‘Wicked Tuna’ experiences ‘Hell on High Seas’ on NatGeo

Tonight's episode of “Wicked Tuna” finds the fishermen of Gloucester, Mass. in week eight of their season as they try to catch their livelihood of bluefin tuna. So far, the leaderboard is as follows; Pin Wheel with six fish for $36,119. Second is now FV-Tuna.com with five fish and $28,436. Third is Hard Merchandise with four fish for $19,610, Bounty Hunter with two for $4,435 and the Odysea still with one fish for $4,100.

As the episode starts, the FV-Tuna.com has lost their lead, and it took them two weeks to catch a fish. On the Hard Merchandise, Dave has noticed that lately, the boat has not been running properly. Now the 1984 model boat that stalled, has finally started, and they are on their way. On the Odysea, deckhand Jason is in need of a paycheck and captain Ralph knows the consequences of not catching any fish.

On the Pin Wheel, Tyler is pissed at his crew for being late, and although they are friends, he must show them he is in command. On Hard Merchandise, Jason spots a fish on the screen and starts chumming, finally the reel starts spinning, but the fish is coming close to the anchor line. Dave cut the anchor line and wants this fish, but the fish pulled the hook and got away.

On the Pin Wheel, Tyler is still stewing about his tardy crew. As the reel starts spinning, the mark on the screen shows that the fish could be a "rat" or an undersized fish they must throw back. It is a big fish, no "rat." After eight tries, they finally harpoon the fish, and it was a beauty that stayed on the line for over an hour. The fish weighed 480 pounds and brought in $14 a pound for $6720 giving them another leg up on the lead. Tyler has to keep the crew motivated, because they are not as dedicated as he is.

On the Odysea, Captain Ralph makes fun of Jason's incessant talking, but when the reel starts spinning, Jason runs to the deck to do his job. Unfortunately, it is a shortie and Jason will not be able to stay on the boat much longer without a paycheck.

On the FV-Tuna.com, Captain Dave was sound asleep as Paul commented about Dave sleeping all the time. Sandro and Paul seem to be doing all the work. Dave knows that a three-man crew allows for one to sleep, while the others work. Paul is pissed at Dave, who took the rod from Sandro and lost the fish. Paul was upset, and Sandro was too; that Dave did not trust him.

On the Hard Merchandise, Dave is out in the ocean when the boat does not go into gear. When Dave goes below, he finds that the drive shaft is shorn off; most likely ending their season on "Wicked Tuna." At the moment, they are dead in the water. It will take at least two weeks, at best to repair the transmission. He calls Dave Marciano on the FV-Tuna.com to give them a tow when their day is done. Dave comes right to his aid, because he knows Dave would do the same for him.

On the Pin Wheel, the next day, Tyler has been waiting an hour for his crew. He told them to be there at 3 a.m., and at 4 a.m. decided to go out alone.

The next day, Paul and Sandro are out alone, while Dave has the day off on the FV-Tuna.com. Sandro gets one on the line, and they finally see color and harpoon the big one. Dave was not there to take over, and sure enough, Sandro did it all alone while Paul steered the boat and harpooned him.

Not catching fish makes for grumpy fishermen. Ralph starts picking on Jason, who second-guesses his decision to leave Florida to go fishing in Massachusetts.

As the reel spins again on the FV-Tuna.com, Sandro and Paul are in their glory. They finally call Dave to tell him the news. Paul is Sandro's biggest supporter as he told Dave that Sandro did it all by himself. One weighed 502 pounds, and the other was 319. The big one went for $20 and paid$10,040, while the smaller one went for $14 and paid $4,466. Great day without the captain.

On the Pin Wheel, Tyler is out alone and still has not heard from his crew. Could this be the end of his season?

At the end of week eight, the leaderboard is; FV-Tuna.com has seven fish for $42,942 and just edging out second place Pin Wheel leads with seven for $42,839. Hard Merchandise has four for $19,610. Odysea with one for $4,100, but it is a big ocean and barring any further problems; more "Wicked Tuna" will be caught.