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Sort of scary right now. Everybody I know isn't pulling nothing. Oh, yeah. Yeah! Jack I have never had a run of bad luck like this ever. There's probably guys out there just kicking my *** to high heaven right now. Holy Full pots of crab! But nobody's gonna know. I have never in my life set a crab pot that I didn't think was gonna come up full. of Dutch harbor First pot of the season 2010. On the remote blue king crab grounds. There's St. Matthews island. Crabs basically are to the South and the west on the survey. We're gonna start deep and work our way up shallow. This is the last outpost where those brave and bold enough to venture this far north will find grim failure or a king's ransom. Been following us. Yeah, baby. Six days ago I don't need you. I don't need you here. Good, good. You want me to leave? I'll leave. The crew of the Cornelia Marie got off to a rough start. I want you to treat me with some respect. Don't start shoving me around. Now, with the first pot off the bow It's time to fish. I'm super comfortable with this fishery. I've succeeded more than I've failed, so I'll find them and make this happen. First pot of the season, baby! Sink or swim right here. This is for you, boss! Little bit. No keepers, though. I see one. At least it wasn't a blank. It's a sign of life. How many we score? Not enough. A good blue king crab pot averages between 20 and 30 crab. Derrick's first Eh, God. Unbelievable. We'll get them. Attitude's definitely key right now to keep everybody's spirits up. Two to a pot. We can't live on that. Back to the drawing board. Whoo! We got a big problem. I don't know what he's got going up there. We need to find something better than this. On a quick run between strings Steve pays captain Derrick a visit. The blue crab, these guys just still not buying it. They're not buying the whole story. Someone's got to prove me different. I have never made money there. I have it in my mind when I leave the dock that I'm gonna fill the boat up. That's what I know is gonna happen. All is I know is all the guys that tell me how great they are I never, ever heard Sig ever tell me how great you were. They just went out and did it. Not once did I tell you how great I am, Steve. Not once. I just told you that I caught crab. That's all I know. I didn't tell you how great I was, that I was the greatest fisherman ever. I just know that I succeeded. - We. - You. - We. - You. - We. - We're just the deck monkeys. No. We are a crew and a team. We have to hold this boat together. We have to take care of each other. Just 60 miles from the Cornelia Marie, also fishing the blue king crab grounds, is the 108-foot Ramblin' Rose. We're in the middle of nowhere up here. Nobody else is around. We're out here all by ourselves. We're gonna be two and a half days from anywhere we can get help from. The coast guard couldn't get us if they wanted to. Something goes wrong, you got to fix it. You know? You got to make sure everybody's on point at all times. Ambitious young skipper Or foolish risk-taker? I think we're gonna score real big up here. Either way, a tip from a fisherman friend is all Elliott needs to think he's gonna score big. This is definitely an opportunity for me to go up there and shine. Everybody thinks fishing blue crab is real hard, but not the Ramblin' Rose. We're gonna kill it. Here we go. First pot of blue crabs. Round one. Don't miss the first pot of the season. Nice. Feeling pretty good about it. I'm pretty stoked. Come on, baby. There it is! Oh! Whoo! Yay! Elliott's first pot as a captain shows signs of life. Four. Right on. Right on. But only a new skipper could get this excited over single digits. That would be a really good pot right there if they were all bigger. We'll find out if they're keepers. Bye Bye The females must be preserved in order to maintain the species. Hopefully there's some males somewhere. Two. At least there's something. At least they're not boneyards. Hopefully there's some crab in it. He better get more than five. I'm gonna throw his *** overboard. After 25 pots, the number of crab continues to drop off. I need more crab. I need more crab. Elliott's decision to rely on his buddy's friendly advice has proven to be a costly error. For two and a half hours Only about a two average. We're gonna keep moving on. It's gonna take a lot more than that to stop the Ramblin' Rose. northeast of Dutch harbor Is the 155-foot Wizard. Right now we're 