Alas, Catch Nation, the time is nigh. The time to say goodbye to another season of Deadliest Catch. This season went by FAST, didn’t it? Ups and downs, heartache and tragedy, along with triumphs and pranks. I do want to take the time to say a quick prayer for the eternal soul of Justin Tennison, deckhand seen on this season, on board the Time Bandit. Shortly after the taping ended for this season, and three days after the Time Bandit pulled into port at Homer, Alaska, Justin passed away in his sleep due to sleep apnea.

So, here we are. Last episode we saw, at the end, Keith from the Wizard, getting pretty violent with a cameraman. How will this episode go?

But first, this episode of Deadliest Catch was brought to you by frost brewed Coors Light.

Sig wants to go home, junior’s down with a kidney stone, Keith wants it over with, Jake tells Josh not to be scared, everything he’s done in his life has lead to the chair….Josh says you can go, get along, get your own boat. It’s sweat, misery and pain. The Time Bandit with fireworks of course. And our opening. Thank you Discovery for keeping Phil in your into too btw.

We start off on the Wizard. We see Keith going off on Carper, the camera guy again. In an EW article recently, he’s said it was wrong and right to do. I think the Keith on the boat isn’t the same as the Keith off the boat, because friends of mine, who know him, say just that. After 8 hours of pulling empty pots, Captain Keith cracked under the pressure. He says he doesn’t snap over something small, it piles up and he snaps, He unleashed his wrath on Brad Carper, who we see going off as well. Keith says he gets spun up, the frustration with the numbers could be bubbling out. While captain and camera man stew, out on deck, a 14 hour grind plagued by sand fleas finally comes to an end. Keith says the area isn’t working, not what he’s after and he sets a course for new grounds. 10 hours later, Freddie says it’s time for a hair cut, for good luck before the next string. His way of turning fortunes is downright hairy, lol. He’s cutting Mohawks for many of the guys and Keith loves it. Says he’d do it but he doesn’t have the proper hairline for it. Freddie encourages it as he shaves Lynn and others….Keith says he’s doing it too before he loses his nerve. He lets Freddie cut his hair!! The crew heads out saying good luck is coming, ala Cornelia Marie style (remember that?)….Keith thinks the screws have come completely loose now but the crew is hopeful. They’ve even put the hair in the bait bin!! The pots drop. The music swells. Rock on.

30 miles away, the Cornelia Marie stares down her final haul. Tony shows Josh how it was his set, says nice job. Josh says we’ll see what comes up before we say nice job. This was his first string, which for the CM, may be the last. Josh wants to keep the boat fishing and will make it happen. Tony says if they get decent numbers, they’ll stack. Not only will solid numbers end the season, with Tony rooting for them, they’ll fuel the confidence of two aspiring skippers. Josh is taking it personal, he expects and hopes for numbers with his fingers crossed. As he first pot comes in, with baited breath I type. The crew will blame Josh though if it sucks. The pot comes up, and it’s a beauty! WAY TO GO JOSH!!! Your father would be proud of you. Josh has faith and Tony is happy there’s crab. Jake says if this keeps up they’ll make money. It’s a BEAUTIFUL string! The crew is happy, the bounty offers the Harris boys a glimmer of hope. Josh says it’s a great string, bountiful. They’re having good luck. More great pots come up, their good fortune continues straight through until morning. The last pot comes up, Jake says they’re going home, it’s sunny out, nice and everything’s going their way. The last pot comes up STUFFED. Tony tells them they have what they need so they dump it and Tony says “See you next year”. Josh says rough but good season. With the fate of the boat still hanging in the balance, the crew heads home with $21,000 for their effort.

At the Northwestern, they only have a day before a storm hits to get their load. He races to finish before another storm engulfs the ground, they need between 40-50K of crab. He can’t stack pots before stuffing the tanks. Matt Bradley says they need about 300 per pot to end the season. Sig says if they don’t see the crab they’ll have to dump, go back in and wait. It’s all or nothing. The first pot comes up, and it’s a BEAUTY! Everyone cheers and Sig smiles at the camera. He asks if they’re going home and the crew cheers. They’re dialed in. Another pot comes up stuffed. It’s looking good. With numbers like these, Sig says they have enough to stack and get out of there. The rest of Sig’s quota is soaking on the ocean floor. Sig calls Jake up, says it’s all you, take control. If they don’t listen, let him know. The crew must build an intricate, 170 pot stack without Edgar. Jake is scared of stacking pots, normally Edgar does it. It’s a lot, he asks for a huddle. Jake says you guys taught me what I know, before we start be safe, Matt throws the hook and Nick’s on the stack. They cheer Northwestern. By the way, how adorable is Jake with his beard? So they start. But he’s not steady and the crew already say he’s not ready. 30 year old Jake Anderson must oversee the hauling, sorting and stacking of every last pot. Nick calls out after awhile for him to wait, and a pot swings wildly. Sig says get control over your pot. The crew prays to get them on safe and out of there. Sig says the weather’s coming sooner than expected, with snow squalls and it’s picking up. Jake’s looking at the stack and biting his nails. The only wait to learn how to do it is just do it, Sig says, while Jake remarks it’s very high stress. After stacking 60 pots, Jake begins to find his stride. The crew then starts telling him he’s doing a great job. Jake says he can go home and tell his mom he’s doing a good job and she can be proud of her son. His dad is smiling down from him from heaven. He once lived on the street, but now he’s gained the respect of the crew. Sig says he’s so passionate about what he does, you can’t buy that either. Good for you Jake. Six long hours later, the final pots are lifted from the sea. His Uncle Nick says good job, you didn’t kill us. Matt says he proved himself, Jake, he got the pots on and pretty much pulled it off. Sig comes out and says awesome! See, you did it! He says he has to get a stripe, tells him to get on his knees. Sig has a swords and knights him Sir Jake of the Northwestern, deck boss of he Northwestern. The crew fist bump while Sig says “Let’s go home”.

Across the fleet, the finish line to Opie season draws near. Final pots are splashed. The fate of the Seabrooke remains unknown. For a fortunate few, a two month battle is finally over. Bill from the Kodiak says it’s nice to end on a high. The Time Bandit finishes up too, 600K pounds in a month and the Time Bandit season is over. The crew cheers Captain Andy. While Johnathan praises his brother too. The course for home is plotted and back in Dutch Harbor, one captain plots his revenge. Sig says they got him good, and we see the prank the Time Bandit pulled on him with the Chinese Lanterns during king crab season.

Sig says how do you teach a child when he does something wrong? You give him a time out and it’s time for the Time Bandit to have one. The crew says they owe them, Sig says it’s payback time.

But on the Wizard, Keith is about fed up, it’s the trip from hell. He wants the season over and it’s the Mohawk string. The crew is hopeful. Freddie says pound it sucka. Keith says we’re not going in light and stranding any crab. Freddie throws the hook, and the pot comes up. It’s a keeper for sure! Keith screams in jubilation. They yell “Jackpot!!!”. Freddie DANCES across the deck, and says he’s bad ass. More great pots come up. Monte says it’s about time the pots come up full, they’re ready to go home. Freddie says they put hair in, the crew offered up hairy bait and the crab gods answered with full pots. Keith says the way to do it is finish up in style. The last pot is on the bow. This trip is over. Soper says the trip from hell. Crab and weather problems, but they won. And they sure did! Freddie again has blood on his face and he fist bumps Keith. The tanks are stuffed, and each crew member rakes in $81,000 in cash. Wow!

Back on the Seabrooke, Bob was told he’d only have to drive a string, but Junior may be in dire need of medical attention. The crew doesn’t know what’s going on and now the boat’s entire season is on the line. Taking the skipper to Dutch will tack on an extra week of fishing. After a gut wrenching 14 hour fight, the kidney stone the size of a speck of sand comes oi. He’s passed the stone. Junior says it’s like pissing razor blades for the next 12 hours, but it’s back to work. He goes back up to the wheelhouse taking no time to recover. Junior heads for the top of his gear. He’s going to have one time through the gear, and get what he gets. With their final offload in just 36 hours, the Seabrookes’ fate comes down to one last string. The crew says happy thoughts and it worked b/c the pot is a beautiful one! That last pot had 385. The crew can taste the jet fuel which means they’re on their way home. Junior says this is just what they needed. The crew hauls into the night. One pot has 1120, the crab count SOARS! He couldn’t have dreamed for this fishing, for one crew member it’s the biggest pot they’ve ever seen. 1285, a new record. That’s the last pot, and they’re going home. After surviving pain that brought him to his knees, Junior rallies back. Stuffing the tanks, sending his men home with $40,000 each. Junior wants to be the best, with the highest catch, more than anyone. He wants to be a legend, it’s how he rolls and that won’t change. Scott, I can understand that, but please know it’s SO much more than the catch too.

As the fleet returns home to Dutch Harbor, aboard the Kodiak, Bill’s on the bow and no one’s ever seen him there when it’s moving. He turns the wheel over to deck boss Adam McCalden, saying he’s not there yet but it’s a small step/effort. Adam says it’s cool to see father and son on the bow, Bill thanks him for coming up and he says he’ll be back next year. Bill says you wont’ want to give it up. After putting in two months of sweat and pain, each crew member receives $70,000 in return. With Dutch Harbor firmly in their sights, the Time Bandit is nearly home. Andy says it feels great to be getting home. JT and Scotty say it’s going to be great to get home, JT is ready to get home to see his kid, they look at pictures of their boys. JT says it gets better as they get bigger, his son is 6 and Dakota, his girl is 15. Says she watched him screw up for so long but now she’s proud. You see pictures of his kids too, they’re beautiful. As the Time Bandit navigates Dutch, on the Northwestern, Sig tracks tehhir every move. Sig says it’s just a matter of when they come around the corner, and there they are.

Sig calls over to Andy and asks about his season. Says he has a shake in the back, can’t tell what’s going on, Andy asks if he wants him to swing by his stern to check it out. Sig says by saying that, it’s believable b/c it does happen, they’ll come help. They will stick to the code, even if leery. Andy comes in and says “Hello Northwestern.” Johnathan says they miss the. The NW crew is battle ready, Sig says come to poppa. The crew lights up, Sig says payback’s a bitch, and they fire away! Andy says we’re under attack, the Northwestern is shooting at us! Get on deck! So the Time Bandit shoot back, it’s a fireworks explosion! Johnathan says they lured you in, it’s a war now! Hilarious Sig says take cover, they’re shooting back! Sig says light me up! He fires over too and Johnathan sets off a doozy, Sig ducks and fires back. Sig heads for cover, says it’s like WWIII!!! This is so cool, Andy calls for a cease fire and Sig does too. Andy says you got us good you albino ^*($(%^*P(. Sig says the problem with his warfare is expect the unexpected, didn’t think they’d be ready for that. They say they got them, so fire it up into the sky. After spending all that time going for their bounty, each person on the Northwestern takes home $46,000 while the crew of the Time Bandit walks with $72,000 of cold hard cash. Dang! They seriously light it up, the fireworks are amazing and from BOTH boats! WOW!

