Ice Vikings

While some fishers struggle to finish the fall season in wild weather, the Kristjansons make a pilgrimage to their ancestral home, Iceland. Back home, an early winter storm slams Gimli and commercial fishers risk life and limb to stake their claim on the thin ice. Newcomers Elena and Jamie have a tough first day when their snowmobile sinks. Trevor is determined not to take unnecessary risks this season, then purchases a 60-year-old Bomber that requires immediate attention.

Chris starts his season with a massive catch of Tullibee but happiness is short-lived when all of his nets freeze into the ice the next day. With terrible ice in Husavik, Justin and Mike start in Hecla and hit the mother-lode but the second major storm of the season nearly blows them off the ice. Everyone gets bad news when a critical fish market closes, leaving some fishermen unable to sell their catch. Richard has a close call on the ice.

Frightening ice conditions and poor weather make the early season treacherous. Justin and Mike experience a violent ice-quake that leaves them rattled. There are tales of experienced fishermen falling through the ice inside their vehicles, barely cheating death. Trevor contends with other fishermen setting their nets too close to his. After their best start ever, Justin and Mike's season starts crashing as two of their nets are swept away on the shifting ice.

It's January and the Ice Vikings confront blizzards and bone crushing cold on a lake that refuses to freeze solid. Trevor is having a terrible season with too few fish. He joins Chris at their base camp near The Narrows which leads to tension and results in personnel changes. 76-year-old Richard has several falls and injures himself. Mike and Justin's hopes of a good season have been crushed as they struggle to make quota. Most crews bring out their bombers now but Gene and Candace struggle without theirs because the ice still isn't stable enough.

A giant crack in the ice continues to be an obstacle for all crews as they try to set nets in deeper water. Mike and Justin are caught flat footed when the crack shifts and sends a violent ice quake to shake their location. Trevor suffers through more broken-down equipment and makes a major purchase to try and salvage his season. More storms roll through Gimli and Chris is forced to cancel a much-needed day of fishing. He has some ominous predictions about what comes next as the snow continues to pile up on the ice. Elena and Jamie try to keep their bare bones ...

It's officially the third highest amount of snowfall in Manitoba in the last century. Commercial fishers are plagued by deep drifts and hidden pockets of slush that can stop them in their tracks. Chris finds out the hard way that travelling alone is a bad idea when he gets his bomber stuck, axle deep. Gene and Candace team up with Richard and Mike to attempt a dangerous crossing over the heaving ice ridge as both teams need to lift deeper nets on the other side. Trevor has a day from hell as he battles the elements, a series of breakdowns and the same deep snow that ...

With less than a month left in the fishing season, all crews are desperate to catch their remaining quota; failing to do so means leaving money on the table. Justin and Mike are fighting to hit their target and an additional 20,000 pounds of quota they purchased. Chris shows off the sky hook prototype to his crew, a device he created to self-rescue his bombers if stuck, but the results are less than perfect. In what might be an historical first, mother and son fishing team, Candace and Alec Pishke, head out onto the ice. Justin and Mike make a terrible decision while ...

Emotions are high as the entire Kristjanson crew arrives to survey the damage and attempt recovery of what's left of the narrow gauge bomber. There are just two weeks left to fish and remove all equipment from the ice but the days are warming up too quickly. Justin and Mike decide to remove their entire Hecla operation despite being short of their seasonal quota. It doesn't go well when the bomber and lifting caboose become buried in slush, right on top of the crack over the deepest part of the lake.