3 1/2 days into a fishery. I got zero crab on board, and my crew hasn't slept. Things are about as bleak as I can ever remember. Welcome to the jungle, baby. You're gonna die. Five days ago I've been pouring over these charts. We're seeing a concentration of crab coming in between black hills up into the deep hole. Captain Keith colburn used 30 years of experience to go out on a limb on new grounds. Right now, these first pots are telling me to get the hell out of here. After striking out at the black hills The skipper has returned to more familiar grounds. Right here where we are now, way up in the northern gully I've had good fishing in 2008 and 2009. I figured I'll go back to what I know and go back to what I'm comfortable with. I guess I need to make some kind of a comeback here and basically catch some crab. As Keith returns to his old playbook Let this be the one. His attention turns to minimizing the risks on deck. My brother is 46 years old. He doesn't belong on the stack anymore, and I need him down at the controls. Hey, Paul. Jump up on the stack, and why don't you walk him through what he's gonna have to do, okay? What's up, Mouse? So, you want to put I want to put him up on the stack, yes. I don't think he's ready for it. I don't give a Mouse, Mouse, listen. - I'm not arguing about this. - I know. I can't rely on having you as a stack man forever, and one of these guys has got to learn how to do it, so let's see if we can pull this off. Instead of prove me wrong, prove me right, and train this guy how to do it. All right. We'll get him going. Paul's not ready for this. He's never tied the gear down on deck before. But you don't put somebody up here that's not ready. I kind of wanted the chance. If he's allowed to go up there, I want a chance to go up there. One false move on the stack can mean serious injury Now, there's a lot of big drops up here. Or worse. Watch where you step. Don't expect to land on something. This is a real good time right now to give Paul a soft landing on just getting used to being up there, getting his balance, being around the gear, seeing where the ties are and how to get them off quickly. So the right way to do this is you're gonna start over here with these ties. It's tied there. It's tied over here, and it's tied yet again right there. Okay. I'll probably screw up, but There are over 200 pots with four ties apiece. Crew's standing idle. The lurching crane pulls the pots free for setting. One missed tie could send the entire stack tumbling to the deck below. Now Paul's slowing us down. It's gonna take forever to get these pots off. I don't understand what these guys have against Paul. Holy There's one right there in front of you. You know, it's like they're unwilling to try and train him how to do this job. Okay. Sorry about that. Now it's yours. You know, the problem is, is my brother wants to prove that he's right. Right here, Paul. Roger. Total lack of discipline on this boat. Okay, Paul? Paul? Paul! Come on down! And it stops and it ends now. Everybody back in the house right now. Everybody off the deck now! Everybody on this boat, who's the captain? You are! Then stop arguing with me. 'Cause everybody's making their own decisions, all right? That's not true. No. I don't want Mouse, did I just say "who's arguing with me?" Okay. Shut up and listen. All right. I'm listening. I give you guys an order, you take it. I'm shaking like a leaf right now because I've got absolutely no respect from my crew. If I ask you to do something, let's do it. Keith, can I just say this? Paul being way up there on the stack Lenny, Lenny, Lenny! Stop, please! Did you just hear a word I said? Yes, I did. That's all I want to hear. Okay. We're trying to tell him I don't want to hear any more back talk! Back out. I guess we're out tonight. I got way too much on my plate right now. The last thing you need is a distraction. You need a distraction of somebody deciding he's in charge, like my brother. You know what? This gong show Is over. of Dutch harbor We're coming up on the first string of the season. is the Northwestern. Got the first pot right here. Can't hang your hat on the first pot, but it definitely will set the mood, right? Oh, yeah. A new season A new skipper. Hey, Jake, the bag's over that way. Well, sort of. I saw the child on board isn't happy. The only way to make him happy is to give him his way. So now we're gonna let him haul here. Jake driving the boat is gonna make this long day into an