The Cornelia Marie has ended their final voyage this season, but the vessel has a shaky future. The boys say they have to keep it going for their dad, they know what type of captain they want to be. Jake wants to take the bull by the horns, Josh says you have to do it the right way, being smart and not fast tracking. Jake says everything has led up to this, dad was there at 21, without answers but with will. Jake says he’s doing it the right way, how many years do you have to sit back? Josh says if you want to do it your way you can get a loan, get your own boat. Jake says you want to hire someone to run your boat? Awesome. The crew talks about things, Ryan says it’s hard to say what the future holds, not sure if he has another trip in him. The crew says they don’t come out for fun but to make money, it’s not as easy as they think it is. The boat passes Phil’s final resting place. Josh says hopefully he’s proud of us for trying and doing our best. They throw him a cigarette. Josh says he misses the old man a lot. As the Cornelia sails away, and pulls into dock, they watch. The crew works. Jake says it was a whole lotta laughs, good time, hard time too not having the old man here. Life goes on. The offload is done. After 21 years surviving the deadly Alaskan crab grounds, the CM’s storied legacy falls on the shoulders of two young fisherman. It’s a family business, doing what they can to stick together and make it work. Josh says he’s had it hard the last couple years and this is their redemption season. Josh says he’ll do everything in his f’ing power to keep it going too.

The last show, fittingly, is in memory of Justin Tennison, 1977-2011. I had wanted to say something profound about Justin, but the Time Bandit website said it best in this:

“It is with great sadness that the Time Bandit family announces the death of crew member Justin Tennison.  Justin died peacefully in his sleep the night of February 21, 2011.

Justin fished commercially for many years, living in Alaska for 28 years.  He worked on the Time Bandit, alongside his second cousin, Eddie Uwekoolani, Jr., serving as Engineer during the tendering seasons, and joined the Time Bandit crew as a deckhand fishing the Red King 2010 and Opilio 2011 seasons.

Justin was tough as a bull and was an all-around good hand.  The Captains and Crew appreciated his hard work and many contributions this past year.  We will miss him terribly and wish his family all the best during this most difficult time.

Justin is survived by a son, daughter, sister, father and grandparents.  He was 34 years old.

A trust has been established for the children of Justin Tennison.  Anyone wishing to make a contribution may do so by sending a check payable to the JUSTIN TENNISON MEMORIAL ACCOUNT at the following address:

Justin Tennison Memorial Account
C/O Wells Fargo Bank
88 Sterling Highway
Homer, AK 99603″

I started this series of recaps this way, and I’m going to end it the same way.

Phil, may you rest in peace. I hope you are riding your Harleys, building your birdhouses, blaring your music and finding endless pots stuffed with crab up there. You are DEARLY missed by all who knew you personally, and all who knew you through the show. Your presence was larger than life, and your heart was even larger. I, personally, want to thank you for showing me how someone can admit their flaws, and yet persevere through them. You inspired such a high degree of loyalty from your crew that they stayed with you even when they knew they could make more money elsewhere. You many not have always had the biggest catch, but you made that crew into a family and that boat into a home. THAT’S why you are so loved, even after death. Johnathan said it best, “I was blessed to walk the earth with Phil Harris, and that’s a damn fact”.

In Memory, Also, of Captain Phil Harris. December 19, 1956 – February 9, 2010.

So, from the commercials on last night’s live show, we knew a celebrity or celebrities would be visiting the Big Brother house today but for what reason, no one knew. Although in seasons’ past, when a celeb visits (aside from Neil Patrick Harris, a BB fan himself) it usually means they’re plugging their latest project, a luxury viewing of the project plus treats are going to be involved. So, feeds went off at about noonish BBT today and didn’t come back on for a few hours at least today. What happened? Oh, join us in our forums HERE to dicuss!

Word has it that Jordan may have won the luxury competition and got to pick who went to the luxury with her. Apparently, but not confirmed, she chose Jeff, Kalia and Shelly (for sure). We know she did NOT choose Brenchel, Dom or Dani. The luxury involved a viewing of the new CBS show “Same Name” plus snacks.

Well, here we are, second to last episode of Deadliest Catch. But don’t let that bum you out, as Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand’s Discovery special starts tonight! As we wind down on the seventh season of Deadliest Catch, we’re reminded that at this time last year we lost our beloved Captain Phil. Can anyone explain to me why Discovery chose to omit that remembrance from the US version of the series? (I’m hearing the international versions will show it). Comment, or register in our forums HERE to tell us what you think!

So, here we go.

Oh, and this episode of Deadliest Catch was brought to you by Coors Light, the world’s most refreshing beer.

Keith says there’s a lot of kids in the Bering Sea right now that just got kicked out of the nest. Josh wants to keep on fishing, it’s what he was born, bred and corn-fed to do. Josh setting the pots, and Jake, but the crew’s not sure they know what to do. Scott Junior says any little hang up and they won’t make it. Elliott says if they can’t get it fixed they can’t haul gear….Junior in pain, Keith assaulting a camera guy (anyone remember him last season upset about Johnathan pushing him?).

We open with St. Paul. Bad weather. The end is near. On the heels of a long Opie season. Unstable weather creates doubt across the fleet. Sig’s not sure they can get much in 60 knot winds and Nick smells nightmare. On the Seabrooke, Junior says they won’t get much sleep and food will be minimal due to the time-frame of a tight delivery date. Each crew must turn their gear quickly or face another grueling two weeks at sea. Cowboy up and put your big-boy panties on b/c it’s going to be a gnarly ride!

First boat we visit tonight is the Time Bandit, yay!!! Fourtner yawning, Tennison nodding back and forth. Andy says do as much as he can before it blows hard tonight, time is the enemy right now. This is his last trip b/c it’s been a grind. After 5 weeks of shutdowns, and injuries, Captain Andy finally lands on the motherload. Did you expect any less? Working about 20 hours straight and will work another 8 before sleeping 2. The whole year they haven’t slept at all and Mikey says suck it up buttercup. Travis says the natural body cycle says sleep, but not if you’re a crab fisherman. For the crew, the solution is to put your head down and grind, but for Justin Tennison; exhaustion, frustration are starting to show. Mike says when you have one person coming out sour, there’s no point, it gets old and tiring for everyone. Andy says he’s down south, but his gear is 8-10 miles away. He calls everyone into the galley to wait. The 20 minute steam allows the crew a short reprieve. Andy says it’s tough to stay awake but he can do this. It’s up to him to control the pace so they can get in another load, it’s that simple. If he has to keep them up for 24 hours and sleep for 4, then work another 32, that’s what they do. He calls them up, or tries to, but they’re all asleep. Nobody moves. Andy says the last string to pull before sleep, the boys need to wake up. So he throws out a firecracker, while Tennison is at the rail. Andy yells out to JT a good morning, while the rest of the crew come out. JT says he’s glad he’s having fun up there, he’d be doing better if a seal bomb didn’t go off in his ear. Eddie says he’s being pissy and tired, grumpy. Mike says easy turbo, to which JT says he has something to say about everything. Mike says cry me a river buttercup, we got a cry baby on the deck. JT says listening to your mouth, Mikey says you throw one string and think you’re doing something. Andy calls out “Seriously?!?” Mikey tells him to step up and throw more than one a day. Now they’re going back and forth, with Mikey saying hell tell him right now he has an attitude and to knock it off, grow up. JT says to get out of his face. John and Andy watch, Andy says to knock it off. Mikey says he’ll treat him like a 16 year old if he acts like it. Andy says to mention to Fourtner JT doesn’t like being yelled at. Mikey says JT goes through more mood swings than a teenager, Andy says they need to separate. Both Hillstrand brothers agree they’re very tired. Eddie thinks it’s all funny while Scotty asks if they can go back to crab fishing yet. This would be interesting to discuss, if JT hadn’t passed away shortly after that scene was filmed.

We’re on the Ramblin Rose as Captain Neese hauls his last string of the season. He says the catch is decent. After 4.5 weeks of grueling fishing, the finish line is in sight. Suddenly, the line jams, there’s no hydros. Not what the young skipper needs. As he inspects the engine room, something is very hot. After 4 months of grinding through gear, the ten horse power compressor is burned out. He doesn’t know what the deal is, the air pressure isn’t working. He tells the crew and says they might be able to rig it to get it working temporarily, but if they can’t get it fixed, they can’t haul gear. He wants to plug in another compressor and pump it into the hydros. The crew isn’t certain, they describe it as something you’d pump bike tires with. But Neese is determined. With their season just hours from ending, a run to St. Paul would add four days. Captain Neese tries and it worked! He’s a MacGyver, and the crew cheers. He doesn’t know how long it will last, but he’s determined to haul before it overheats. He has 200 pots still in the water, and he has a long way to go even if the motor dies.

We’re back on the Time Bandit. Andy hasn’t slept in 34 hours, they’re working through a crippling fatigue. JT says if someone puts hands on him again he’ll blow. After him and Mike nearly come to blows, full pots do nothing to relieve the tension on deck. Mikey says they’re all hurting, sore, tired, cry me a river and get over it. Andy says they got gear to pull, gotta get it done. Weather’s getting big, and the pots are coming up full. It’ll be the best year he’s had financially in 10 years. He says damn, it’s good fishing today! The weather’s really come up, the guys have to watch out now, they could seriously get hurt. Suddenly a line springs out of the block and they hurry to throw it over. Andy calls it a line of death, a whole line shot out of the block and around Scotty and Mikey as it was attached to a 1000 lb pot. It could have drug them over. Andy’s never seen that in 20 years. The grind continues. Full pots continue to come up. They pulled 112 pots today, over 90,000 pounds. They’re tired, but happy. By morning, the weather calms, Andy tells them they kicked ass, four days of grinding paid off. The storm on deck dies down as well, JT and Mikey are hugging. They say lack of sleep, missing home, they all get those moments. They say guess what? It’s damn near over.

On the Wizard now. They’re in the middle of two storms, winds going different directions and the funnel creates 2X’s as much wind. Unable to escape the clutches of the storm, Keith must fish on to make his deadline. He thinks they’re going to be shut down by weather soon, and really thinks they should now but he has to fish too, for that deadline. Freddie was going the wrong way on the stack, but Soper directed him back. Right now, the most dangerous spot is where Freddie is, so Keith is keeping a close eye on him. Keith is clearly worried as he watches Freddie, who Soper describes as going slow and safe. Keith says this will be a long five hour set. They battle the weather, and Kieth is sitting on a 155 foot boat, says it’s amazing how small you feel when dealing with Mother Nature. It’s scary. They continue to set. The waves keep coming. A green one is coming, Keith yells to hang on. It crashes overboard and man, it’s a doozy. Keith checks to make sure the crew is good. Had the wave come through the middle it would’ve cleaned the crew out. Keith says he must’ve been out of his mind, what is he doing?

Now we’re at the Cornelia Marie. Josh is cooking for the guys, who are starving. The crew fuels up for the last trip of the season. Tony says the boys have been o the boat for awhile, now they have to figure out what they want to do with their lives. He’s helping them learn to run the boat and says while they need more experience, they’re capable of taking over eventually. He brings Jake up to show him how to haul a string. Tells him they need a 200 average and leaves him with the wishes to have fun. But Tony doesn’t rest, he goes to replace Jake at the rail! Josh says this should be interesting, it’s been six years since he’s been on deck. Jake says the captain shouldn’t be out there but no one will say anything. Tony throws the hook, Jake guides the boat and the pot comes up pretty decent! Well, so it seems, but they look dirty and there are some Bairdi. They need one tote of crab per pot, this one will have two. Jake calls out to Tony, says we’ll see if he’s a baseball player. Tony wants Jake to go faster now, so Jake picks it up. Tony throws, pulls the pot in. Another decent pot. But as Tony throws a shot in, he jerks his arm the wrong way, he pulled something. Skipper down. Tony says he’s out of shape. Josh shakes his head, says he doesn’t care how gifted you are 15 years ago, you have to stay where you know best now. While loading the 120 lb shot, Tony tore his bicep! Damn!The crew says back to where he belongs. He goes up to show Jake, who asks if he’s okay. He goes to change and Jake says definitely short lived on that one.

