Opie Season Starts this week on D.C.!

[OldPhiKap]

Anyone else a Deadliest Catch addict? Opie season starts this week -- serious weather and ice conditions. If you've never seen the show, this episode may be a good place to jump on board (Tue, 9:00 est, Discovery). "Now in High Def."

[DUKIECB]

I love Deadliest Catch! I too am excited that Opie season is finally here. After a sub par king crab season (by sub par I mean nothing really all that exciting) I am glad it's time for the Opies.

For anyone who hasn't watched, "opies" or opillio (sp.) crab are fished for in the dead of winter on the Bering Sea in Alaska. How they do it is beyond me. Single digit to below zero temperatures, 50-100 mph winds, and having to watch out for the forming ice pack so you don't get surrounded by ice in the middle of the ocean!

All this makes for some exciting T.V.:D

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I am glad it's time for the Opies.

For anyone who hasn't watched, "opies" or opillio (sp.) crab are fished for in the dead of winter on the Bering Sea in Alaska.

And here I thought the thread was going to be about Deputy Barney Fife going hunting...

[dukemomLA]

I LOVE this show!! Truly my favorite of all that TVland has to offer. Looking forward to Opie season. I'm always bereft when the D.C. season ends.

For those of you who don't watch this show, you are missing the BEST of "reality TV." This is true reality. Amazing characters, more action and breath-taking visuals, complete respect and awe for the men who live and die (literally) for a profession that is 'in their blood.'

Boston and NYC have fire fighters and police who continue from generation to generation. But nothing compares to the Fishing Boats of the Bering Sea.

[Lavabe]

My money is going on Sig Hansen and the crew of the Northwestern (http://www.fvnorthwestern.com/).:D

I could swear I saw the early part of an opie episode Sunday. My wife doesn't understand why I like the show. Frankly, I don't know why I like the show.:D

Got to get one of those "Shut up and fish" t-shirts!

Cheers,
Lavabe

[Windsor]

I love this show as well. One of my favorites for sure. Can't wait for Opie season!

[OldPhiKap]

My money is going on Sig Hansen and the crew of the Northwestern (http://www.fvnorthwestern.com/).:D

I could swear I saw the early part of an opie episode Sunday. My wife doesn't understand why I like the show. Frankly, I don't know why I like the show.:D

Got to get one of those "Shut up and fish" t-shirts!

Cheers,
Lavabe

The Hanson Brothers are nuts. But I'm pulling for the Hillstrands.

[pamtar]

As a former hardcrabber myself (Pamlico Sound), I must say that Deadliest Catch is the best show ever. My money is on the Cornelia Marie. Bad luck usually doesn't hit both seasons.

We should make a friendly wager. :rolleyes:

[Windsor]

As a former hardcrabber myself (Pamlico Sound), I must say that Deadliest Catch is the best show ever. My money is on the Cornelia Marie. Bad luck usually doesn't hit both seasons.

We should make a friendly wager. :rolleyes:

Call the string before you pull it. I'll make a friendly wager...but we would have to meet in the bar in Dutch to pay up.

I like the Hansens...biting heads off raw fish...throwing flaming hooks...and Sig is nuts. Totally nuts...not that the Hillstrands are sane.

Phil on the Cornelia Marie was looking pretty bad at the end of king crab season (physically...never mind the crab count)..love his son doing the mohawk thing to change thier luck.

[Lavabe]

We should make a friendly wager. :rolleyes:

Dare I say it ...

Should we form a fantasy league?:D

[DevilAlumna]

I haven't watched the last season nor much of the current one, so I don't know what the Hansens have been up to lately on the water.

I do know they've been pretty smart about trying to cash in on their 45 min. of fame. (3 brothers....) They've got a video game coming out - http://www.fvnorthwestern.com/ - they've got their own Hansen merchandise (http://www.hellyhansennorthwestern.com/)(not to be confused with the Hansons, mm-bop), and are quite the local celebraties here in the PNW. A 10-person, king crab dinner with Sig went for $20k in a charity auction last summer.

[Windsor]

Dare I say it ...

Should we form a fantasy league?:D


Brilliant!!

[bdh21]

The Hanson Brothers are nuts. But I'm pulling for the Hillstrands.

Yes they are!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/25/52181147_3a2045b5f3.jpg

[Lavabe]

Yes they are!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/25/52181147_3a2045b5f3.jpg

Where were you when Slapshot lost in Jason Evans' all-time DBR sports movie poll?

