Local resident Kip Crew holds up a giant Alaskan Snow Crab in Bristol Bay.
When Animal Planet’s newest show “Alaska: Battle of the Bay” premiers on January 8, there will be a familiar face on one of the featured salmon fishing boats.
St. John resident Kip Crew has worked on commercial crab fishing boats in Alaskan waters for 20 years and decided to try his hand on a salmon boat for the first time in Bristol Bay, the eastern-most arm of Bering Sea.
Called the “green horn” for being a first timer on board, Crew has already been featured on one of the commercials for “Alaska: Battle of the Bay.”
“There is a new commercial on and I’ve already said something stupid,” said Crew.
The Love City, by way of Alaska, fisherman can more than be forgiven for calling the salmon free range. With five boats competing for the salmon run in close quarters, there is not much time to practice witty lines for the camera.
“It’s basically bumper cars out there,” said Crew. “I’ve never seen anything like it. You’re chasing salmon and everyone knows where they are.
“They’re coming down the beach and you can fish one side and you can’t fish the other; it’s called ‘The Line,’” he said. “You’re going up and down The Line and then racing back and you’re in these small boats and bumping each other. It’s basically controlled chaos and then they ask you to say something for the camera.”
There is no shortage of drama during the six week salmon run on Bristol Bay in the Bering Sea. The Animal Planet show centers on five boats, each a mere 32-feet long, battling for the best catch in choppy seas and close quarters.
Crew is aboard the Intruder with Irish captain Tom Walsh, who seems made for TV.
“He’s six-foot two and is this huge guy with a heart of gold,” Crew said about Captain Walsh. “He’s from Ireland and grew up in a fishing family and wanted to come to Alaska to do the big stuff. He bought a boat for the salmon fishing and I hooked up with him through an old king crab fisherman friend of mine.”
There is quite a bit of passion running through Captain Walsh’s veins, according to information from Animal Planet, which doesn’t shrink from the drama of “Battle of the Bay.”
“Every salmon season on Bristol Bay is a battle, but this year promises to be legendary,” according to Animal Planet’s press release on the new show. “The price is historically high, the stocks of fish are huge and the only thing guaranteed is a battle on the bay. Right out of the gate, Captain Leonard Ferrigno vows revenge on Captain Tom Walsh for thinking he can bully a family man.”
“Captain Luke Swab gets a taste of the passion coursing through Captain Tom Walsh’s veins when they tangle up and he ends up on the wrong side of an Irish tongue-lashing,” according to the Animal Planet press release on the new show. “Youth, speed and a huge debt motivates Captain Taran White to forget about the peanut gallery and hit pay dirt. And all the while, 35 year veteran Captain Vince Hoiby manages to find a way to stick, stay and make it pay while fishing The Line.”
While Crew is no stranger to dangerous Alaskan winter weather, there were some rough days in Bristol Bay, he explained.
Brutual Bering Sea Weather
“Winter time in the Bering Sea is brutal and summer time when we were salmon fishing is not nearly as gnarly,” said Crew. “But we saw some really crappy days still. The boats are only 32 feet and it gets pretty bobby, even by my standards.”
When he decided to trade winter crab fishing for a summer salmon run, Crew wasn’t convinced at first that having a cameraman on board was a good idea, he explained.
“I have been crab fishing for 20 years and decided to go salmon fishing in Alaska this summer instead,” said Crew. “I was asked if I minded having a cameraman on the boat. My first thought was that the boat is really small and I wasn’t super excited about having another body aboard.”
“But I wanted the job and he turned out to be a really cool guy,” said Crew.
Spending six weeks salmon fishing allowed Crew to stay home on St. John this winter with his family as he readies his own sail boat Equinox for charter work in Coral Bay.
Crew is putting the finishing touches on his sailboat and will soon be offering day charters.
Stay tuned for a chance to cruise local waters with an experienced boater. And don’t miss Crew in “Alaska: Battle of the Bay,” premiering on January 8 on Animal Planet.