On the Ramblin Rose, Elliott’s entire season is riding on a patch job he did with a compressor motor found on the boat. One little thing could stop the entire operation, the crew’s curious and excited to see what will happen. They bet on how long it will last. The first pot comes up, with over 200 left to haul, the crew must work at a furious pace before the makeshift motor gives out. It’s working so far, but if the motor doesn’t hold, the season grinds on for another 6 days. Fingers crossed everyone! They’re racing against the clock to get it done before the motor goes. Elliott’s going to ram it down their throats, but they know the deal and don’t’ want to delay going home either. 30 pots in and the tiny motor still holds. Better than the crew thought it would. 28 hours later, they have just 5 pots to go. It’s nail biting time! Elliott says the motor hauled 220 pots going full tilt, and still working, that’s impressive. The crew feels better than they did earlier too. The last pot of the season is in the block now…Elliott says the next one stays in the rack and the crew cheers. The pot is coming up, and the compressor is holding. A huge wave hits….the pot emerges from the water….and there’s crab in it. They did it, they’ve made it. With that, it’s official. Elliott Neese has completed his first Opilio season as a captain. The crew congratulates him. He tells everyone else nice job as well. His crew hauled 370,00 pounds worth over $870,000 and for their hardship each man on deck will collect $22,000. Neese says they’re the new bad boys (um, ya did good, but I don’t’ think so).

Here’s the Seabrooke. Scott says they have 48 hours to ;put 120,000+ pounds on or they have to wait seven days. Says they can do it, but be prepared for little sleep and no food. Be ready to make it happen. But Junior is hurting, you could see him limping to his chair. He’s in pain. The crew readies to go out, Junior has never missed a delivery date and doesn’t want this to be his first, but any little hang up and it could happen. The crew hauls the first pot, they need to average 250-300 crab per pot. It comes up light, not good by Junior’s standards. He did not want this. First pot is 100. Next pot comes up, even worse than before. Not what they’re looking for. 75 in that one. At this rate they won’t make delivery with what they want and those pots are very light. Scott thinks they’re in trouble. He’s hurting still, he seizes in pain. Says everyone has their imperfections, why does his have to be kidney stones? Has a crew member come up. Bob comes up, and he shows him where the next pot is, Bob says he’ll figure it out. Junior heads to his bunk, Bob calls to the crew, tells them he’s passing a kidney stone and just fell in the wheelhouse. Apparently he’s had stone problems in the last 4-5 years. The crew can’t compare that pain to anything they know, but Junior says it’s like being jabbed with a knife and then twisted around.

Back to the Cornelia Marie now….Tony is showing Josh how to set pots. He puts the fate of the boat in the hands of it’s owner. Says a lot to pay attention to, pick the color of the string, showing him the recorder button to track the pots. Then he shows him what to write down, all the variables. Josh Harris is about to set gear for the first time. He says they’re setting the little pots. Ryan says it’s easy to set gear, but to know where to set them is something else. The crew has their doubts, they say it’s scary when you’re up there with no one to ask questions. Thankfully, Tony is showing Josh what to do. Jake says he doesn’t know if Josh forgot to beep but he thinks Josh is up there begging Tony to set them. The crew is ready, and they are waiting. Finally Josh beeps, and the crew cheers, but they say they don’t think he has a clue about what’s going on. Tony goes to leave, but Josh says not to go too far. Josh is out of his comfort zone, but this is what he wants to do…it’s just scary. He’s encountered his biggest fear up there, losing his dad, and now he’s in his chair, running his boat. He wants to keep the boat fishing, it’s what he was born, bred and corn fed to do and he will make it happen.

North now, on the Wizard. Free from the grip of the storm, the crew revels under a full moon. They’re literally howling at it and Keith says a full moon brings better fishing. After braving the storm to set his last 75 pots, Keith needs big numbers to send him home. The crew readies to haul, and it comes up light. Keith is not happy. 65 in that pot. Another pot comes up just as light and the crew wonders what is going on. Keith is sure the fleas are wiping them out. Lenny checks the jugs and it is sand fleas. Keith says they go crazy with the moon, they have a bloom and then you’re on them. If you’re in an area with them you could be in serious trouble with catching. The pots continue to come up light, Keith says it’s a waste of time, energy and bait. The string sucks, nothing’s there. It’s a total disaster. He says he won’t make it with these numbers. Keith continues to get upset, says it’s not worth it and as he’s talking, the p hone rings. He picks it up and it’s a camera guy asking for the producer, Keith says he should come up there himself. Then Keith heads downstairs, calling for him, says he doesn’t do anything, asked him to make coffee three times and he’s too busy. The camera guy tries to answer back and Keith SHOVES him all the way down the hallway. Keith says back off, go to bed or on deck, get out of his face. Cam guy says he’s out of line, and says who got in whose face? With that, the episode is over.

Time for the unfortunate feature of the week….”Have you seen us, because our fans sure haven’t…it’s not Where’s Waldo, it’s where was the Northwestern this week?”

But, as always, it would NEVER be appropriate to end any DC recap without this…R.I.P Phil, I hope you get all the time you need to make your birdhouses and ride Harleys in heaven.

Feeds were off for a good while, but when they came back, within a minute we were able to tell who was nominated by Jordan, the reigning Head of Household….don’t look if you don’t want to see!!!! Join us in our forums HERE to discuss!!!

Jordan nominated Dominic and Adam for eviction.

Welcome back everyone to the greatest reality show out there, Deadliest Catch! Just three episodes to go in this season, man it’s gone by fast! Last week we saw more of Opie season, which obviously continues tonight. So just what will this week bring? Let’s find out….

It opens with the guys talking about Opie season, how it’s hard to fish the season, the harbor is hard to go into, St. Paul being the Alcatraz of the Bering Sea and Keith wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy…and then it’s Jovi time!

Early morning, St Paul harbor, Alaska. The Wizard is five hours into an offload. Keith has off-loaders getting seasick in the tank b/c a 20 foot swell is wreaking havoc at the dock. Keith asks Mouse to get a line dealt with. And then the line snaps. Freddie is told to get the spring line, a surge is tearing up their tie up line and if they loose too many they have to stop the offload. They have to get it tightened up. Keith says some of the lines on a day like today are like dental floss, if the crab on board die then Keith loses $800K. Keith calls to the crew, or tries to but no one is there and Kieth is TICKED. HE yells at them to get on the radio, and calls Mouse up as he’s the blind leading the blind. Mouse comes up and Keith tells him to get the processor to break out a big line…Mouse tries to tell him what to do and Keith yells at him. Instead of fixing lines too thin he borrows a six inch line from the processor. The big lines from the dock will tie the boat up so it doesn’t break. The crew works to do so, and Keith tells them to watch their fingers. It’s tight now. They seem to be okay. If they break those lines they’d have to leave. With the boat finally secure the offload can continue. Mouse tells Keith it’s under control for the time being and he’s going to change. Keith says it’s going to be a long day and can guarantee if they don’t stay on top of things they’ll chase broken lines. He hates St. Paul…

On the Northwestern, the deckhands have been grinding for 24 hours for an offload they have in one day. Sig says this is the home stretch and wants them to stay focused, not take it for granted. They’re on the last lap. Jake says they’re behind and now they’re being crammed down their throats. They have to get at least 100 pots, if not 150. Sig needs the guys at the top of their game. They’re trying to race through as fast as possible and if Matt can’t hit the first time they’re done. Sig says if Matt doesn’t get it the first time, he loses it. An that’s what happens. Sig says he doesn’t know why Matt is on the hook b/c he can’t throw it. Jake says now he knows how Edgar felt. Matt’s misses slows the pace to a crawl. Sig says he can’t do this anymore, he gets angry when he sees stuff like that. Matt says the louder hailer won’t get him, he’s been hearing it for 15 years. Matt misses again, Sig says that’s it! Matt lost visual too. Sig asks if he has to back up, Matt says the trailer was right there. Sig says it’s always Matt and Jake thinks he got it in the prop so they could lose that prop. Sig is pissed! Yells he’s sick of him, and over the loudspeaker says they’re gonna go, but just then Matt says on the port side it popped up. Nick says it chopped up the line but the buoy is there. Sig drives at it again and Matt prays to get it this time….and he does. Sig asks why they have to be so messed up, but after one hour and a half dozen misses…Mat is replaced on the rail. Jake gets it and Sig praises him. Jake says this is his bread and butter. Things are starting to smooth out according to Sig, Jake’s throwing the hook aggressive and now they have to concentrate on keeping a steady pace. You can tell Matt is out of practice, Sig says, but it makes him happy b/c they have to build on Jake. Tells Jake he’s turning into a pro.

Now we’re at the Seabrooke. The pots are coming up with great numbers. Captain Campbell has his gear on BIG numbers. But he’s in no mood to celebrate thanks to his brother, Chris “Whipper” Welch. Junior says Whipper flaked out on him, was trying to teach him work ethics and give him an opportunity not many others have. 36 hours ago he said that his stomach hurt. He was fine until he talked to his new wife, and told Junior his stomach hurt. The last time this happened there was nothing wrong with him, an apparent pulled stomach muscle and he has no idea whether his brother is going to return. Has to calm down before he talks to him. The crew says Junior will try to work on his sense of pride to get him back out there. Captain Campbell calls him up, but the crew says when a guy wants to quit and they’re done, they are done. Junior asks what’s really going on, not his stomach. Wants him to come clean. Whipper says that’s what’s really going on and Junior ask how that’s so, says you can’t not work through a torn stomach muscle. Says the crew has a lot of torn muscles and he’s putting himself in a bad situation. Asks him how he’s gong to feed his family b/c when he was hurt he had to push through it. Says he has a family now and asks if he’s thought about it. Whipper says yes, so Junior says push through it for his family. Says he’s an uneducated man and there’s no work for educated people. Says he’s tough physically, but mentally is weak. Whipper says he’s going to push through it. Junior says all the guys are working as hard as he is and he’s no different than others. If there’s not a bone sticking out deal with it. Whipper says it’s crap that his brother thinks he wants to go home. Junior still thinks he’s not coming clean but if he works out the season then that’s fine.

Back to St. Paul and the Wizard, who have offloaded their crab. Second biggest trip he’s had, as hard as it was to keep the Wizard at the dock. Leaving will be harder. It’s nasty there and Keith can’t wait to leave. Greenhorn Daniel says the swells and waves could get gnarly, with Keith saying the chances of getting out without being pounded aren’t good. A shift in tides is causing 20 foot swells to surge through the waters and Keith has to get the 150 foot vessel through a very narrow passage. With only 15 feet of water under them. This is scary, and the guys are in the wheelhouse to help him, some of them. Another few waves and they’ve made it…and they finally do! Way to go Keith! There’s a whole line of waves and Keith says someone is on his side b/c not one broke.

