01x05 - Ice Ice Tuna

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR: On this episode of
Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks...

Mother Nature throws down the gauntlet...

REED MEREDITH:
Something wicked this way comes.

NARRATOR: ...to the Northern
and Southern boats.

TJ OTT: The worst is yet to come.

NARRATOR: Who will play it safe?

GREG MAYER [off screen]:
You don't want any part of that.

NARRATOR: And who will risk it all?

PAUL HEBERT:
We're Gloucester men. Let's try it.

NARRATOR: In a highly regulated fishery
that's trying to stay sustainable...

DAVE MARCIANO: We got a fish!

NARRATOR: ...every bluefin caught
takes a bite out of the quota.

-REED [off screen]: Got him.
-JAY MUENZNER [off screen]: Oh, yeah!

NARRATOR: And every fisherman
has to battle for his fair share.

NICK GOWITZKA: Total domination!

-NARRATOR: This...
-JAY: Tuna!

NARRATOR: ...is
Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks.

At the start of day nine,

more than a third of the quota

is already filled.

Wahoo holds a narrow lead

over Southern rival Fishin' Frenzy.

And Northern boats Pin Wheel,

Hard Merchandise, and Hot Tuna

have ground to make up.

MAN [on radio]: Storm warning.

Tonight, seas five to nine feet.

Showers and thunderstorms.

GREG [off screen]: Jesus Christ.

It's gonna be choppy.

GREG:
Go ahead and pin your left flat line down.

That way you don't have to worry
about **** getting together.

NICK: We just come out here.

It's blowing about 25, 35.

We're going looking
for giant bluefin tuna,

what we like to call tuna fish.

GREG: It's gonna be [bleep].

But there's no time left.

We started catching fish eight days ago,

and 35% of the bluefin quota
has already been filled.

With the amount of boats fishing here,

the quota could close
as soon as next week.

You know, if we can go, we go.

The waters off the Outer Banks are known
as the Graveyard of the Atlantic,

with one of the highest
densities of shipwrecks

anywhere in the world.

In rough wintertime weather,

you can take a wave over the bow,

you can very easily fall overboard.

You've got to be
on your A game fishing here.

-[reel unspooling]
-NICK: We're on!

We got a bite and it's smoking too, buddy.

Woo-hoo-hoo!

GREG: That's what I'm talking about.

NICK: We need this fish bad.

GREG: You okay there, Nick?

NICK [off screen]: Yep.

GREG: The boat's rocking up and down.

You just gotta be careful.

You know, you could
break a line real easy.

NICK: Riding the waves, trying to turn
the handle, but I can't keep it tight.

GREG: Get all the lines cleared
and we can get to work on him.

We gotta get everything cleared

and figure out where the hell
everything is.

It's a rough-a*s day.

[bleep].

We still got a lot of line out.

Here you go. I got it.

NICK [off screen]: Tell me what to do.
I'm here on the controls, Cap.

GREG [off screen]:
Okay. He's cool right now.

We just need to keep cranking
on him till we get him tight.

Any misstep is a lost fish.

It'll cost you $5,000, $10,000 maybe.

Less than a hundred yards to go.

NICK: One hundred yards
from total domination!

GREG: We're still not out of the woods.

All right, why don't you get on here?

I gotta get around with this fish.

NICK: Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

Feeling me now, buddy.

Come on!

Swear, I've just seen him right there
coming down sea,

like 50 yards.

Throw it on the pole
and throw in the tuna!

GREG: Come around.
Come on, come around.

He doesn't wanna come around.

NICK: He's coming. He's coming.
Coming right here.

GREG: Okay.

Fish is up on top now.

NICK: Right there, Cap! Now!

GREG: All right!

NICK: Yeah! Yeah, nice shot.

All right, I'll get the gaff.

GREG: Behind me, to the stern.

NICK: Weird-acting, weird-looking.

GREG: Okay, you got it?

There you go.

-NICK: You got him?
-GREG: Yeah.

Oh, yeah!

-He's ours!
-NICK: Yeah, baby.

I tell you, he's a lot bigger
than I thought.

I thought he was gonna be
right there on the bubble, man.

GREG: You're right, Nick.
He's on the bubble.

On the bubble between nice
and really nice.

[Nick laughs]

NICK: I'm gonna say 78, Cap.

GREG: I'll say 79.

Whoa!



Any bluefin under 73 inches,

we need to release
in order to help sustain the species.

Got him put away?

The weather system has moved in
much faster than predicted.

With a 50-mile ride home,
we're gonna play it smart and go in.

I mean, this is dangerous.

You've gotta know when to say when.

REED: We've been out here all day,

and I'm seeing absolutely nothing
everywhere we go.

I mean, literally, blank screen.

This sucks.

BANKS MEREDITH: It's kinda hard to explain
to my mortgage company

that, uh, not looking good.

