all right?

Roger!

I just realized that the danger
doesn't end even at the dock.

There's nothing safe
about tying a boat

this big and this heavy
up at this time of night.

It is whether...

This surge is insane.

Thank you so much.

All right. Right on.

Good job down there, Jacob.

Fortunately, we
got about ten lines to dock.

Relieved to be in town

but gotta get the
crab off in one piece.

After a month-long fall effort,

Captain Keith bags all 50,000 lb

and $282,000 of his
eastern bairdi quota.

Money.

Landing each
deckhand a $15,000 share.

This year on the boat,

really struggling
having Jacob on here.

I... I think he's
gonna be a deckhand.

At the same time,

you never get
ornery with a captain.

You know, that doesn't fly.

I don't know if
I'll be back on this boat.

I know I'll be back
on the Bering Sea.

I might become a captain.

This is just one
step on the ladder.

100 miles northeast...

We're gonna
head to the next one.

It's 5 miles away.

On the Aleutian Lady...

Hey, Pops.

I'm hoping

I got enough crab in the pots.

I do believe we do got
our quota in the pots.

It's just...

It's been pretty hard.

But this winter, I'm
coming back locked and loaded.

All right, Pops. I love you.

And tell Mom I love her.

Determined and unflappable,

Captain Rick delivers
54,000 lb of bairdi crab quota.

We were planning
on having enough profit

to make our last
payment to buy this boat.

There's really nothing
else I can say on that.

But we can't have
more seasons like this.

We need to catch the crab.

65 miles northeast...

And hopefully, it'll start
popping up here shortly.

On the Barbara J...

Dark. Dark and nasty
out. Hard to see anything.

Especially for him
up there, I'm sure.

I think I see something.

Right here.

Do you see it? Silo...

Right there,
right there, right there.

To starboard, 20 yards.

Roger.

We got her.

See if there's any
crab down there.

- Holy mackerel.
- Hell yeah.

Holy!

You see that pot?

Whoo!

Yeah.

We're getting
into some meat there.

- Sixty?
- Sixty.

Yeah!

Yeah!

- Yeah.
- Yeah!

Honing in on 'em.

Leave a message after the tone.

Yo, sis.

I know you're sleeping but,

dude, I just hammered the crab.

Very time-consuming,

but we're putting crab in this.

Whoo!

Thanks for your support.

Love ya.

Just got word that the processors
are gonna quit processing.

We miss that delivery date,

we might lose a bunch of crab.

It's just a bone
in there that's...

How did you break that?

Whoa!

You're fighting to get
the crab, number one...

Hey, listen, don't
touch our gear.

And then, you know,
you're fighting time.