On the Northwestern now, Sig says times like this they’re thinking why the hell didn’t I go to college? After almost 2 days of hauling gear, the men barely have enough energy to shuffle off deck. Sig knows the guys are tired, and says give them time to get a good solid rest. Before he gets his break, he has a 7 hour run to his offload in St. Paul. He’s tired, the guys are really tired, but he thinks it was worth it in the long run. You can see how tired Sig is though. Seriously tired. Two hours into the steam, Sig said we finished up riding through the night, bout to head to the island. But he’s starting to drift. He doesn’t even kn ow if he’s talking to the camera guy, as he asks him if he is. He’s talking gibberish now, you can’t make out what he’s saying at this point. And there he goes. The cam guy calls out to him, and then wakes him up. Asks if he’s okay and Sig says he’s tired. Unable to stay awake, he reaches out for help. He apologizes to Jake, who’s come up to help him. Jake Anderson takes over the helm, who says it says a lot when Sig calls him up over everyone else.

Back to the Seabrooke. The crew is in the home stretch, hauling their final 15 pots before heading to offload. Whipper is still complaining of stomach pains. He says it feels like it’s going to explode but Junior says every time they’re out for over a month he gets like this. Everyone has a point where they’re looking for excuses to get out, but usually guys do it when fishing is slow. Right now, they’re on the crab. After the final pot of the trip is sorted, the crew heads inside. Whipper goes upstairs and Junior asks him what’s up, his mind is a million miles away. Says if something’s going on at home, get it dealt with. Whipper tries to play it off, but Junior needs to know how bad the issue is. Says he’ll get hurt b/c he’s not paying attention to what’s going on, his mind is not in the game. Whipper says it’s not, Junior says to let him know if he needs time off. Whipper says his body isn’t doing good, but Junior says the issue is whether he needs to go home. Finally Whipper admits he has issues, and Junior says they’ll get him out of there, but he should’ve come clean sooner. Whipper says he has to leave after this trip b/c his family needs him. Plus, he’ll get a chance to get over his stomach. Junior is angry b/c his brother didn’t come clean with him sooner. Tell me the truth.

Now we’re at the Kodiak! Wild Bill says it’s a rare day, flat calm and sunny. He’s on hot fishing. Easy to sport a smile now! Even with crab on the table the crew is dragging. A six day flu has beaten them down. The crew is wishing for sick days at this point. Bill says a nice looking pot has come up, but midway through the string, crab come up riddled with barnacles. The crew says these crab are not presentable. Deck boss Adam McCalden doesn’t inform the skipper though and the skipper orders to set back. They continue to come on board dirty, and poor Bill isn’t aware of it. When the string ends, Adam finally comes clean to Wild Bill. His response is that it’s interesting he’s told now, Adam apologizes for it. Wild Bill says what do you do? Somewhere in t he middle, the crab transitioned from clean to tainted. He just ran 3.5 miles into the ditch on info he was given to set on these crabs. On a run between strings, Bill goes to the galley. He tells the crew there’s on sick days. Or rather, Adam. Says it’s Adam’s job and says let him know what goes on the rest of the afternoon, he knows they’re sick but if he’s not then let someone else keep him informed. He says there’s no room for anything less then the best and sees that the fire has gone out in Adam, says he’s just another deckhand.

The weather is sloppier now on the Kodiak. Bill has to haul the pots set on the dirty crab set 14 hours earlier. Deck boss Adam is taking the blame. Bill thought he was training a predecessor but he’s having doubts. Adam is frustrated. Has a lot on his mind, has a lot of peoples’ lives on the line. Bill says it’s sad b/c Adam was a personal project, and he failed. Says maybe he picked the wrong guy, so he turns his attention to his greenhorn son, Zach Larson. Zach steps up to the rail, and it’s the first time he’s throwing n a storm like this. He throws and gets it the first time! Adam says anyone can throw a hook, and says he’ll run circles around any one of them any day. Bill says the hook is the most exciting and important job, to have a guy you can trust and not have to watch makes all the difference in the world. Zach continues to do very well, Bill calls out to him that he’s doing well. Adam is jealous, says everyone knows’ he’s the captains son. Zach says he wishes it would come natural, but he’s working at it. Bill is pleased to see him step up, and the further up you are the more money you make, the less crap you have to take. With the last pot hauled and stacked, the guys head in and Adam heads to the wheelhouse. Asks for a minute with Bill, says every time he makes a move he’s baffled when it’s wrong. He just wants to make him proud, he’s stressed and seems like he’s regressing. Bill says this is why he’s dragging his feet, this season started with a lot of neglect. Adam wants to run boats, and do more. Bill says there’s been plans to show him how to run gear but there’ll be time before he does. Adam says it seems like he’s cared less, but Bill says if he didn’t care he would say move on. Adam then says then maybe he should move on, and leaves the wheelhouse. Bill says he’s put a lot of time into Adam, he was a trainwreck, but told Adam it’d be a rocky road. He’s very disappointed at this moment.

On the Seabrooke now, Whipper prepares to leave, saying he feels like he’s let the guys down…but he has to get home. Junior doesn’t get it, says it in the wheelhouse, asks why the old timers can deal with it but not the young bucks. Bob says he put a cloud over the whole operation. Coming into St. Paul they have to drop him off, then offload and beeline out for another trip. Whipper has to run fast to catch his flight. It’s an inconvenience for the boat and Whipper, but Whipper feels like he has to do it. Junior hopes he is making the right choice, but wishes his brother would stick it out.

Just outside the harbor, Jake Anderson is ready for another task on his way to being a captain. Sig’s letting him drive the boat into the harbor. Matt says its’ one of the worst harbors to come into, the weather is good but he wouldn’t do it. Sig shows him exactly how to do it, guides him through how to do it. Says once you start, you go, you can’t turn around in many spots b/c you’re going to start turning in. Jake sets a course for St. Paul dock. Nick says maybe this will go to his head, or make him better. Matt says maybe this will get him off deck b/c he doesn’t need to be me or Edgar, spend his life on the deck of a crab boat to be somebody. Sig shows him how to watch the radar and how the tides will push him.. Sig guides him how to steer the boat, how to adjust as well. Jake makes it past the point, and Sig shows him how to hug the docks to get in smoothly. Matt encourages him in. Mat points out the snapped lines from other boats. Jake eases the boat in, told ten feet by Matt. Bam! He makes it in! GOOD JOB JAKE!!!! Sig says he’s good,, the rest of the crew says he did wonderful taking it in. Sig says not too shabby, Jake says he couldn’t have done it without Sig. Jake says he was very nervous, he’s moving forward. Every day reminds him of the first grade on this boat.

It’s that time again…..”Have you seen us because our fans sure haven’t this week….it’s not Where’s Waldo, it’s where was BOTH the Time Bandit and the Cornelia Marie?”

And there’s NO other way to end a recap than this…….

Rest in peace Phil. Fair winds and may your heaven be filled with Harley’s……

The Power of Veto Ceremony is over… the feeds are back on!

Brendon and Rachel did not use the Power of Veto, the duo on the block is still Keith and Porsche. Tell us what you think in our forums HERE!

The POV competition is over! Brenchel, Jeff and Jordan, and Keith/Porsche were playing in the competition and the feeds were off for about an hour and a half or so….we were all on pins and needles…..

Don’t look if you don’t want to know…..

Brenchel won POV!!!

Don’t say we didn’t warn you but due to diligent and attentive early morning feeds watchers we caught a glimpse of the first set of Have/Have Not’s for Big Brother 13! Check out the cap below….

Cassi has her back to the camera and you can clearly see Lawon…it looks like Shelly is on the far right in the picture which leads us to believe that the Have Nots are by duos and thusly would be Lawon/Kalia and Shelly/Cassi….tell us what you think in our forums HERE!

Welcome back to Deadliest Catch, the most kick butt show on reality TV! Last week we saw the continuance of Opilio season…some boats having luck, other boats not so much. But either way, the guys pushed through it all….so what will we see this week? Tune in to find out…

But first, as always, an intro….Josh is mentally tired, exhausted, misses his dad and wondering if he’s doing the right thing…lamenting Phil not being there to ask, and then we get clips of Phil talking about everyone wanting a legacy, none of us living forever and him wondering if something happened to him what would happen to his boys….says he never handed them a thing, and made them work for what they had…and it was time to get things together so if something happened to him they’d be set up, saying they earned it after putting up with him all those years. Josh then says it’s time for them to start their own legacy….and then the kick butt Jovi intro…with the ever so fitting of Phil before his sons….

On the Cornelia Marie, Josh doesn’t want to let his dad down, he and Jake want to keep their dad’s legacy alive and the crab count since the move isn’t very good. Two days ago Tony surprised his crew by moving off big numbers to get closer to the processor. Now, the crew is paying the price. Jake says it’s not as easy, now they have to work for it. Tony says they have a ways to go with the gear and they won’t be stopping for a bit….he doesn’t think the crew will like him in another day. Just then you hear Tony telling the crew that sucked and let’s hope that’s the worst string of the year. No sleep, no crab, the honeymoon is over. By daybreak, the men are exhausted and morale is low. The crew hopes Tony knows what he’s doing and right now he’s going north. Another pot is pulled and it’s very light. Tony’s disappointed. Already at rock bottom, the skipper gets more bad news…Ryan yells up he has enough cod for just 15 more pots and that’s it. They don’t’ have enough to even haul that string. F bomb, f bomb again. Tony tells Ryan to communicate with him better, now they have to go get cod. Tells the guys 6.5 miles, they’ll waste two hours getting cod. With two hours of downtime ahead, Josh makes his way to the wheelhouse. Tony says three things you do when a guy messes u. Compliment him so he’ll listen, then address the issue and then tell him you messed up worse. If you’re going to teach them anything, you have to stick to that. Then Ryan comes up, he tells him he’s doing good at bait, but communication is the key b/c they wasted two hours. Ryan gets upset saying they’ve been up 30 hours, they go back and forth a bit, Ryan is very upset saying they have to communicate on these things….and Tony says to make it easy, every string they pull Ryan has to tell him how much bait is left (I think, sorry, missed a second) and as Ryan leaves, Tony laughs saying they skipped step 3. Ryan is pissed to say the least, saying now he has to tell him everything he’s doing.

Onto the Ramblin Rose! Elliott Neese is playing catchup after starting off with breakdowns and low numbers. Everyone else, the other boats, are clearing out, but he’s gambling that the crab are still on these grounds. He has to find the crab, but will he? The first pot comes up…..and it’s a BIG ONE! Way to go Elliott! It’s a crabalanche. Elliott likes what he sees. This will top off their mid-tank for sure. But just then, as they land on the crab….the rpm’s are going but the boat’s not going anywhere, they’re not moving. Uh-oh. He heads down to see what’s going on as the crew continues to pull……as he gets to the engine room he says he’s pretty sure there’s no pro;p left. One of the boats two propellers is gone. Now he’ll have to cut his trip short and crawl to town on one prop. Everything going good and then this. He tells Kado the prop is missing, and a new one has to come up on a barge b/c you can’t air freight a 5K pound prop. He has to call the owner now, it’s a 40K repair and another long delay to the season. Elliott fears the owners could tell him that the season is done for him.