[OldPhiKap]

Yes they are!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/25/52181147_3a2045b5f3.jpg

I think of those three every time they mention the Hanson Bros.

Not sure which three are the toughest, though. That would be a good battle.

[Lavabe]

I haven't watched the last season nor much of the current one, so I don't know what the Hansens have been up to lately on the water.

I do know they've been pretty smart about trying to cash in on their 45 min. of fame. (3 brothers....) They've got a video game coming out - http://www.fvnorthwestern.com/ - they've got their own Hansen merchandise (http://www.hellyhansennorthwestern.com/)(not to be confused with the Hansons, mm-bop), and are quite the local celebraties here in the PNW. A 10-person, king crab dinner with Sig went for $20k in a charity auction last summer.

Sig's a character.

The Hillstrands also have a web site:
http://www.timebandit.tv/
No video game, but they have a book. On tonight's episodes, I loved their tribute to their dad.

The Cornelia Marie and Crab Wizard have their own sites as well.

This show may force me to get HD.
Cheers,
Lavabe

[OldPhiKap]

The trib to their dad was the end of the king crab season. (Repeat from last week). Opie season started this week.

Either way, HD is worth it regardless of what you watch.

BTW, I don't think Phil is gonna make it much longer . . . .

[TillyGalore]

After lurking in this thread all week I decided to watch D.C. last night. I have randomly caught episodes in the past, but have never specifically watched an episode. As another poster pointed out, this is reality TV.

I enjoyed my first episodes, caught the last of the king crab season. I didn't like how they ended last nights episode of the first season of Opie, sort of reminded me of "Who shot JR," though I realize why it ended that way - ratings, ratings, ratings. I will be tuning in next week to see the outcome.

Oh yeah, I did enjoy the program. Don't know how those guys can do that, but glad they do. Could go for some crab right about now.

[2535Miles]

After lurking in this thread all week I decided to watch D.C. last night. I have randomly caught episodes in the past, but have never specifically watched an episode. As another poster pointed out, this is reality TV.
I think we need to clarify "Reality TV". When I hear that, I tend to think of tripe on film like Big Brother, Survivor, The Bachelor, etc. I think this show is better described as a modern documentary. Either way...

Opie Season has started. I spend most of the show shaking my head, talking to myself saying things like "Sheesh, these guys are real men. I am a wuss." I'm pulling for everyone, but Sig and the Northwestern are my favorite.

[TillyGalore]

I think we need to clarify "Reality TV". When I hear that, I tend to think of tripe on film like Big Brother, Survivor, The Bachelor, etc. I think this show is better described as a modern documentary. Either way...

Opie Season has started. I spend most of the show shaking my head, talking to myself saying things like "Sheesh, these guys are real men. I am a wuss." I'm pulling for everyone, but Sig and the Northwestern are my favorite.

Perhaps shows like this should be referred to as REAL tv as it is real, not some hokey game show calling itself "reality". Please, what is so real about shows like "Survivor," "American Idol," "The Bachelor," etc? Someone I highly respect claimed he "pegged" me as a watcher of such shows. Never pigeon hole Tilly, you'll (almost) always be wrong.

Back to the topic at hand. I'm with you 2535 miles, I felt like a wuss too. I love sleeping in my bed for 7-8 hours, taking a shower daily, walking on land, and sitting at my desk in my 8-5 (+) job. Nope, don't want to learn how to balance myself on a boat that is always swaying. Don't want to be interrupted during my sleep time to unload crabs for 24 hours.

Compared to these guys, I am a wuss, and I am okay with that. :)

[2535Miles]

Someone I highly respect claimed he "pegged" me as a watcher of such shows. Never pigeon hole Tilly, you'll (almost) always be wrong.
Ugh. One of the guys from office used to always invite me over to "Survivor Night" at his house. He'd be all excited: "It's on HD" and I just didn't have to heart to tell him that I thought it was extremely lame. Nevermind that it was a bunch of vegans, and this has never ever, ever touched a drug in his life except, in his own words: "Caffeine. Because it's in chocolate and I gotta have my chocolate." Anywho.


Back to the topic at hand. I'm with you 2535 miles, I felt like a wuss too. I love sleeping in my bed for 7-8 hours, taking a shower daily, walking on land, and sitting at my desk in my 8-5 (+) job. Nope, don't want to learn how to balance myself on a boat that is always swaying. Don't want to be interrupted during my sleep time to unload crabs for 24 hours. Compared to these guys, I am a wuss, and I am okay with that. :)
Just watching that greenhorn trying to learn to walk on the deck was enough to make me queazy. And I don't think I could take Captain Keith screaming at me all the time. No way. Uh uh.

