Deadliest Catch: A Brutal Ice Storm Forces a Risky Change of Course — and a Shocking Payoff

A Northbound Gamble Turns Dangerous

Captain and crew push north across nearly 300 miles of Bering Sea in search of big numbers, but the plan collapses fast. Heavy spray turns to accumulating ice, coating the boat at a dangerous rate.

“If we don’t break this ice off, we’re going to get too heavy,” the captain warns. “We’re going to sink. And I don’t want to sink out here.”

With ice building across the deck and rail, the northbound route becomes impossible.

Forced Into the Storm’s Grip

Checking the stern, the crew finds fresh layers of ice forming again within minutes. Staying on that course would mean disaster.

“Okay, guys. We’re going to start setting,” the captain says reluctantly. “We gotta get these pots off the boat.”

Instead of placing gear where he spent days planning, he is forced to pivot — turning south, running with the weather, and dropping pots in an area he didn’t want to fish.

But in the Bering Sea, the weather doesn’t ask permission.

First Pots: A Brutal Disappointment

When the first string comes up, optimism fades fast.

Not much. Poor numbers. Barely 18 crab.

“I’d like to blame sand fleas,” he mutters, “but I can’t.”

Beardai crab are notoriously unpredictable. They move in scattered schools, and unless a captain hits the right pocket, it’s nothing but empty steel.

Then — a Tangled Mess

Midway through the string, something unusual.

“Why the hell do I see two pots where there’s supposed to be one?”

Two pots have drifted into each other, becoming a huge tangle. Tied-up gear almost never fishes well — and hauling it safely is a risky maneuver.

But the crew manages to wrestle the snarl aboard without injury.

A Sudden Turn of Luck

The captain opens the first pot from the tangled pair.

“Crap—wait. There’s crab in that one.”

Not just crab — good crab.

The count jumps:
85 … 99 … nearly a hundred keepers. A massive hit.

A mistake turns into a jackpot.

The Surprise Continues

The next pot — also tangled, also expected to be empty — comes up loaded as well.

Two pots dropped nearly on top of each other, both full of big, heavy beardai.

“I guess I don’t know everything after all,” the captain admits.

Bold Idea: Double-Launch

Seeing the unexpected success, he proposes something he’s never tried:

Maybe setting pairs of pots side by side on the launcher will keep them close — but not tangle.

“Serious?” the crew asks.

“Serious. Make it happen.”

With only days remaining and the season slipping away, it’s a gamble worth taking.

A Last Push for Redemption

The crew rigs the double setup, hoping that duplicating the accidental cluster will recreate the payday.

Weather forced them to the wrong grounds, but the crab don’t lie. Something is working.

In the Bering Sea, the line between catastrophe and success is razor-thin.
Today, luck — for once — breaks in their favor.