They’ve been shut down for four hours so Elliott can confirm if they lost the prop. It’s a 40K repair that could cost him two weeks of fishing and possibly his captain’s career. While investigating the problem, Elliott makes a discovery. The micro commander cable puts the boat in gear, spinning the propeller and connected to the wheelhouse. Neese will have to do a quick switch with the cable…..Kado watches from deck to see if the prop is in gear and suddenly, it does! He’s fixed it! It went from a 40K bill to a $40 part. They can fish now. The crew gets back to hauling and the credit goes to the young skipper. Way to go Elliott, that’s impressive!

YAY! TIME BANDIT TIME!!! Andy has 150K pounds to catch and 7 days to do it in, they’ve been pulling for 18 hours already. If they can’t catch it quick, they’ll have to grind. The faster they pull, the faster they nap. Eddie Jr. is asked if he wants to work the rail, he joined the crew two weeks ago. It’s been a rough journey. In two weeks he’s seen near misses, horrible weather and pain. At 21 years old he still has a lot to learn from his father. Whoops, it’s Eddie Sr. at the hook, not Junior, my bad. And when they pull, they pull HUGE! The crab are starting to come up. Five hours later, the crew is still shy of Andy’s goal. But no one is complaining, Andy says it’s b/c they’re tired so he calls down to them to stay alert. Another pot comes up with okay numbers. As just then the pot tilts with Scotty at the hydros. As the crew shook out the last few crab, the 800 lb pot came loose from the dogs, nearly crushing the 140 lb Eddie Jr. The pot came straight at him and Mike Fourtner!!! WOW. Eddie Jr. still has a lot to learn on deck, Johnathan wants to send him to pirate school, they say he talks like a choir boy. Johnathan goes out on deck and gives him lessons on how to….well….swear. Drop the f bomb, you dig? Johnathan asks whose wing Jr. wants to be under, his or his dads? His dad changed his diapers, but he writes the check. He tries to get him to call a shovel, a red f’ing shovel, ice removing red f’ing shovel. All the other crew do, but Junior laughingly refuses. In fact, he refuses to say the f’bomb towards anything. Johnathan and Eddie laugh that he won’t swear b/ chis mom would kick his ass.

Now we’re on the Wizard. Keith approaches gear he reset after striking out to the south. He needs to get on hot fishing, fast. Lenny says their time is limited and they have to start catching crab. A pot comes up, and it’s not good at all….Keith says the bait was small on that one, the crab ripped through them and nothing was left to eat. Keith prompts Lynn to show the greenhorn what to do. After 4 years struggling for respect, Lynn’s career is hanging by a string. So Lynn shows the greenhorn how to bait the pot, but he sees an opportunity to make someone else the scapegoat. Danny is getting to the end of his rope, he’s a big strong guy, but this job is different than all others. Lynn and Danny ride each other. Freddie asks Lynn what he told Danny to do that made him “cry” over there. With all eyes on Danny, Lynn is off the radar. Keith says more times than naught the guys break down mentally before they do physically. The Wizard doesn’t accept wimps according to Keith, she’s a cranky broad and doesn’t want sissy’s or babies on deck. After 18 hours, Keith keeps a wary eye on Danny. He says the kid is toast, looks like hell. As Danny crawls on the sorting table, Keith tells him it’s not needed b/c the crab are where they’re supposed to be….and the crew rides him on how to do it. Finally Keith calls down sharply and tells him to get off the table. Then, he goes out on deck with a pillow, what the hell? He puts the pillow on the table and tells him to take a nap b/c that’s all he’s doing. He tells Soper he’s wasting a set of hands too. Lynn loves it. Danny says he doesn’t know what to do b/c he gets yelled at for standing at the bait bin, but also at the table. The crew jokes that Keith is a great motivational speaker, lol.

We’re at the Seabrooke now and they’re being woken up after 3 hours of sleep. Junior says the biggest thing is not getting complacent or lazy and every penny is earned. As the guys hit the deck, Jr’s kid brother Whipper calls him. The guys are literally working as he talks to his woman. The pots are really good too. The crew continues to work without him. Suddenly Jr. notices that his brother is missing and asks Bob where he is….Bob goes in and calls him outside, but Whipper continues on the phone for a bit. As he heads out, it’s not exactly at a fast pace. Junior thinks it was good for him to call home, he’s a newlywed and puts their minds at east. But Whipper is keeping something from his brother, his family comes first and his wife need s him so he has to go. He doesn’t want to let his brother down, or the guys. Junior calls his brother on deck, but he’s in the fore-peak deep in thought.

Over to the Cornelia, Tony says yesterday wasn’t good but he’s still on the hunt. They’re at their furthest east gear and the crab are migrating west to east. Trying to move with the crab and jump ahead of the fleet. As he approaches his easternmost gear, a call from t he Wizard comes in. Keith says Freddie is on wheel-watch and wants to say hi. Yay Freddie! He talks to Tony, and then Josh jumps on. Freddie says the guys are pretty cool but he always appreciated them and they’re always in his heart. He loves them. Says the old man is always around them (Phil). Apologizes for not being there for them and Josh says it’s all good, he has to make money, but to not get too cozy. They’re both crying a bit at this point, Freddie wants to get together when they’re done. Visit Phil, get flowers to him. Josh says after that they’ll go to the casino. Jake says he misses hi, Freddie says to stay out of trouble and for Josh to keep an eye on him. Freddie’s still crying, and they tell each other they love each other. Thanks Disco, make me cry AGAIN! The sun is out now and Josh says the old man is there for him. With tanks to fill, and Tony says if they miss the crab he’s the only one to blame.. He needs to be on the crab right now. The pot comes up….and they’ve hit the JACKPOT! Tony says that takes some pressure off. After three days of low morale and numbers, the CM has hit the motherload. One crewman says it’s a BFD and for us to figure out what that is (big f’ing deal)…Tony says they’re not moving at ALL. The crew is very happy, that’s for sure, and they talk about how they’re working as a team. Jake says the ball is still rolling and he thinks his dad would be happy with what they’re doing. They even joke back and forth.

Back on the Wizard now…..they’re a handful of pots away from filling the boat but there’s not many smiles out there right now. Keith hasn’t seen his crew so beat up that they can’t celebrate filling the boat. Says everyone deserves rack time but right now they have to fill the tanks. Danny hopes for sleep, Keith says he’s pissed b/c he’s working overtime by an hour. Keith says he has to understand there’s a lot of work to do and some days will be 36 hours long. He tells Danny he has to stay out for another string b/c he has a piss poor attitude, being bummed out about working an extra hour. Lynn, again, is loving it while Danny says he didn’t think he has a bad attitude. Monte says Danny is just tired, and Freddy says he has a good attitude, he’s just tired as well. 3 hours later, the greenhorn shift finally ends. He bypasses his bunk for the wheelhouse…and asks about the attitude thing he didn’t think he had. Asked why he was called out for it. Keith says when he’s running around ticked off about losing downtime, and if he can’t work one hour of overtime…then he goes into Keith mode and tells him to shut up. Says when he gets an attitude he drags the crew down, he should enjoy putting almost a million dollars on the boat. Tells Danny not to respond, just think about what he said and get some sleep. Danny wanted to make things right and end it on a good note, but feels like it’s not now. Keith has zero sympathy b/c he figures he made 96K in 8 days. Says his first year there he worked 10 months and made 11.5K. With the tanks close to filled, Danny forgoes his rack time. Danny wants a hand in finishing it out and Keith likes that. Freddy says he is a team player for sure. As day breaks, the crew tops off the boat and ends the trip. The crew says it’s a good day plugging the boat and they have a killer sunrise. They head off to bed.

Now we’re back on the Seabrooke, he’s working both edges of his string. Says about the time you think you have the crab figured out is the time they’re gone. And as they haul, it’s not that bad. Junior’s happy, he says what they’re catching he’ll take, it fills the boat. Whipper calls back up, says his stomach is killing him, it’s torn again with the same injury he got at the end of king crab. He had a debilitating injury to his stomach and claims the pain has returned. Junior isn’t buying it, says it was a pulled stomach muscle, he saw the report and if he goes home b/c of it he can never come back. Whipper knows, says he understands. Junior says he’s watched him all season and has seen no signs of this injury, he’s just not buying it at all. Now he’s ticked and as Whipper heads out, he’s not either. Junior says now, after a phone call with his new wife, he’s hurting and needs to go home. Be a man, do your job. Whipper tells the crew that it is hurting and Junior thinks he’s lying. The crew says if a bone isn’t sticking out, they don’t care. There’s no time for compassion in crab fishing. Junior watches him and says it doesn’t look like he has stomach pain; he’s bluffing, he knows his brother. His friend says he thikns he’s hurting, he wouldn’t stab him in the back. Then Whipper goes off deck, and Junior doesn’t want to mess with him. Says if he’s going to pull it, fine, he leaves for a month and gets homesick. Right now he’s the employee and Junior is the boss, it’s up to him if he’s injured or fired. Junior says he didn’t listen and is getting burned like some warned him he would, by his own brother. As the episode ends, the crew jokes about what Whipper is making for breakfast.

That’s it for this episode.

Time for our weekly feature (only when Disco denies us one of our vet boats)…..it’s the “Have You Seen Us Because Our Fans Sure Didn’t This Week….It’s Not Where’s Waldo, It’s Where Was The Northwestern This Week?”

BUT….the final word, as always, has to go to that great mullet haired Teddy Bear up with the Big Man right now…

R.I.P Phil. We’ll always miss you.

Here we are again, time for yet another edition of the show that puts the “real” in reality….Deadliest Catch! Last week we saw a plethora of pain throughout the boats, with injuries, blood, bones and dead birds galore. What will this week bring as the brave captains and crew of the Bering Sea fleet venture future into Opie season? Let’s find out….

It always opens dark in some way or another, including Keith lecturing Lynn, Sig talking about how to build confidence when there’s always fear, Nick talking about the trip beating the crap out of them, Bill saying if you doubt yourself too much it’ll crush you….and a pot swinging wildly over a boat out of control.

“Where the faces are so cold….”….LOVE that song!

Thank you Coors Light, frost brewed, for bringing us another episode.

We open with Sig’s yelling to get down (not boogie) from last week….for seven days an arctic storm has battered the fleet and slowed fishing to a crawl. But now, the storm is subsiding and every skipper is racing to make up for lost time. Junior wants to make his delivery date and push to the end. On the Cornelia Marie, full pots are coming up. The Harris boys are grinding on numbers that would make Phil proud, and Josh says Freddie would say they’re back. Tony says he couldn’t ask for more than spirits and numbers being up. They’ve been getting solid 600′s for awhile. Everyone’s happy. They say Tony is kicking ass and taking numbers, respect is running high. Josh says he’s a great guy to work for and learn from. Tony says the boys are doing a great job, but it’s more than that at this point. Tony can see Josh making an extra effort and Jake is a true fisherman. He says they’re stepping up. Jake says Tony is a “rock star”. Tony says they could go to two areas with good fishing and they have to pick one. They have a delivery date in four days, and prospect strings 16 miles apart. The areas are too far apart, and Tony contemplates moving off good fishing and consolidating to move the strings closer to the offload port. He calls the boys upstairs, they say they’re happy. Tony tells them they have two spots and have to pick one. The young boat owners have to learn a lot, but Tony lets them have a say in this, he wants them to learn. Josh says they numbers are better where they’re at, but Tony says they’d have to travle a day too where they’re at. Tony says it’s hard to run from 600′s. With captain and crew on the same page, fishing resumes on deck. In the wheelhouse, Tony says the crab are moving from west to east and he’s having second thoughts. The delivery schedule is the issue. Tony then calls out to the crew that he wants to move to the processor, closer actually, to save fuel. The new plan is to stack and head east. Jake says they’ll find out if they made the right choice, but 600′s are harder to move away from. Tony says he should have his head examined to move from 600′s, and this will test the crew’s faith. But the crew seems to say that they trust him so far.