REED: Yeah, my mortgage
is two months behind right now,

so we need to find some fish.

MAN [on radio]: Small craft advisory.

North winds 15 to 20 knots.

Seas four to six feet.

A slight chance of rain
and snow showers.

REED: We have a pretty strong cold front
pushing across our state.

Winds, possibly snow.

Temperature's really gonna drop.

The ocean conditions can change
on a dime on the Outer Banks.

We're not only dealing
with horrible weather,

we're racing against
a short season and small quota.

That makes everything
a little bit more dangerous

'cause we're fishing
when we shouldn't be.

We're pushing the weather windows.

We have to calculate our risk.

I'm not gonna put our lives on the line.

We're gonna head in
before the storm front hits.

GREG: I need about another three feet.

That's good.

BUBBA [off screen]: What's up, Greg?

GREG: We got out there today.

It was rough as hell,
but we took some time on it

and we got one fish.

NICK: Freakin', we couldn't get a big one,

but you didn't want one
when it's wrestled hot.

GREG: We really need that fish to do well.

We could go for the big paycheck here.

-LUCAS: All right, let's check it out.
-GREG: Yeah.

-NICK: Yeah.
-LUCAS: See what you got.

NICK: See what it weighs.

GREG: Come on, baby. I gotta know.

I gotta know.

LUCAS [off screen]: 206 pounds.

-NICK: Wow, yeah.
-GREG [off screen]: 206. I like it.

LUCAS: Let's see how she looks.

GREG: The buyers are looking
for the color of the meat

and the fat content.

We're hoping the quality
of this fish is good

so we'll get a good price per pound.

So what do you think about this one?

LUCAS: No oil, no fat.

Ugh.



-GREG: That's all right.
-NICK: Yeah, man.

GREG: 2,500 bucks. I'll take it.

NICK: Take it all day long.

GREG: Our fish today was 206 pounds.

We got $12 a pound. It's not bad.

I'll take 2,500 a fish any day.

-All right.
-LUCAS: All right, guys. Appreciate it.

GREG: We got a paycheck today,

and we beat the weather coming in.

Can't ask for more than that.

PAUL: Whoa!

Whoa!

They almost hit the greenstick, dude.

TYLER MCLAUGHLIN [off screen]:
It's gotta be the coast guard.

It is the coast guard.

PAUL: Storm chaser?

TYLER: Oh, yeah.

TYLER: We know
there's a storm front rolling in,

but our plan is to stay out
as long as we can

'cause we have
such a limited window of opportunity.

PAUL [off screen]:
He's coming over us again.

He did that for a reason.

[laughs] Check the weather, dude.

MAN [on radio]: North to northwest winds
15 to 25 knots.

Seas five to nine feet.

Temperatures in the 20s today,

dropping into the single digits tonight.

A winter weather advisory for snow

will result in
treacherous travel conditions.

TYLER: Snow? You gotta be kidding me.

I've dealt with a lot
of different conditions out on the sea.

Rain, sleet, wind, hail.

But snow? This is a first.

So I'm gonna get us in
before the weather.

BANKS: Look, here's the north wind.

Check those clouds out,
coming back against the tower.

REED [off screen]:
Getting ready to get real.

We got a total northeast wind switch
getting ready to happen.

We got a frontal boundary
literally passing right overhead.

BANKS [off screen]: Look at the seagulls
getting out of here.

REED [off screen]: Dude, something wicked
this way comes.

BANKS: The birds knew.

REED: Birds are running for cover, dude.

They're like, "Holy [bleep]."

That's what happens
when we're out fishing some days,

just like this.

We just had a cold front come across us.

Temperature dropped probably 25 degrees

in a 15-second period,

and we've got now northeast winds
blowing 25 to 35.

Gale force.

It's not good.

This is our backyard.

This is something we've been doing
for over 20 years.

These Yankee boats,
Marciano, TJ, Pin Head,

they're way out of their element
down here.

Look at this [bleep].

The bluefin fishery in North Carolina,

it's a challenge to begin with.

We have small quotas
and a very limited time to catch the fish.

Now, we have snow and ice to deal with.

If we get stuck in here today

and there's other boats
out there catching fish,

that's gonna eat into our quota.

And that's less fish
that the Wahoo can catch.

Hasn't frozen up like this since 2003.

BANKS [off screen]: Not a very good sign
when all the steel boats are sitting, too.

REED [off screen]: It's pretty thick.

I mean, it's gonna be like
six, seven-inches thick in places.

There's no way we're getting through that.

BANKS: Plus, you can lose
your life when it's like this.

The slightest little thing going wrong

and you fall in this water, you are done.

REED [off screen]: Snow and ice.

BANKS: Wintertime fishing
on the Outer Banks.

REED: Wonder what these
Northern boats are gonna do.