even longer day. For the past five seasons When are you gonna teach me how to run the vessel? What makes you think you're gonna be up here all the sudden? Jake Anderson has been pestering Sig for more responsibility. I just want to keep moving forward so you know I'm aiming somewhere. Why don't you aim for the galley? I'm sure it needs cleaning. Now You better turn around, and you better tell them to stop throwing the hook. He's got his chance. That's the turn of shame. Usually it's our fault down here, we miss. Driving a boat They're waiting on you. And hauling pots You can get closer to them. Takes timing Closer. You! Yeah! And the ability to get within 20 feet of the bags. Let the games begin! What are you doing to me? Which one's next? What do you mean, "which one's next?" Oh, no, no, no. Okay. Got that out of the way. What will Jake do next? Our first load of gear we set on the east side of this bank. Then I set a cross here out to the west. A lot of times you'll find that the crabs school up more on these edges. Want to see if that's the case here. Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! That's big. That's almost half, baby! Yeah! I like it. I know, man. That's a good one. Half full. Holy cats. Badass. Some big-*** crab in there. Big-*** crab. Look at that. What you got? Whoo! Awesome. They're all keepers. Half full pots. Setting back. And they're dancing on deck. Beautiful. Yes! to the northwest is the Cornelia Marie. We're coming back to our furthest northeast gear. It's got 20 pots in it. After striking out on his first two strings It seemed like a spot that crabs were always at, so the only thing we can do is hope. I may be completely wrong. Captain Derrick Ray needs this string to pay off big. Let the good times roll, baby! You just got to hunt them down. You just got to find out where they're walking, where they're running, what they're doing. That's our job. Jackpot! High pot. That's an improvement. Yeah! Whoo! High pot, baby! That's how we roll. They're coming. Kid doesn't know how to give a crab count. Some parts of the map, 18 crab wouldn't be too good, but we're blue crab fishing. I just hope it holds up a little bit, you know? Just be nice to have a string with a 19 average. Oh, yeah. Oh yeah, baby! Oh, yeah! Whoo! The third string is paying off With double digits. All the way. The crab dies off completely. Uh-oh. That ain't good. What's happening there? See what we got going on. A little, tiny crab. Looks like sand fleas ate our hanging bait. See, sand fleas. They start off really, really small until they get in the holes in the bait jars, and then, in a matter of hours, they turn out to be that size. But sand fleas can wipe out an entire string. It's amazing what little things can do. They'll eat that hanging bait in a matter of one or two hours, before the crabs even have a chance to get at it. Big tide, full moon, sand fleas. If it ain't one thing, it's another. Just 20 miles to east of the rest of the fleet is the Seabrooke. I've had some really good concentrations of crab on this little finger. It's a little 36-fathom finger. And so right now it's time to haul fast and haul hard. Scott Campbell Jr. has been on the crab for days. Put a biblical trip together on these kind of numbers. As he pulls up on the first pot of a new string Milton The mood on deck is decidedly upbeat. Hurry, hurry. It's going by, man. It's going by. He got it, though. He didn't miss. Whoo! Oh, yeah! What do you got for me? What do you got for me? Whoo-hoo! What we're looking for, man. That's what we're looking for. Leave it in the rack. We're gonna set. Junior makes the call to set back immediately. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Wow. Yeah, baby. That's a good high, man. This is it. This is why you're here. Yeah! This is a pretty phenomenal start. I always seem to start strong, finish strong. With big numbers coming on board What the is this? Where's that bait guy? The pace for every job on deck becomes critical. Kyle's standing around when he should be doing bait. Now everybody has to pitch in. Kyle's just kind of like walking in to people, walking into things. I got it. Go back to your bait. You know, if he'd just pick up the pace a little bit, nobody would be yelling at him. Not really doing his job and being very productive right now. Can't slow the operation down to teach them. They've got to learn to go to the pace of the boat. You got time Cut the fish. Oh, he's being a Sissy. Deck boss