We’re onto the Seabrooke now. They’re at St. George Canyon. Normally Junior says he wouldn’t have put his gear there, it’s far south of where he wanted to fish but he had to get weight off the boat due to the severe icing conditions. For safety, it was the right call, for strategy, not so much. After an 18 hour steam, the crew hits the deck and gets to work. The skippers’ brother, Whipper, is on his first haul since the stomach injury that almost cut short his king crab season. Junior says he has to keep an eye on him, he is his brother. With a healthy deck and pots to haul, the men are amped to catch some crab. Junior has deemed this the “survival set”. Junior knows guys who went king crab, got in storms, had to dump pots and landed on the crab…he hopes this is what happens for him. The first pot comes up light. Junior says it looks like Bardai crab, a close cousin of the Opilio. But unfortunately for Junior, it’s not what he’s fishing. Pot 2 is all Bardai too. It’s hit or miss, and they missed. With his survival set coming up lame, Junior needs to get the pots on fertile grounds as fast as possible. It’s almost unbearable for him. And then, the ice falls…..right on a crew member. Yup, it was Whipper, hurt again. Man, he got slammed! As the captain’s brother moved in to stack the pot a 50 lb block of ice broke free from the crane, striking him in the back. Junior says it could’ve been a lot worse, actually. Says it was a rookie mistake standing under the crane like that, this time of year, with that much ice. He checks on his brother and promptly gets the finger in response. LOL!

We’re onto the Northwestern now. Sig hopes they’re on their last string, they’ve been grinding for almost 30 hours now. Jake says they all want sleep but won’t get it. The tank needs to be topped off with 15K more pounds before going in for the first offload. Nick says the trip is beating the crap out of them. But the pot comes up light, stuffing the tanks on these numbers isn’t going to be easy. It’s looking bleak, says Matt. The string isn’t doing it for them. Matt says the forecast calls for more pain, they’re in a race against time to make their scheduled offload in St. Paul. Jake is trying to tie up a pot, and the new deckhand tries to help. Jake doesn’t like it. The aspiring deck boss is feeling the effects of the grind; Sig has no sympathy for him. Jake doesn’t want to run the crane anymore, he wants to sort crab. The object of his ire, new deckhand Kevin Blakely. Sig says if he wants him to come down hard on Kevin, he’s mistaken. Kevin’s been doing this for years, and says he’s not there to impress anyone, he’s there to do it the way they want him to. Says he doesn’t need babies on his watch, and Sig won’t get involved. Says he’s not running a daycare center. Matt steps over to say hi in his Matt way, but Jake isn’t feeling joking right now.

Now, it’s the Kodiak! Bill says it’s a tough trip, trying to stay focused is hard. A nasty flu is putting the already beaten crew in a daze. It’s not the same to be sick on a boat as if you worked in an office. There’s no mercy or remorse, if you’re sick you still work. Bill says it’ll be interesting to see how it effects morale and productivity. When you’re doing a repetitious job, Bill says, people get lackadaisical and mistakes/accidents happen then.. To prove his point, as a pot comes on board the hydros go and the pot is swinging wildly over the deck. It’s a flying missile at this point. Holy cow!!! The knot on the picking hook got sucked all the way up into the block. As the pot came over the rail, the unusually long bridle allowed the knot above the picking hook to get sucked into the block, rendering the hydros useless. The pot became a 750 lb wrecking ball. Bill says it could’ve been devastating. The crew says they’re lucky nobody got killed.

Back on the Northwestern, Sig’s under the gun to haul 2,000 more pounds and make his next offload. First man out, aspiring deck boss Jake Anderson. He says he’s always stressed without Edgar, stressed about making mistakes. Says he takes it out on the new guy b/c he gets respect and Jake didn’t when he was new. He takes it personal b/c when he got there at first Bradley choked him, and he had to throw him on the ground. Still treated like he’s a new guy, respect is #1. He says it’s worth more than the money, respect. They start hauling pots, and pray for crab. It’s a great pot! Sig says they’re back in business, and that should put a dent in the tank. Jake says it’s one good day! Matt cheers loudly when another full pot comes on board. No more room in any of the other tanks. Sig asks if there’s any more room to Nick, and Nick says “no”. With the boat stuffed, the crew shares a moment of respect. Jake hugs Kevin even!

Going northeast now, on the Cornelia Marie. They shuffled their gear, were on the great numbers before. Tony moved off big numbers to consolidate gear close to the processor with bad weather coming in. Out on deck, Jake says the freezing spray makes it harder. Falling temps and freezing rain have made even the simplest of tasks treacherous for the crew. Tony says it’s a bit sloppy out there, and getting ugly. We see people slipping, sliding and falling. Jake tells us the pots are loose and when it’s icy they slide across deck, you have to watch it. Tony says they’re getting used to hm beating them up. After a 36 hour grind, the men have baited and splashed 75 pots. They’ll find out shortly if Tony made the right move and he says you’re only as good as your last delivery.

Now they’re in Dutch Harbor with the Wizard. After 8 days at sea, and Freddie is as enthusiastic as ever. Keith wants 300,000K but thinks they’ll be short. Down on deck Lynn directs the workers to take all the hatches off. Then Keith says to do the small one first and asks Lynn why he’s taking the other one off. Tells him to leave them on until they’re ready for offload. Lynn sighs and rolls his eyes, Keith says not to show his frustration to him again. Then he goes to Lenny and says to tell Lynn what he can expect if he rolls his eyes at him again.. The crew says it’s a ballsy move, and he’ll end up flipping burgers if he keeps it up. Even Mouse says it’s a mistake. Lynn doesn’t understand them, says they all can complain but the second he does it’s all bad. Soper then asks him to set something down without messing it up, and Lynn says “See? They can’t ask you to do something, they have to throw something in”. Then the crew surmises he has PMS. At sunrise, the offload is in the books. The first delivery was 312,000 pounds, $615,000. With one strong delivery behind them, Freddie calls for the second trip. Keith says they have to plug the boat this time. They’re all determined, and all happy….except Lynn. He says it’s not exactly Mai Tai’s and Yahtzee out there.

Back on the Cornelia Marie, Tony says everyone was happy hauling 600′s but if they start hauling blanks he’ll get some looks for sure. He’s moved his gear closer to the processor and the crew wants at least 400′s. He tells the crew to watch themselves with the spray as they come up to their first pot. As the pot comes up, it’s light. You can feel the morale drop like a lead weight. They pull in the next pot, and it’s not as light as the last one but not good either. Crew says nothing worse than grinding. They’re small and dirty crab too. With each weak pot that comes over the rail, goodwill between the wheelhouse and crew slips away. Tony says it’s disappointing, they have to pay for my poor decisions, it’s more work on them.

We travel to the Wizard now. After hitting big numbers on their first trip, round two is off to a dismal start. He tells Lynn to tie the pots tight. For deckhand Lynn Guitard, the trials at sea continue. He has troubling throwing the hook. Keith asks if he’s trying to create a late night comedy show of throwing the hook. Soper says Lynn doesn’t think it’s funny, but he does and he either forgot to eat his Wheaties or change his panties. More bad pots come up. Keith says time to move, time to find something better. Marginal numbers at best on this prospect gear, Keith discusses this with Monte. Keith is reluctant to leave with the way the stack is tied though. Gaps in the stack allow pots to shift as the stack grows higher, putting crew and boat at risk in heavy seas. Ketih says get your head out of your butt or find another job. He won’t hold anyone back that can step up, and he’s done with waiting to see Lynn step it up. He calls Lynn upstairs, and begins his Keith rant about having the pots tied with two ties, tightly. Lynn admits that he’s not comfortable with the way the stack is tied, Keith tells him if they have to have this conversation again, he’s fired. Lynn says it’s a bunch of crap, doesn’t get why they’re needing to be tied nicely if they’re coming off the stack again. Monte says Lynn needs to do better. After four long years struggling to earn his place, the 26 year old deckhand is sent below. Keith sends him for a 3 hour nap and his future on board the Wizard is in doubt. Lynn says there’s things you’re meant to do and things you’re not, he’s not sure at this point. If he gets fired he wont’ continue to fish.

Finally, on the Seabrooke, after four days lost retrieving his survival gear, Junior arrives at the northern strings he originally wanted to go to. Ten days in, with virtually no crab in the tanks, pressure mounts for the skipper. With the first pot coming in, Junior says he’ll panic if they don’t’ see crab. It’s light, very light. Not what he was looking for. They had 80. “Pretty bleak” says Junior. Pushing further north they approach the second prospect string and Junior says if he sees nothing he’ll freak out. Coll underwater shot of the pot coming up! But it’s pretty empty. Junior’s at an absolute loss and the crew says there’s panic, mayhem, frustration up in the wheelhouse. The crew says it’s his turn to produce. 10 days on the hunt, and Junior hasn’t been this mad in years, 3,000 gallons of fuel burned. They pull up on the final prospect string. He seriously needs a miracle. As the post rises from the bleak waters, we see a STUFFED POT! Junior calls a “sch-wee momma!”. Back in action, Junior. He tells them to set it back. 560 in that pot!

Sigh, wish I didn’t have to do this again, but unfortunately I do. It’s time for that picture…..”Have you seen us because our fans sure didn’t this week!?!? It’s not Where’s Waldo, it’s where was the Time Bandit?”

It would be totally inappropriate to end with anything other than this….

RIP Phil, fair winds.

Welcome back to Deadliest Catch, the adrenaline rush of reality TV! Last week we saw Opies getting going, and we saw a LOT of injuries. Judging by the previews that Discovery has been giving us, we’ll be seeing a lot more weather this episode…how Nick got his nose crushed ..as well as a very (non-injured) bloody Freddie….so kick back, relax and watch with me!

We open with shots from various boats talking about the nasty conditions and how it’s not for everyone. And, of course, the “get down!” moment from Sig. THIS is the stuff that gave Deadliest Catch it’s name. Still holding out hope for a Jovi endorsement for the show (well, they did give one with letting Discovery use the song) but hey man, how about a public shout out! Tom Hanks gave one!

So, here we go, thanks to frost brewed Coors Light. We start with the Wizard, 320 miles northwest of Dutch as the man prepare to drop their first pot since the arctic storm shut them down 30 hours ago. Keith has no choice but to send his guys out in this weather, he has to make up for lost time. Freddie talks bout how the ice and weather has ruined three days easily and Lynn says it’s going to make for a long day. To get things going, Freddie slices open a giant piece of bait and….WOW….drinks the blood. He confronts a modern problem with an ancient ritual. Lynn tells us it’s a good luck ritual for drinking cod blood. The crew tells him he’s hard-core and Freddie gets Kevin to drink it too!! Freddie’s face is COATED with the blood and Kevin can barely digest it. Freddie says back home when they go hunting they gut the fish, drink the blood and get war paint on. Keith says “right on”. Six hours later, as Keith approaches his chosen grounds, Freddie’s plea to the crab gods is answered. The weather after about 8 days is cooperating; it’s a break, a small break. Lynn says this could be a win-win situation and Keith calls for them to launch the pots. He says sometimes you have to fish the weather and sometimes you fish crab; this trip they fished the weather. He sets while the weather holds. Up until now they haven’t had the weather to set the pot and go but now they do. Is it just me or is Keith much more tolerable this time around?