JARRETT PRZYBYSZEWSKI:
Dude, look at this snow, man.

TJ: Holy [bleep].

JARRETT: It's a good six inches
right there.

TJ: Dude, it's like frozen solid
right here.

JARRETT [off screen]: Has it even snowed
like that before down here?

TJ: No. I've never seen it
like this down here.

JARRETT: So what do you wanna do, dude?

TJ: Let's make an attempt, dude.

That's all we can do.
Let's start her up.

The fish have been real good.
The fish have been worth a lot of money.

So we're gonna have to deal with this.

We didn't have a great season up north,

and we've only caught
two fish here so far.

We cannot afford not to take big risks.

We have to at least give it a shot.

I mean, right now, with all this
ice and snow, you know,

the boat could definitely encounter
some major problems.

There's a lot of risk right now.

-Good? You ready?
-JARRETT: Yeah.

TJ [off screen]:
Let's get her out of here.

We gotta break through this ice.
We gotta get going.

Breaking through the ice
in the harbor here,

and it's getting worse as we get
towards the mouth,

you know, the entrance of the harbor.

I never, ever, ever would have anticipated

that I'd be breaking through ice
in Wanchese harbor.

It's super sketchy. I ain't gonna lie.

JARRETT: Dude, it's scraping the paint
off the bottom of the boat.

TJ: We're not gonna make it.

[thuds]

TJ: Breaking through the ice
in the harbor here,

and it's getting worse as we get
towards the mouth,

you know, the entrance of the harbor.

It's super sketchy. I ain't gonna lie.

JARRETT: Dude, it's scraping the paint off
the bottom of the boat.

TJ: We're not gonna make it, man.

[thuds]

We gotta call it, man.

JARRETT: That sucks, dude.

TJ: I'm turning around.

We can't control ice.

You know, we can't control the weather.

And the fish get to live another day.
They're lucky.

MARCIANO: Ugh! We're frozen in, Jay.
We're frozen in.

Ugh!

Ugh!

You know, we didn't expect any of this
down here in North Carolina.

The boat's covered with snow.

The water's frozen in all around us.

There's only so many days in this fishery,
and we gotta get out there somehow.

JAY [off screen]:
That much snow out there?

MARCIANO [off screen]: Yeah, Jay. We got
some shoveling to do, that's for sure.

JAY: Oh, man. I love how you say,
"We got a bunch of shoveling to do."

MARCIANO: Well, you know the deal, Jay.

When I say "We," I mean you.

[engine starts]

Ah.

Purring like a kitten.

Now we just gotta get
this snow off the boat.

If I don't catch fish,
I'm gonna be out of money

and not even gonna be able
to play the game.

I could wind up being so broke

I won't have enough money
to get the boat back home.

You gotta be careful.

A lot of guys sink boats
[bleep] around with ice

that they don't belong driving through.

I wanna catch fish,
but I'm not gonna go backwards

and do damage to the boat
just to get out there.

We're just gonna have to wait
for the ice to thaw out.

PAUL [off screen]:
It's frozen in the Outer Banks.

I wonder if it's warmer in Gloucester.

TYLER [off screen]: These Carolina boys
don't know anything

about fishing in the snow.

We're Gloucester men.

PAUL: We're Gloucester men.

-Let's try it.
-TYLER [off screen]: We try.

All you can do is try. I wanna go fishing.

These Southern guys gotta be
freaked out by this weather.

I bet they're gonna be
staying at the dock.

We know about fish in big weather.

We're gonna get out there

and show these Southern boys
what it's all about.

PAUL [off screen]: Hit it! Let's go!

TYLER: Breaking ice right now.

PAUL: Yeah. Gotta be careful.
It's all ice, dude.

TYLER [off screen]:
Don't wanna hurt the boat

or anything like that in the ice.

'Cause, you know,
you're pushing through the ice,

the ice is pushing back against the hull.

You don't wanna puncture it.

These boats aren't made
to break ice, you know.

Steel boats are made to break ice.

We don't have a steel boat.

But I'm hungry to catch a tuna.

The quota's filling up quickly.

We gotta fish every possible chance.

Usually around these parts,
it's just the inlet you gotta worry about.

Now you gotta worry about breaking ice
to get out the harbor.

And we are breaking ice.

[ice crunching]

PAUL: Wow! Listen to this.

TYLER [off screen]:
Paul, it sounds unbelievable, huh?

PAUL [off screen]: We are an icebreaker.

Yeah. It's thicker than you think.

Dude, I'm not so sure about this.

Ice can break
right through the fiberglass.

It can destroy the prop,
the rudder, shaft, everything.

TYLER: Yeah. I know it's a risk,
but I'm just gonna take it slow.

PAUL [off screen]: Nice and easy.

The ice is starting to thin out
right up there.

We almost got it.

Good job. You did it.

We made it through.

