“Deadliest Catch” skippers also shared time with fans in CDA

On another one of their stops, the ”Deadliest Catch” celebs flew into Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and once again had a fantastic and warm reception by local fans proving without a doubt, that the success of the show may be surpassing it’s dubbed title “cult hit” and may be expanding to simply main stream media… 

 

Local boy making good, Cd’A High school graduate Jonathan Hillstrand signs pictures for fans of the “Deadliest Catch” Tuesday at the Beachouse.

Keith Colburn, who owns the Wizard and lives in Seattle, said he didn’t think they’d ever make a show out of crab fishermen. But he also thinks the fans who have made it one of the Discovery Channel’s to shows do it to watch the fisherman live — not die.

“There’s definitely some fruitcake who is out there to watch us die,” he said. “But there’s another 1,000 who want us to stay alive. And we’re not up against death every day.”

Hillstrand, stood amid the milling crowd at the Beachouse, mumbling, “This is crazy,” as he signed autographs.

As soon as the paper was dry on his diploma, Hillstrand said between fans, he headed up to Alaska, went fishing, and hasn’t stopped since.

“I got hooked,” he said. “Once you start watching the water, you can’t stop.

“It’s not just pulling pots,” he said, tan and wiry. “Every pot has a story around it.”

For Hillstrand, who commands the Kodiak-based crab boat, Time Bandit, his story happened one day when he got hit by a 100-foot wave that laid them on their side.

“We got hit again, and we wound up under 60 feet of water,” he said. “We couldn’t see the sky. I thought for sure that was Davy Jones’ locker for me.”

Read more on the skippers appearance in Couer d’Alene