40 miles to the southwest, the storm wages on as Sig battles 30 foot walls of water to reach is gear. Sig says you see them coming and you have to power into it or they’ll take you. You want to manipulate the boat through the waves but just then you see him yell “Get down! Get the ‘f’ down!” as he gets the camera guy to get to the floor. Out of nowhere, a 35 foot wave slammed into the wheelhouse, putting Sig and the cameraman directly in the line of fire. Sig doesn’t want to fish in this but while they’re out there and blowing the way it is, as long as they can get through a few of the pots, a little of the time…Sig’s pots have soaked for five days, he has no choice but to haul. Sig says it’s nerve wracking to see the monster waves every once in awhile and he doesn’t want to lose anyone. They come up to their first pot….Sig says it’s all you as Nick tells Jake where and how to throw it. But Matt says it’s hard to throw the hook in this weather, Jake misses. He tries again and misses. He calls “Nicky”, and makes way for Nick. Nick throws and gets it. Way to go Nick! Sig said Nick has always been his go to guy and now he can be that for the crew. The pot comes up and it’s not that good, Nick says it’s a little light. They continue the sort in the waves; Sig says 40-50 knot winds with snow squalls is not ideal to haul gear and they have to watch it. They’re not out of the woods by any means. Even though the count is low, Sig resets and explains they’re doing the most they can with what they have. Stacking pots on deck int his weather isn’t an option. Sig says unexpected things can happen and you have to be on your toes. Nicks says it was fun for about an hour, but not any longer. The crew earns every pot they pull on board. They continue to sort and Matt says hauling isn’t really productive but they’re catching some and it’s part of the grind. Holy GOD! Nick just got SLAMMED in the face by a picking hook! Jesus, you could feel how that hurt through the TV. The camera guy even asks if he’s okay and the crew tells Sig that it is bleeding.

Nick’s laying on the floor now with blood coursing down his face. Jake takes the wheel as Sig tends to Nick, who tries to get up saying he’s okay. But they make him lay down. Sig takes a look, Nick says he’s okay.. Jarred free by a wave the hook sprang across the deck and hit Nick in the face. Sig sits him up and Nick says he’s not dizzy but it got him on the face. He says it’s just cut and doesn’t hurt. Sig says when it’s numb you don’t’ feel it but he will and it’s dented in. Nick again assures him he’s fine and doesn’t want Sig to pull him off deck, but Sig makes him. They tell him he’s swollen and Sig says he tweaked it good. Nick doesn’t realize the extent of his injury until he looks in the mirror; the steel hook snapped his nose in two. Sig asks if he can breathe out of it and tells someone to give him Ibuprofen. Sig makes a call down south, he thinks they’ll need to take him in. First, the weather and now he may have to go in. He calls in and describes the incident. They show it again and Jesus, that hit him HARD. They ask if his nose is crooked side to side (where Sig called) and Sig says there’s a curve to it. They say if there’s no bleeding or loss of consciousness he’s lucky. Sig asks what they do for this injury. He’s told they just let it heal and he says then Nick will have the mark of the Northwestern.

The Time Bandit is heading into St. Paul. Andy and Johnathan disagree on how to anchor up in crowded waters at the dock. Andy says it’s blowing 50-70, he’s getting unwanted help from a backstreet driver, brother John. This is the first time I’ve seen them bickering actually. Andy feels better as he gets more room. Mike tells the crew to stand by and with enough breathing room the crew starts dropping the anchor. But they’re not holding. Andy asks why and John says to let more out, Mike tells them to. The anchor doesn’t catch and the Time Bandit drifts. Johnathan calls for more line. Why are Mikey’s eyebrows shaved? But there was more let out, the anchor and now there’s too much slack. The anchor just broke off. Under Johnathan’s orders, the crew let out too much cable and pushed by currents the boat drifted; the added momentum snapped the cable. Johnathan says to mark the spot so they can find the buoy. Like a crab pot the anchor is attached to a buoy to mark it’s location. But with no anchor Andy must jog the boat for 8 hours until it’s time to offload.

After jogging for 8 hours outside St. Paul harbor, the Time Bandit finally heads in to offload. But they have extreme ice conditions, blowing hard and there’s ice in the harbor. Andy heads in and they pull safely to the dock. Eyebrowless Mikey says they’re ready now. With the boat ready to offload, the captains tend to an injured deckhand. For close to a week, Eddie’s son has been dealing with abscessed teeth. Johnathan tells him they’re paying for it, his dental care, but Andy says they’re going to watch. At the dentist in St. Paul, they prepare for extraction and yeah, thanks DC for showing us…yuck. Then we see clips of the offload. It’s a good one too. More of his toot coming out as Eddie Sr. and Andy watch. Jesus god in heaven. Back to the crew at offload. Time for another tooth to come out. Time for more laughing with Junior saying if it wasn’t him he’d laugh. After the teeth come out and the crab come off Andy says the lesson is to brush and floss to Eddie Junior.

Now, we’re in Dutch with the Ramblin Rose, who are six days behind the fleet. After extensive engine repair, the Rose is put to the test. Victory! Elliott says it’s music to his ears. The crew like what they hear too. The battle scarred vessel is once again sea worthy and the youngest skipper in the fleet embarks for his first Opie. Elliott says he could do what everyone else is but he’s going to go in the deep and make his mark. He says its a long time coming. Finally underway, the rookie skipper faces a long steam to the ground, saying he’ll never get another boat to run again if he messes up. This is the biggest stakes for his career. Later, he wakes the crew to prepare. Elliott is headed for the same storm that batters the fleet. He summons his crew to secure the stack. He says they have to be careful. But out on deck, a gruesome discovery. The boat is littered with lifeless seabirds. You can see the crew throwing handfuls of dead birds off the boat. Elliott says they were drawn to the lights and hit everything. The ominous sign will have to be ignored. Elliott says obviously he wont’ go back in, failure is not an option.

325 miles northwest of Dutch is the Wizard. Keith approaches the gear he set 24 hours ago. The crew is ready to go and Freddie throws for the first pot. Keith says if they get the chance to fill the boat they will. The first pot comes up, and you hear Freddie yelling “JACKPOT!”. Keith says good call, that looks awesome. 495 in that pot. More great pots come in. Looks like Freddie’s tradition worked, after a hellish start of weather and ice, and nearly a pint of fresh cod blood, the Wizard is on the crab. Lynn says they’re on the crab, all Wizard crab. Freddie DIVES into the sorting table! Keith says he’s on a roll, he’s got that cod blood, yeah. Have to start feeding everyone that blood. With just 7 days on board the Wizard, former Cornelia Marie vet Freddie has become the pride of captain and crew. Lynn says with Freddie there’s an older brother/cousin who always cheers you up. Keith says Freddie is like a lightning bolt that wakes the crew up and that’s huge.

We’re on the Rose again. They’re splashing their first pots of the season. Elliott notes how the weather is coming up, he’s dumping his gear in a 10 mile radius. Most skippers prospect, but Elliott says it’s a waste of time and makes no sense. The crew says they don’t’ need prospect strings. The rookie captain is going all in. The crew says all in or nothing. Over the next four hours all 100 pots go over the rail. I hope for his sake he does catch because if not he’s going to look, well…..bad. Elliott says it feels good to have all the gear off. Elliott’s bold move is in the hands of fate.

We’re back at St. Paul now with the Time Bandit. After offloading 150,000 pounds of crab and two teeth, the Time Bandit is ready for another round. Junior says this trip will be better without the pain and junk of his teeth issues. Before heading for open water, they have to retrieve their anchor. Andy has a 1500 pound problem to deal with. Johnathan heads out to supervise as the crew tries to bring it in, and if they can it saves Andy 7K. There it is! Johnathan directs them to boom up. Trying to get it on deck and securing it now. Andy wants it lowered safely to the deck, Johnathan directs his son Scott differently though. Andy calls to John and says there can be only one captain and jokingly yells to him. It is set safely on deck. The chain is pulled up now, Johnathan gives his awesome “yeah baby”. It’s time to go fishing!

Back on the Ramblin Rose now, Elliott is excited to haul his first Opie pots as primary captain. It’s been a 12 hour soak. He says the hardest part for him is waiting; the weather has subsided, but pressure is mounting on the skipper who gambled all his pots in one place. The crew has a bird on deck, one of them that washed on deck and now can’t fly. We revisit the bad omen bird tragedy on the boat as they make their way towards the pots. Elliott calls for them to ready for the haul. They come up to the first pot, and the first bag is diving, Kado says that’s good. Before hauling a single pot, luck on the boat begins to wain. They can’t get the buoy line, but finally do. They pull it in, it’s a tug of war between the boat and the tides. As the pot comes up, the crew anticipates the catch. But unfortunately it’s totally empty. It’s a blank. They go for the next pot as Elliott says the first pot sucked. Crew says it can only get better though, but the next one is blank too. The next one? Blank. Elliott’s bold gamble….has come up short. He says they’re wasting time, but then again he said prospecting wasted time too. His first Opie season ever, is off to a rocky start. But the crew says he won’t stop until they find them and Neese echoes that sentiment.

Back to the Northwestern as it pushes through angry seas. Fishing is still shut down after Nick’s injury, and it looks nasty but he says it could have been worse. Jake is in the wheelhouse looking sick, Sig asks why and Jake looks tearful. Says he saw him go down and then come back with him holding his face and the blood. Sig says if it hit his temple it could’ve killed him, he’s lucky. Sig says it really shook Jake up, but it brings reality home. That’s his uncle. Jake is nervous, doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt and that’s all they’ve seen; big storms, Nick gets hurt and he’s scared. As the crew readies to go back on deck, Nick calls home. He tells his wife about the accident. Jesus, his nose was pushed sideways. He tells her he’s fine. Says he’s a fisherman and he’s fine. After the call he says she’s not happy, maybe he shouldn’t have called her, lol. Jake shows the camera the “culprit” and says it gives you an uneasy feeling. Says Edgar says it’s not a matter of if, but when and the when was the last string. He puts nerves aside though and gets back to work. Sig says he won’t have Nick fish the next string, he’s sitting it out and they’ll keep an eye on him. Nick says Sig has insurance on him and maybe he’ll get a nose job; Sig says he might get a plastic surgeon’s bill. Nick heads back on deck and Matt calls him crooked man, the nose. Sig wishes Nick would’ve taken a string off, hopes he’ll be alright but he’s a tough cookie. Sig is so happy that it didn’t go bad, still have to keep an eye on him but odds are he’ll be alright. Matt says that dude is one tough SOB, half man, half animal. Nick Mavar, manimal. Sig thanks the gods for making the fortunate through their close calls. And with that, another episode is done.

Sadly, we have to bring back a feature we’ve been lucky enough to leave out the last couple of episodes…..the Where’s Waldo picture of the week. This week it’s the Cornelia Marie, led by Tony Lara.

“Have you seen us because our fans sure didn’t! It’s not Where’s Waldo, it’s Where Was The Cornelia Marie this week?!”

As always though, we end with this….RIP Phil. Fair winds and following seas my friend.