TYLER: It's gonna be
all open water from here out.

PAUL: We're not clear yet, dude.

We still gotta get through
that bridge and over that bar.

GREG: The bar looks big.
Look at that.

On a day like this, if the bar looks bad,

there's no point
in even going to the boat.

And that's at high tide.

-Oh, yeah, that thing looks mean.
-NICK [off screen]: Wow! Gnarly.

GREG [off screen]:
I really don't want any part of that.

NICK: Wow. You couldn't even
pick your way through there.

GREG: I mean, you go out there,
and lose your boat.

We could lose our lives today.

NICK: I'm not trying to lose my life.

-GREG: I'm not gonna risk it today.
-NICK: No.

GREG: I don't think it's worth it.

Every day, you make a judgment call.

Some days, you look at the forecast.

Other days, you get out there,
you get in the middle of it,

and you make a decision on the spot.

You've got to be crazy to go out
in these conditions.

PAUL [off screen]: Easy, easy.

See the tide ripping
through these buoys?

TYLER [off screen]: That northeast wind
is what pushed all those buoys out.

PAUL [off screen]: Oh, yeah.

TYLER: It's gonna be gnarly
getting through the bridge.

The spans are close together.

If a wave hits you the wrong way,
you could crash into 'em.

PAUL [off screen]:
Yeah, right through, Tyler.

They're green, so...

-TYLER: Okay.
-PAUL: Okay?

TYLER: Oh, [bleep].

We picked the wrong time
to [bleep] squeeze through here.

Should we hold off?

PAUL: Kinda can't.

TYLER: Nah. We can't now, dude.
We're coming.

PAUL [off screen]: We bump here, boy,
we're screwed.

This is where it gets... fear, right here.

Ha, ha! We got it!

TYLER: Get this guy going by us, dude.

PAUL: Yeah. Look at this big boat. Ha, ha!

We made it through the bridge,
but we're not through the inlet yet.

Get us through the bar,
and we'll be fine in open waters.

Lot of tide still here.

Holy [bleep].

Look at down there.
Look at the water. Look at it.

TYLER [off screen]: We already got
three to fives right here.

Get ready, dude.

[bleep], we're gonna get [bleep].

Dude, the bar's breaking, man.
We're gonna take it.

We're definitely gonna get it.

PAUL: We'll be on
the Richter scale pretty soon.

TYLER: All right, we're about 300 yards.

There's the real breakers,
so we're trying to run along here

and get through a little cut

that allows us to get
over some smaller breakers.

PAUL [off screen]: This is what
everyone's worried about.

We're only like a hundred feet away.

We're almost through,
we're almost through!

Brace yourself.

Oh, my God!

This is what everyone's worried about.

We're only like a hundred feet away.

We're almost through,
we're almost through!

Brace yourself!

Oh, my God!

[laughs]

[whooping]

Yeah, baby!

TYLER: Gettin' some air.

Seems like we got through the inlet here.

I'm just comin' to the last
of the buoy changes,

then head to the fishing grounds.

I'm not gonna talk to
any of the other fishermen in the fleet

and give them any idea
that the inlet is passable.

If they want to know if it's fishable,

they can do it themselves.

Right now, it's every man for themselves.

Dude, I am pumped, dude.

I am so excited
to get lines in the water.

PAUL [off screen]: I know. Finally.

[monitor beeping]

TYLER: Yo, hey, Paul, Paul!
We're marking, marking.

We gotta jig, probably jig the stick.

PAUL: You want 'em to keep,
I'll just work this.

TYLER: Jig the [bleep] out of it.
Jig the [bleep] out of it.

PAUL: Yeah. Keep her in gear, though.

Keep her going.

We're right on the brink here.

TYLER: Get jiggy with it, Paul.

PAUL: Get jiggy with it.

TYLER: Get jiggy with it.

[beeping continues]

We're markin' 'em pretty good,
whatever it is.

Paul's gettin' jiggy with it
on the back deck,

jiggin' the heck out of the stick.

I-I think we're gonna get a bite.

I'm really feeling like
we're gonna get a bite here.

Oh, [bleep]. Keep jiggin' the stick!

If we don't get bit, we're terrible!

Only a matter of time now!

PAUL: That's all.
We just gotta wait for them to bite.

TYLER: Not bad for
some Northerners drivin' around,

don't know where we are.

Whoo!

We got 'em found!

Your back one is good. You messed up.

PAUL: We gotta keep them
in the water, and not tangled.

[beeping continues]

TYLER: Come on, give us a bite here.
Give us a bite. Come on.

We need to get bit, dude.

I wanna hear, "Pow goes the breaker."

PAUL: Where are they? Where'd they go?

TYLER [off screen]: I think we gotta
get back on that mark.

PAUL: Eh, it looked like we marked 'em.

See, I don't know his machine.