[Mal]

Edgar is clearly the coolest guy in the fleet.

I'm sort of partial to The Wizard, myself (which I'm guessing makes me an outlier). The Coburns seem like relatively normal guys, more thoughtful than the rest. Phil and the Hilstrands can't stop bragging on their own toughness and aren't inspiring to me, and Sig is pretty much insane. I respect Keith for not flying off the handle and acting out of petulance as much as the other captains.

The show makes a huge deal out of the lot of money to be earned in Alaskan crab fishing, but I'd like to see somewhere a balance sheet breakdown for one of these boats. Has anyone seen that? What does it cost to purchase/finance a boat? What percentage of the revenue goes straight to the boat's owner, if it's not the captain? What does it cost to fuel and equip a boat for a season? Etc., etc. The gross revenue they pull in over a season (I'm a little fuzzy on how long the season is and how long they have to prep to get ready for it) certainly appears large for a 6-8 person team, but what's the real net profitability here? Obviously, for the deckhands, it's clear from their excitement every time a full pot comes on board, that they're making a better living doing this than they would in other blue collar jobs. But how much better? And are the captains and boat owners making so much that I should wonder why the industry hasn't attracted big outside money, buying up a large portion of the fleet and cashing people out? Maybe that's happened already?

[Windsor]

Edgar is clearly the coolest guy in the fleet.

Obviously, for the deckhands, it's clear from their excitement every time a full pot comes on board, that they're making a better living doing this than they would in other blue collar jobs. But how much better? And are the captains and boat owners making so much that I should wonder why the industry hasn't attracted big outside money, buying up a large portion of the fleet and cashing people out? Maybe that's happened already?

At the end of king crab season they said how much each full share deck hand got...it isn't on my Tivo anymore or I'd check...The Wizard was fueling up before heading out if I remember right 46k gallons of marine dielsel...that must cost a few dollars (according to their website the Northwestern hold 60k gallons of fuel). You have to catch some serious crab to just pay for the fuel!

There are mutliple crab seasons, according to the Northwesterns website
She fishes for King Crab, Opilio Crab, Pot Cod and provides tendering during the Salmon and Herring Seasons. I would guess that to stay profitable the boat has to busy almost year round.

I don't care how much the deck hands make...it is at least one decimal place shy of what it would take to get me out there!

[2535Miles]

Obviously, for the deckhands, it's clear from their excitement every time a full pot comes on board, that they're making a better living doing this than they would in other blue collar jobs. But how much better?
I've heard numbers between 30-60K for a season. That's not too bad for a few weeks of work.

[OldPhiKap]

I've heard numbers between 30-60K for a season. That's not too bad for a few weeks of work.

Not much in the way of health benefits, though. A guy last year had to poke a hot wire through his fingernail to relieve swelling -- and the guy recommending that did not appear to have gone to medical school.

I knew some guys in college who worked on a salmon boat in Alaska one summer, thinking it would be a fun way to see Alaska. They were wrong.

[Windsor]

Not much in the way of health benefits, though. A guy last year had to poke a hot wire through his fingernail to relieve swelling -- and the guy recommending that did not appear to have gone to medical school.


I think it was Phil of the Cornelia Marie that said a few seasons ago "You aren't a crab fisherman until you've had one of your teeth pulled out with pliers"...and proceed to do just that. don't think Phil went to dental school

[DevilAlumna]

Not much in the way of health benefits, though. A guy last year had to poke a hot wire through his fingernail to relieve swelling -- and the guy recommending that did not appear to have gone to medical school.

I've done that to myself -- it was an incredibly good feeling to have the pressure relieved. Thumb had gotten slammed in a doorjam.

I had seen my Dr. dad do it to my brother once, so I was pretty confident I could do it. I don't recommend trying it for fun, but if you need to do it, it's nothing terribly hard or painful to do. Takes hella long time for the nail to fall off and grow back, tho.

[dukemomLA]

Since I was the poster who mentioned "Reality TV," I applaud your response that this is REAL TV! Great distinction.

And...if anyone wants to start a 'fantasy league' or a poll, I'm there like white on rice. If the DBR website adds viewers, I'm excited. (And thrilled that this is already the highest rated show on cable).:)