Fishing in Thorne Bay | Life Below Zero

COLE: You ready to reel a fish in, Willow?

WILLOW: Yeah.

COLE: It's been a while, huh?

WILLOW: Yeah.

COLE: We'll see. Well, today, Timber and Willow, Willow mostly, they both been asking to go fishing. So, see if we can just pull one winter king in. Kings, they got good fat content, especially this time of year. Oh, and we don't get sunshine. Salmon's our Vitamin D. Oh, yeah, I'm starting to mark bait. Timber, are you okay to drive for a minute?

TIMBER: Yeah.

COLE: You drive and I'll throw out the, the sneaker pole out the back here. See if we can't get these girls hooked on a king.

TIMBER: Cross your fingers!

COLE: I am Cole Sturgis. I live in Thorne Bay, Alaska on Prince of Wales Island. In Southeast Alaska. My family and I live in our two-story house that floats in the ocean. My oldest is Timber. My middle daughter is Willow, and we have a little two-year-old that's, uh, Cedar. And when you're a logger, you tend to name your kids after trees. (laughs)

Coming from Montana, I've never been in the ocean really. Until I found a job cutting timber. And didn't take us long at all to figure out we're heading North. For me, everything in Thorne Bay's unique. The peace, the quiet of it. There's no rat race here. It's a rainforest. Things grow here like I've never seen. It's a magical place.

We try to sustain on what the ocean gives us. And this land around here provides us. If we don't stay on top of the food chain, we starve. To be proficient up here, you have to be stubborn. I'm kind of a jack of all trades and a master of none. I don't know much, but I know a lot. You know? Nice and easy. There you go.

TIMBER: We're under one.

COLE: Good job. It's a big advantage, teaching your children how to drive. I can be manning the poles. Timber knows to take us on course. Need one now we're just waiting now. Good job, girls. Really makes a person proud. That your children are that cool. Yeah, good duck coming in. Let's see if there's a king in here.

TIMBER: Yeah, I like that.

COLE: This is the greatest thing I've been gifted with. To raise my girls. And help them and teach them. (gusting winds) (shivering)

COLE: What's wrong, Willow?

COLE: Timber, you're cold?

TIMBER: Yeah.

COLE: All right, we'll circle back towards the house. I'll just go out and check tomorrow, maybe we'll get some fish.