There is fish here.

There's no doubt.
There's some sort of fish here.

TYLER: We worked too hard
to get here to give up now.

We're gonna keep grinding,
even if it means staying out all night.

Dude, I can't believe
we didn't get a bite out of that.

BANKS: Still don't think
we're gonna catch anything.

REED: Uh, not-not in these conditions.

Gotta have our A game today.

BANKS: So foggy with smoke
on the water, trolling along,

can't even see if anybody's
in front of us.

REED: The weather's nasty today.

And there's another storm front
blowing in later on.

After sitting out yesterday
because the boat was iced in the harbor,

we didn't have a choice
but to come out today.

With the bluefin quota
getting smaller every day,

we have to take the risk
and fish every weather window we can.

BANKS [off screen]: Any time you add
a different element

in the wrong direction
to this kind of [bleep], it sucks.

REED [off screen]: Damn.

BANKS: We're on! We're on!

Damn, there he was.

On the stick.

Takin' line.

REED: It could be a 300-pound fish
at the end of this line.

Put her in gear,
and go to the right a little bit.

Keep it goin' in the right direction.

Got a fair amount of heat on him.

That way. That'd be left.

Damn!

This [bleep] kills your hand.

BANKS: Which gloves are yours, dingbat?

REED: Up under my chair.

-BANKS: Here you go.
-REED: Get this **** under control here.

REED:
We really need to get one today.

It's taking a lot of line.

Left.

Turn the wheel back, to the left.

BANKS: It's hard over, dude.

REED: I don't think so.

Holy [bleep].

No need for that.

BANKS [off screen]: Doggone!

Come on. Everything stay together.

REED: Nasty little b*stard.

BANKS: Got some weight, doesn't it?

REED: It's gonna make
the hand-lining very difficult

and extremely dangerous.

BANKS: So I guess I'm gonna do it?

REED: Yeah. Banks will be doing
the hand-lining here in a minute.

BANKS [off screen]: Yeah, thanks a lot.

You got two kids, I got one,
so I get to freakin' do it?

REED: And yours is new.

BANKS [laughs]: He doesn't know me yet.

REED: We're fishing rough conditions,

the fish is gonna get jerked around a lot,

there's a chance we could pull the hook.

Hand-lining's far more dangerous,

but it gives us a lot better control
of the fish.

Much better chance of landing this thing.

BANKS: Oh, [bleep].

REED: Make sure your foot
isn't in that loop.

BANKS: Yeah, I'm trying, pal.

That's what it's all about!

Man versus beast.

Big boy.

REED [off screen]: He's circling.

BANKS: Oh, my God.

REED: Work.

This is what we need to do.

BANKS [off screen]: There he is. Color.

Get ready, Reed.

REED [off screen]: Come on. Come on.

BANKS: Oh, [bleep].

REED: Make sure your foot
isn't in that loop.

BANKS: Yeah, I'm trying, pal.

That's what it's all about!

Man versus beast.

Big boy.

REED [off screen]: He's circling.

BANKS: Oh, my God.

REED: Work.

This is what we need to do.

BANKS [off screen]: There he is. Color.

Get ready, Reed.

REED [off screen]: Come on. Come on.

BANKS: Get him?

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Give me the gaff.

REED: Big, old mess.

BANKS [off screen]: Tail rope.

I'm trying to get around that mess, dude.

Tighten him, tighten him up.

There we go.

-Got him!
-REED: Yeah!

BANKS: Unh!

We're pumped.

Got a real nice one.

Definitely over 80-something inches.

Butterball. Unh!

REED: Keeper.

BANKS: Psyched to have him.



Thank you, Lord!

REED: Take it. 89.
I'll be okay with that.

BANKS: By the grace of God,
we got that one, buddy.

REED: Okay, we got ours.

Let's turn around and head in
before the weather sets in.

MARCIANO: After getting iced in yesterday,

pounded our way across the bar today,

I'm determined to get a fish,

even if it means fishing
in this nasty weather.

We really don't have a choice.

There's a fish at ten.

Stacks of 'em.

h*-h*!

This is what other guys are seeing now.

Eventually they'll bite, though.

Yeah, we're seeing some fish here.

MAN [on radio]:
Winds 15 to 20 miles an hour.

Chance of rain.

JAY: Whoa!

MARCIANO: Being a Northern boat,

if we could bag two
and get heading for home,

that would give us a good bump
on those Southern boys,

who right now are ahead of us,

but if we could have
some good fishing today

for the Northern guys,

we could catch up to 'em.

JAY: We're on! We're on!

MARCIANO [off screen]: We got a double.

We got a fish on the bandit
and we got a fish on the rod.

JAY: I don't believe it!

Tuna!

MARCIANO: Get this line before we lose it.

All right.

Start winding the hydraulics a little.

JAY: Mind grabbing some gloves?