Bob Perkey jumps in to help out his son. Well, I've got my oldest son here on the boat right now. Getting some of that daddy love. He's got to quit, you know, nursing this kid. It's time to cut him off. Cut him off at the ***. Trying to throw the kid a bone. You know, he's still trying to get used to all this. Bob, give me a call on the phone. If I have to wait to set these pots 'cause he doesn't have bait ready, then I'm gonna come unglued. He should be able to fill two jugs and put two fish on. He's just got to stay focused. If he loses focus, then he's not gonna be able to do his job correctly. If not, then we're gonna have to get somebody else who can. That's the bottom line. Micromanagement. If he can't do his job, then we'll get somebody who will, Bob's kid or not. And Bob's got to quit babying his kid. Bottom line. I'm not staying for much longer. I'll probably just do this season and go home. Seven hours later Two-minute warning. Two-minute warning, and we will be getting started. Two-minute, yeah! Two-minute warning. Firing up! Yeah! Junior charts a new course on deck. Hey, knuckles, I want you to to take a break from the bait, and I want you to stack the pots. Whipper, you're gonna be on the bait. You better keep up. Everything primo by the end of this string. I haven't done bait in like a couple of years. Just trying to show him how it's done, you know, and keep it up and how you do it. We'll see if he paid attention or not. No excuses. He didn't want to do bait anymore. Gonna have to suck it up. With a new lineup in order, junior hits his fifth string of the season. Yeah! Another one! Right-o, right-o, boys. There we go. Back in them. Yeah! Yeah! So, we're just gonna continue to stack and move, stack and move, stack and move till we're full. Whoo! Junior's not just setting back. He's bumping his pots north to stay on the ever-moving ball of crab. Holy They just keep coming. They're unstoppable. We can't keep them away. Whipper, you're doing such a good job on bait, I think I'll keep you there, man. Keep it up. You're the bait master. Keep up that good work. That'll get him charged up. Yeah. Oh, junior loved messing with his little brother. He thinks it makes him move faster when he's getting on his case. Every once in a while, it's nice to get away from the baiting. Besides, the stink over there get in your skin. There's a little competition between them, but it's a good competition, and that's the key to running a successful business is recognizing a problem, attacking the problem, getting it straightened out before it becomes a massive issue. And that's what we have done. The morale's up on both those kids. They're both hustling harder than they were, and that's the name of the game. That was a good call. Pat myself on the back for that one. Far to the north and the remote grounds of the blue crab is the Rambling Rose. If it gets any bigger, I think we're probably gonna shut down. It's at 18 foot right now, and it's still going. Supposed to get up to 30. We're definitely not gonna haul gear in 30-footers. It's a little too big for a boat this size. The crew has been hauling for 36 hours with no break Gonna be a long night. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And a shrinking crab count. What kind of numbers? Wow. On his friend's advice, captain Elliott set all 120 of his pots in the shallow waters off Pinnacle island. It's been real frustrating. Setting all our gear. We haven't caught crab. And there is no payoff in sight. It's painful. So it. We're gonna go do it my way. Whatever works. We have 120,000 pounds to catch, right around there. With nearly three days wasted on these grounds, Elliott will continue stacking the rest of his pots Can't find them, grind them. And that's kind of what we do around here sometimes. And immediately set them on fresher grounds. Oh, man! Kind of a bummer sometimes, you know? It's like, wow. The opportunity to sleep. Start catching crab, it won't matter. Right now it just kind of sucks. But if this technique doesn't work, there's gonna be mutiny. Whoo-hoo! I expect these crab aren't gonna give themselves up that easy. I'm gonna have to work for it, just like everybody on deck's gonna have to work for it. Find a way to catch crab. This is what I was hired for. That's what I'm gonna do. to the southeast Is the Northwestern. As the boat steams between strings, deckhand Jake Anderson takes the first wheel watch. I saw the child on board isn't happy. The only way to