The clock is ticking folks and the time is getting close to the start of our favorite time of the year…Big Brother time! Today was the day that various members of the press and some celebs went into the Big Brother house and played a week’s events in one day. In fact, “Abby” from NCIS was one of them! Will she share any “clues” with us as to the decorations for the house? Ohhh Abby?!?!?

One journalist that the Yak can also confirm going in is Matt Whitfield, but other than that, we have no further details….yet. Stay tuned and be sure to check out the Early Bird Feeds special, remember if you get them through the Yak you not only get a chance for free feeds but the free mobile app add-on as well!!! Extras and WAY better odds!!! Join us in our forums to get all the details, and all the Big Brother fun!!!

KOZI Radio, out of Chelan, Washington is reporting that a friendly dispute turned rather ugly on the streets recently when Captain Keith Colburn of the F/V Wizard, seen on Discovery Channel’s ‘Deadliest Catch’ was involved in a “sucker punch quarrel”. Apparently Keith and his brother Monte (aka ‘Mouse’) were on a promotional tour sponsored by a Northwest Beer Brewer last week when this incident happened.

According to the Chelan Fire and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services the incident took place outside of a local downtown bar called ‘Senor Frogs’. Keith was actually at an establishment next door to this bar when he had words with a “tourist” and the fight fell into the street outside the door of the Senor Frogs establishment. Colburn was taken to the hospital, but the injuries ended up being minor. There was no word on what actually caused this fight and whether or not Keith plans on pressing charges but the Yak sends out our thoughts to him.

Having something to say? Tell us about it in our forums .

Ever wanted to be a host on Superpass? Here’s your chance! Through some information we got by getting the Big Brother 13 feeds during the Earlybird special (and by the way, come into our forums HERE to get them through the Yak and help the little guy) we discovered a contest that Real is having to find a new Superpass host!

Chelsea and Missy are seeking new hosts for a BB13 morning recap show and you have a shot to be one! Submit a 1-2 minute video clip of yourself to Youtube telling them why YOU should be the next Superpass live show host. You have to be an early riser, have access to Skype and most of all, LOVE Big Brother!!! Once you’ve done that, you need to email  liveshows@real.com with your video information. Pretty cool, huh?

Rumor control! Well now they have it. BB12′s Ragan and BB8′s Danielle are going to ramp up to the new BB13 season with a pre-season show called Rumor Control. But you have to check in quick because there’s only going to be three shows; airing June 21st, 28th and July 5th and you can watch via your Superpass subscription (which again, we have the link so you can get them in our forums HERE.

Big Brother 13 is coming soon and we will have it ALL! Live feed updates, games, discussions and of course, those internet famous live show recap threads where we discusses what happens, as it happens now live at the Yak! So, make sure you join us here at Big Brother central!

Welcome everyone to a special recap edition of Deadliest Catch!!! It’s After the Catch time and we’re in Season 5 now. This won’t be the type of recap you’re used to from me, there were so many f bombs dropped last night you’d think it was going out of style and I simply couldn’t get it verbatim. BUT, here’s what went down and a summarizing of what was said!

We opened with Sig, Johnathan, Andy and Keith sitting at a table in a bar in Oahu, Hawaii. Mike Rowe is the moderator, of course! The first thing they reflected on was how fast the last year has gone by and how crazy the weather was during Opies. Mike then had to pull the “there will be tears” card by reflecting on how this was the first full season without Phil. LOVE that they have Phil’s picture up, that mullet haired teddy bear should ALWAYS be there. Then we got footage of last year’s life celebration for Phil in New Orleans, and after that they showed the opening scene from the Season 7 premiere. That was a great moment, seriously, and I’m so glad it was done. More shots of Phil after that. Then the Harris boys joined them at the table. Jake said that Phil would’ve loved his send off, with the fireworks and explosives.

Mike then brought up something I’d never thought of. He reflected as a fan how close those boats were together when they gathered to bury Phil at sea. Josh noted that the majority of the captains were on the Cornelia Marie at that time too but that there was no other way it could have been done, and it was done beautifully. He also talked about how that was the only time the weather was truly nice. Isn’t that interesting? Remember last year when Phil was in the final fight for his life, and the seas were raging, and when he passed they calmed again and the guys had the best fishing of the season?

Another laugh out loud moment; Keith was on top of his stack, about 40 feet up, when Johnathan started shooting his gun off after Phil’s ashes were released. He laughed that Phil was with him so as not to get shot (no, it wasn’t meant that Johnathan was actually going to shoot him either).

So the next thing we know Mike asks the boys what it was like returning to the boat. Obviously, Jake said that boat didn’t have the same feeling without his dad. Sig then remarked that he couldn’t go by the Cornelia Marie without thinking about him. Keith piped in that it was a big personality to leave behind, with John saying it was a big void. Mike, at this point, asks us all to take a look at how the best of intentions can go sideways. Cue CM footage from king crab season. After the footage Jake thanks god that it’s over. Sig gets asked as a captain what his thoughts were on the situation. Sig was glad he wasn’t there and that it was tough for Derrick to step onto a family boat like that. It was a no win situation. Keith made a point in that each boat has it’s own personality. At this point Josh said a new person needed to be put in there (I think); he said that Derrick went about it the wrong way and that before they went out Derrick had promised them they’d catch. Then he talked about how he and Jake were degraded by him, and how they were out of pocket for money and actually were in the hole by $267,000. Sig did ask who worried about the cost before that, and I think Josh said himself (but again, not sure).

Josh then proceeded to ask Sig, Keith, Johnathan and Andy if any of them would have talked smack about Phil coming onto that boat and each one replied with an emphatic “no”. Sig asked, at this point, why Josh had to concern himself with the fuel issues and perhaps had bitten off more than he could chew.  Josh pointed out that Derrick did a great job as a captain, but he messed up by knocking Phil. He was guaranteed a paycheck and none of the crew were. Keith then joked “Welcome to being a boat owner”. Josh said that they didn’t want to go for blue crab, but it’s all they had. Johnathan surmised that it was a losing situation.

Commercial and then they came back. John and Andy had left the table (and despite some claims by various fans on Facebook, there’s no confirmation on why they left the table). Derrick, Sig, Keith and the boys were there. There is no way on god’s green earth I can transcribe the clusterfudge that was this confrontation so I’ll do my best to summarize it:

- Keith fished side by side with Derrick in the past and would give him a strong reference.

- Sig knew of him by reputation.

- Phil and Cornelia wanted Derrick to captain during Opies (when Phil passed)

- Derrick brought 30K pounds of his own red crab quota, and they leased out 115K from other boats, including the Wizard.

At this point the kaka hit the Hawaiian fan. F bombs, finger pointing, Derrick wanted to take the boys outside and beat their butts. F you’s, f you back’s. A lot of yelling. What I took from it was that Derrick was put in a tough spot, was frustrated by the entire situation and was taking it out this way. Josh and Jake were ticked about the way they were treated by Derrick, didn’t like their pop being dissed and didn’t like being told to ask questions but when they did being told they were dumb questions. More f bombs, more finger pointing. Derrick tries to walk away, Josh wants him to be reasonable and not leave. Mike says to Josh that he’s yelling and to stop and listen to him (but heck, after the trashing Derrick did of the boys in the press, I could understand their not wanting to either). At this point they watched more clips of the failed crab season as Mike attempted to call order. But when they came back it was just Keith, Sig and Todd Stanley at the table. Whoops, failed to mention that during the fracas Todd Stanley came out to try and break it up.

Todd remarked he had to intervene a lot during that season, and that it had happened when Phil was around too. Todd’s summary was that Derrick came on board, in his mind he wanted to fish, but the crew was used to doing their own thing and he got frustrated. That it was a loosey goosey easy going ship and Derrick wanted it tightly run (I’m paraphrasing).

Another break. Sig, Keith, Todd and Elliott Neese. Elliott didn’t seem happy with his portrayal on the show so far, said that all they showed was his downfalls and none of his glory. He also said he’d dealt with some BS from people on the show too. (Not sure if he meant Disco or other guys on the show, but if it’s the other guys, he kinda did call them out preseason). Apparently Neese was bugged sometimes by Todd askign the same question over and over again as well, but honestly, it almost seemed like the same type of relationship Todd and Phil had at the start (NO, it’s not replacing Phil). Elliott also felt like Wild Bill could mess up because he was so much older than Neese and it didn’t seem fair. Sig did remind him that you have to build your way up to it. But in the end, Todd did a cool thing by saying he was proud of Elliott.

After the next Coors Light sponsored break we got shots of Sig yelling for Edgar on the boat, and then in real time he yelled for him once more. This was probably one of the coolest moments of this night because Sig talked about Edgar being the heart of the boat. Andy and John were back, and John said when Sig/Edgar saw them hug the first time it was odd since they didn’t that often…but that he and Andy made them hug too. Hilarious! Then Sig and Edgar half hugged at the bar. Edgar talked about having to step up on deck because a lot of the duties fell to him and when the crap hit the fan on the boat he’d either take the blame or step up and take care of it. Keith then started the birthing of the best Deadliest Catch catchphrase ever by saying every boat has to have an Edgar. Before Keith could say who his Edgar was, more clips of Edgar’s greatest hits were shown. John says when things happen such as the power outage the Northwestern had, you have to have a guy that knows where to go and when to go. Keith said that situation happened to him once and that his Edgar was his brother Mouse. Edgar remarked that if you don’t have an Edgar, then the captain is the go to guy and John said that this is the reason people watch the show….because of guys like Edgar. After the break, we saw some fantastic shots of Sig and Edgar trying to surf (boards with paddles). But hey, before that break Sig and Edgar hugged again!

Nick Mavar was brought out at this point and Sig said that he totally loved him. I guess Nick is older than Sig too, I didn’t know that. But Nick pointed out that when Sig and Edgar got into it, that he was the middle man. Mike then asked Edgar if he was going to keep going in the manner that Edgar described Nick…the Energizer bunny. Edgar said he didn’t know, and we see clips of his departure from the Northwestern this season. Mike made a good point in that in this business you don’t get in quick and you don’t get out quick. Edgar pointed out that he needed to see if he could break the cycle and that he needed to see if he could leave it. It was a love and passion before and it wasn’t now. Lol, then Edgar passed out fliers about his new remodeling work and hopes to create a company from it. He says he loves being at home but in his heart he’s a fisherman too. An interesting proposal was brought to Sig at this point by Edgar; he’d come back on deck for king crab, but he wanted to run the boat for Opies. Sig was honestly stunned by this and did attempt to point out that the trip Nick took with Edgar, Nick had said he wouldn’t do it again. Nick, however, said that’s not what he said. He feels safe with Sig but trusts Edgar with the boat too. The issue was the Opie season they had, and it was nasty. Keith made a point that Opies is a bad season to be broken into as a captain but Nick was confident that Edgar could do it.

Wild Bill was brought in at this point and we got a funny segment on him at a fish auction in Hawaii. Bill was actually a good auctioneer but he said no way would he give up crabbing for it. The real auctioneer was there too, Brooks Takenaka, who brought several different dishes for everyone to try including a hilarious one that Mike joked about being named what sounded like poo poo. Johnathan dove right into eating his dish and seemed to like it, but also attempted to cook it more with his lighter. I’m laughing so hard at this point that I’m crying once again. With that, the episode was over. Whew! If this weeks’ was this intense, I can’t wait to see what happens next ! Tune in again and find out!

As always…..

R.I.P Phil. Fair winds.