MARCIANO: All right.

Here you go, buddy. Here's the gloves.

All right, let's get that rod over here.

JAY: All you.

MARCIANO: We could just keep juggling

until we get one or the other in first.

All right, Jay, we'll go back.

Here we go.

JAY: This is a lot of money on the line.

MARCIANO: A little bit of chaos.

My pants are falling down.

The rods are hooked up.

[laughs]

But this is what we came here for.

JAY: We have to have
a little bit of luck on our side!

Both these fish are swimming
right next to each other.

MARCIANO [off screen]:
We'll focus on the rod fish first.

JAY: Yeah!

Outer Banks bluefin tuna!

MARCIANO: Let's spin it
a little finer, Jay.

Doing good. Doing good.

JAY [off screen]: Watch the lines.

Watch the lines.

MARCIANO [off screen]:
Our lines are crossed.

We could lose both these fish.

JAY: Lost both of 'em.

MARCIANO [off screen]: No, we didn't.
We got the one on the bandit.

All right, we're down
to one fish on the bandit here.

Uh, Jay, just work it by hand.
Nice and easy.

I don't wanna pop him off
and I don't wanna lose my fingers.

JAY: Yeah.

Be careful, man.

MARCIANO [off screen]: We got color, Jay.

JAY [off screen]: There he is!

MARCIANO: We got him, we got him.

Get the harpoon ready.

Wait till you get a nice, clean shot.

There you go!

JAY: Yeah! I got him good.

MARCIANO: We ain't got him
till he's in the boat.

We ain't got him till he's in the boat.

Jesus!

[grunts]

A long way from getting him.

Gonna come right beside you.

Got it too far down on the gaff.

Oh, boy.

JAY: Yeah, Dave!

I got him.

That's a butterball.

MARCIANO: Well done.

JAY: It's gonna come in fast.

-MARCIANO: 74.
-JAY [off screen]: Good.

MARCIANO: All packaged up
like a nice Christmas sausage.

All right. Well done, Jay.

Let's get another one
before the weather gets really ugly.

PAUL [off screen]:
The weather's coming now.

It's gonna start.

The tide's gonna change.

Clouds are gonna come in.

It's gonna start raining.

It's gonna get crappy quick.

TYLER: The storm is gonna be
freakin' gnarly.

It's gonna be northeast,


We were the only boat with the ba*ls

to chomp through the ice,
get over the bar

and go out fishing yesterday.

After all that,
and spending the night there,

we didn't catch a thing.

I'll be damned if we go in
empty-handed today.

[monitor beeping]

Marking 'em.

PAUL: Are we?

TYLER [off screen]: Yeah, marking 'em.

PAUL: We're on! We're on!
We're on! We're on!

TYLER: Whoa!

-I watched it! I watched it! I watched it!
-PAUL: I saw. I saw.

-Whoa!
-TYLER: Whoa, baby!

BOTH: Whoa!

PAUL [off screen]: Dude, he's dumping us!

Holy crap!

Wow!

TYLER: I gotta get this thing
and get it safely.

Whoa, boy!

We gotta get these lines in.

PAUL: Boy, does he have
a lot of line out. Wow.

I'm gonna have to hand-line this baby in.

Boy, is this dangerous or what?

TYLER [off screen]: Dude, this is
pretty freakin' dangerous.

Whenever we get one on the hand-line,

I always make sure the mono cutters

are easily available
in case we get in a jam,

then we got knifes ready all the time.

Dude, these hand-line battles
have been k*lling us.

We gotta do what we gotta do.
We gotta catch fish.

PAUL: Go forward. Go forward, Tyler.

Easy now. Easy. There he goes.

Go this way. Go this way.

CAMERAMAN [off screen]: I'm turning.

PAUL [off screen]: Nice and easy, buddy.

TYLER: This is a hairy situation.

There's no doubt about that.

PAUL: I got the fish right here.

Nice one.

Come on, gaff him, gaff him, gaff him!

TYLER: Oh, no!

PAUL: Dude, really?

PAUL: I got the fish right here.

Nice one.

Come on, gaff him, gaff him, gaff him!

-TYLER: Oh, no!
-PAUL: Oh, you missed!

Dude, really?

Now drive, drive, drive this way.

Look at the fish, watch what he's doing.

Go, go.

Unbelievable. I can't believe
that just happened.

Tyler, come on, come on!

Come over the other side.

What is wrong with you?

-You got him?
-TYLER [off screen]: Yeah, I got him.

PAUL: We gotta get a rope on him,
we don't have him yet.

Ready? Lift him up to me.

I got him.

I got him.

Take the gaff out.

TYLER: Got him, dude. Whoo!

PAUL: Now we got him!

We needed a paycheck, and we got one.

TYLER: Whoo!

