215 Miles North of Dutch Harbor – Rough Seas, Low Numbers
Aboard the 155-foot Wizard, Captain Keith Colburn battles heavy seas and even heavier stress.
“The weather sucks. We’re bucking into it. It’s tedious. A good day in paradise,” he mutters sarcastically.
Since day one, the season has been plagued by bad numbers, harsh weather, and crew injuries. With poor hauls and growing frustration, Keith makes a risky move:
“To get this gear back, I’ve got to put the weather a little bit on the starboard side… but that’s exposing the crew.”
The catch numbers continue to disappoint—24 here, 30 there. It’s not good enough.
“We need hundreds—300s, 900s. This just isn’t the place to be.”
Stack and Move: A Desperate Shift
With morale low and the season slipping away, Keith makes a bold call:
“We’re going to have to muscle these pots on here. Stack all 200 pots and move.”
His plan: get the gear off the deck, leave this dead zone, and chase better grounds.
“Come pick ’em up and get the hell out of town!”
But with rough seas still hammering the deck, safety becomes a concern.
“Hang on! That one got me,” a deckhand yells. “Nice job ducking and covering, guys.”
Mother Nature isn’t easing up.
Stress Mounts, Options Dwindle
Keith loads the last of his gear and stares into the fog of uncertainty:
“We’ve got 5,000 crab on board. Next to nothing. I’m stressed out. Where the hell am I going next?”
With few leads left, he reaches out to an old friend and occasional rival—Johnathan Hillstrand of the Time Bandit.
Radio Crab: A Lifeline from the Time Bandit
Keith radios in:
“Mr. Hillstrand, I need help. I’m bombing out here.”
Johnathan replies with hope:
“We’re seeing anywhere from 100 to 250+ average here. My position is 56°25’N, 168°44’W. Get your *** over here.”
Keith doesn’t hesitate.
“I’m on my way.”
Johnathan even throws in some bonus intel:
“Try around 167°23’—solid fishing last year.”
Up until this point, Keith admits he was panicked. But now,
“An angel from the sky—John Hill—tells me where to go. And I’m going.”
New Grounds, New Hope
Now 190 miles northwest of Dutch Harbor, Keith reaches the Batwing—a place he never thought to try.
“There’s no way in hell I would’ve looked this far east. But John says it’s good. We’re about to bomb the spot.”
All 200 pots are ready to hit the water.
“Go ahead and dump it!”
But there’s always risk:
“Crab go off the bite. Crab run away. Maybe it’s just a thin strip… Let’s hope it’s the mother lode.”
Hillstrand’s Gamble
Meanwhile, 45 miles northeast, Johnathan Hillstrand also makes a move based on Keith’s earlier sighting.
“Keith saw some really good crab signs—nice white Opies without a lot of trash. We’re banking on it.”
As the Time Bandit crew begins to dump their gear, they’re counting on this being the jackpot.
“If there’s no crab here, we don’t know where to go next. That could cost us days—and another trip.”
Conclusion: All In on Radio Crab
With both captains relying on each other’s intel, the success of their seasons may hinge on this moment. The stakes are high. The weather’s brutal. The crab are elusive.
But in the unforgiving Bering Sea, this is what it takes to survive: trust, instinct, and a little help from your competitors.
“Crab fishing is a crazy sport, man,” Keith says—stacked high, soaked to the bone, and all-in on one last chance.