make him happy is to give him his way. Welcome to the crab boat, buddy. If you can't take it, get the off. Punching bag is what I am. I swear that's what they hired me for. I'm sick of being on deck. I want to be somebody, you know? Five years just spent trying to get up here, and not up here in this specific wheelhouse, just any wheelhouse. Jake, we found the truck, and Mom? Mom? I think this whole crabbing thing just left a big, bad taste in my mouth. So many tragic things have happened. It just reminds me of awful, awful times in my life. While Jake was at sea, just nine months ago, his father went missing. Mom? They found the truck, but they haven't found him yet, but they're still searching, and our families are out searching. I just want you to not give up hope yet, okay? There's no trace of my dad. There was blood found in the truck. We got some food, you know, and some water across, and we set some food down for my dad, you know, 'cause we didn't want to leave him, you know? He would have never left me. Never left me in the woods to die. They reported him missing. Quickly, I became the man of the house. There's four sisters, and they all have 12 kids combined. It's become my life, you know, to make sure that they're all doing okay. They all have their bills paid, and I'm so torn, you know? I just want to run a boat. That's it. I don't see Sig leaving the boat to me. The Northwestern is starting gain on the Seabrooke. northeast of Dutch harbor on the Wizard Who's the captain? You are! Then stop arguing with me. I give you guys an order, you take it. Keith, can I just I don't want to hear any more back talk! I haven't talked to my brother since that big blowout yesterday. It's been 26 hours since captain Keith Colburn went off on his crew. Loud, pissed off, aggressive are three of my idiosyncrasies that I really dislike about myself. What I need to do is find a way not to be the tyrant. And the best way to win back the guys on deck Is to land on the crab. If there's any place in the Bering sea for me to mount a comeback, it's right here. These pots have been soaking on Keith's favorite grounds for over 18 hours. I just really want to believe there's some crab here. Double digits, double digits, double digits. Thud. They might squeeze a We need to get catching. Every day we don't catch crab, it's just more cost, more expenses. No money for us. Back the crane up. How are we doing, Lenny? You get a count? Five crab. "Not enough" is the answer to "how many crab?" As long as we keep hauling He took a gamble. It didn't pay off. Unfortunately, we are putting another stack on the boat. What I'm seeing right now at the beginning of this set looks like we just made ourselves another 180-pot mistake. Even my hot spot, my old tried-and-true hot spot isn't isn't providing us anything. Man, this crew is gonna have to go for another day or two without any sleep. With no more than a snack break in 50 hours For the third time in four days, the crew is restacking a full load. More pain, more pain. More pain, less crab. More pain, no crab. I'd wrap up with a cod and go to sleep right now. Hey, guys, we got about 4 miles, okay? After a Monte approaches the wheelhouse. In fact, here he is. Come in and have a candy bar for 4 miles? Come in and have a candy bar. Yeah. Right on. Yeah, and make it Yeah, you guys, we got a couple miles here. You might as well Might as well come on in and have a can You can't even say it! You might as well come on in and ha have a candy bar. Oh, God. That's why I love my brother, you know? Haven't slept for three days, and he finds a way to make it lighter for me. He makes me miserable, but he also finds a way to make me laugh. The Wizard has made its reputation as a 24-hour fishing vessel. We're gonna pull this boat out of gear. And the captain makes a very unlikely decision. We got to reboot, regenerate, get some sleep Start tomorrow off on a good note with the guys all rested up. It seems so far away and then it seems so close to me Don't battle me anymore, okay? Let's battle mother nature. Let's battle catching crab. - No more battles here. - You bet. I can't think properly when we're battling. I know. We got to make some money. 'Cause I'm lookin' myself in the eye in the mirror and, baby, I am wandering Tomorrow, we'll see what's in this gear, and hopefully we'll be on them. And when I'm old, if I'm lucky and the years have gone by I can look back and smile I can look back and smile I can look back and smile