PAUL: Payday, baby! [laughs]



TYLER: I'm very happy
that we got this fish,

but he's not big enough
to make the trip worthwhile.

We gotta get another one.

PAUL: Tyler, we're gonna get in
before the [bleep] weather.

TYLER [off screen]: Hell no, dude.

We're staying out
until we get a better one.

MARCIANO [over radio]:
Hey, you out there, Tyler?

I hope this wind's just a little squall.

Otherwise it's gonna get real nasty
in an hour or so here.

TYLER: We're gonna get
some ten-foot seas.

MARCIANO: We'll give it a while
with you here.

When we've had enough,
we've had enough.

I feel better knowing we got backup

with the weather getting so rough.

Jeez, even the Hot Tuna
is getting tossed around,

and he's twice as big as we are.

Yeah, Hot Tuna, you on there, TJ?

Come in.

TJ: Yeah, go ahead. What's happening?

MARCIANO: I don't know,
it's getting pretty [bleep].

What do you think?

TJ: The worst is yet to come, man.

We gotta get going.
It's gonna blow 40 here.

Sucks. Not only are we going home empty,

we're gonna get an a*s kicking
on our way home to boot.

MARCIANO [on radio]: I don't know
if we're gonna get a full day in,

but we'll give it a while
and then we'll get out of here.

TJ: All right.

MARCIANO: The tricky part
will be the 10 and 12-foot seas

that we're gonna see.

But Tyler's right here with us.

We're gonna buddy up,
and we're gonna do the best we can.

REED: What's happening, Dennis?

DENNIS [off screen]: Nice fish?

REED: Fish looks good.

Fat to the tail, just like you like 'em.

DENNIS: Barreled out?

REED: We like it.

DENNIS: All right, let's get her out,
see what she looks like.

REED [off screen]: Nice fish.

DENNIS: All right, let's get him inside
and see what it's all about.

I'm guessin' 290.

REED: Three and up,
that's what I'm sayin'.

DENNIS: 288 pounds dressed.

REED: Nice.

DENNIS: All right,
let's get a tail cut, guys,

and see if it's got any fat.

REED [off screen]:
All right, check it out.

DENNIS: Color is good.

Let's get a core sample.

REED [off screen]: Hope the curtains
match the carpet.

Oh, yeah.

DENNIS: Beautiful core.

REED: All right, Dennis, what do you think
we're gonna get for this guy?

DENNIS: Beautiful clarity near the core,

nice fat density
in the minor lobes and the skin.

A little bit of penetration
into the major lobes,

with this color...

$16 a pound.

-REED: Nice! We'll take that.
-BANKS: We'll take that.

We're stoked.

REED: All right, Dennis,
thanks a lot, man.

-DENNIS: Thanks for the fish.
-BANKS: Pretty work. Thanks a lot.

REED: We need to catch more tuna,
but right now,

Mother Nature's not cooperating with us.

We're gonna see what tomorrow
has in store for us.

MAN [on radio]: Storm warning.

Showers and thunderstorms.

Seas 11 to 16 feet.

West winds 40 to 50 knots.

PAUL: It's gettin' real bad.
It's supposed to blow 40 knots.

This is the stuff you get caught in.

But if you're smart, you get away from it.

Even though we need to catch more tuna,

it's not worth putting your life
in jeopardy for.

MARCIANO [on radio]: Are you serious
about staying till sunset?

TYLER: [bleep] yeah. I don't care.

MARCIANO: I don't know, whatever.

I don't... I don't see it.

It's gonna get pretty rotten, I think.

MARCIANO [on radio]: We're gonna
haul 'em in and get outta here.

You know, I'm here
to make a living, too,

but dyin' ain't much of a livin'.

PAUL: Hello.

TYLER: I know how to fish in big weather,
and while it's great to buddy fish,

it's just not always possible.

I can't just give up
'cause these guys wanna wuss out.

I figured we'd at least fish
the afternoon.

Why wouldn't we?

PAUL: It's rough, that's why
they're going in today.

TYLER: Bunch of b*tches.

PAUL: We have a paycheck on the deck.

We should just pack it in
and get ready for another day,

or we're gonna end up
getting stuck out here,

getting k*lled and not being able
to fish another day.

TYLER: We're not gonna get k*lled!

I've fished in way worse conditions
than this and been fine.

So if I say I can fish, I can fish.

PAUL: This boat's gonna be fine?

TYLER: I always get everyone in safely.

PAUL [off screen]: All right.

We stay.

TYLER: Where's the greenstick?

PAUL [off screen]:
Where the hell is the bird?

TYLER: I can't see the line.

Where's the greenstick line?

PAUL: Oh-oh, lookit, wait.

It's under the boat.

If the line wraps around the propeller,
we are screwed.

The waves are going every which way.

They're pushing the greenstick line
under the boat.

If it wraps around the propeller,

it'll freeze the engine
and stop the boat dead in the water.

-TYLER: [bleep].
-PAUL [off screen]: Oh, my God.

Go forward, Tyler.

TYLER: Getting [bleep] crazy.

PAUL: Keep going.

Damn it, it's not moving.

We're gonna be [bleep], dude.

Son of a b*tch!

PAUL: If the line wraps around
the propeller, we are screwed.

Go forward, Tyler.

TYLER: Getting [bleep] crazy.

PAUL: Keep going.

Damn it, it's not moving.

We're gonna be [bleep], dude.

Son of a b*tch!

We gotta cut it off.

Get a knife!

TYLER: I got cutters, you hold.

See, all we had to do was cut the line.

I've seen the greenstick line
get blown around the boat before.

Paul hasn't, so he's freaking out.

PAUL: I cannot believe this just happened.

This is why we should go in
when I say we should go in.

'Cause of things like this.

The thing is,
it's not sensible to be here.

We should go in.

TYLER: We're going in.

What the [bleep] do you want?
I would stay.

PAUL [off screen]: You should not put
other people at jeopardy, ever.

TYLER: Pissed off, we're going in.

LUCAS: What's up, guys?
Got another one, huh?

PAUL: Yeah. We got lucky.

Not big, 77 inches.

LUCAS: Hey, it'll do.

PAUL: It's a paycheck.

LUCAS:
Right. All right, let's see what you got.

Let's see what she's worth.

Little guy.

Let's see what she weighs.

PAUL [off screen]: What you see?

TYLER: What is it? What is it?

LUCAS: 178 pounds.

All right, let's check out
the core, see how you did.

No fat.

TYLER: Paul should have listened to me.

We should've stayed out
to try and catch another fish.

LUCAS: Nothing too crazy here,
no fat at all.

You know, there's really
not much you can do to it,

considering it has no fat, so...

The most you're looking at...

eight bucks a pound.

PAUL: That's still 1,500 bucks.

I'll take one every day like that.

It's still a paycheck,

at the end of the year it adds up.

And we caught one more fish
toward the quota.

And that means one less fish
for someone else.

TYLER: We're out of here,
Bubba, as always.

LUCAS [off screen]: Go get some more.

TYLER: I'm pissed off.

We're going fishing tomorrow
no matter the weather.

Paul's gonna have to realize

that I've had a lot of experience,

and I know what I'm doing.

MARCIANO: It was rough coming in,
so we had to take it slow.

JAY: What's up, gentlemen?

BUBBA: How you doing?

MARCIANO: Feels great to come back
with a fish today.

We're not smoking
these Southern boys,

but you know what?

We're holding our own.

LUCAS: What's going on, guys?

MARCIANO: You know, it's a little one,
but I think he's pretty nice.

We're hoping we get
some good money for this guy.

LUCAS: All right, let's check it out.

-MARCIANO [off screen]: All right.
-LUCAS: See what you got.

Let's see what she weighs.

JAY: I'm gonna guess


MARCIANO: I'm gonna tell you, 174.

LUCAS: 181 pounds, guys.

MARCIANO: Nice. Well, another
nice package, Jay, that's all.

LUCAS: See how the package looks
on the inside here.

JAY: Now for the core.

LUCAS [off screen]: Let's see how you did.

Core is really nice.

No burn.

I mean, the tail color is perfect.

And there's a little bit of fat.

MARCIANO: Well, spit it out, will ya?

Come on. You're k*lling me over here.

LUCAS: Right now, based on the market,

-16 bucks a pound.
-MARCIANO [off screen]: Nice.

We'll take it. Well done, Jay.

-All right, we'll see you guys soon.
-LUCAS: All right, guys.

BUBBA: Nice job.

MARCIANO: We came back
with the goods, another nice fish.

Things are looking good now.

We're really starting to make some money.

The quota's filling up day by day,

but the season's not over yet.

So if the weather can just cooperate,
we'll do it again tomorrow.

NARRATOR: At the close of day 11,

Southern boat Wahoo extends
their lead over the fleet,

while Hard Merchandise's
good quality fish

gives them a much needed payday.

And after weigh-ins across the fishery,

now half the quota is filled.

TJ [off screen]:
This is like being in New England.

It's like a foot thick right here.

TJ: You wanna make a Carolina snow angel?

-He's an angel!
-JARRETT: Ah!

MARCIANO: Brr. Raymond Burr.

PAUL [off screen]: They don't even have
snow plows here.

They don't even know what shovels are.

REED [off screen]: Wasting our time
shoveling this [bleep].

BANKS: Now you tell me.

REED: Yeah, well, I mean...

BANKS: I could have left this.

TYLER [off screen]:
These Southern boys can't handle this.

[Greg laughs]

NICK: You got chains on your tires?

PAUL: North Carolina, everybody.

Welcome aboard.