The Pomrenkes get off to a bad start with family squabbles and a K bill. Zeke and Scott M have powerful new dredges but can they rely on their crew of friends? Vernon goes all in, gambling all his savings and his deckhand daughter.
EDGE dredger John is out of the hospital and on the gold, but Zeke may lose it all when accused of claim jumping. Scott puts the crew at risk taking the dredge out during a storm. The DNR shuts the Pomrenkes down. "Hurricane Dave's" antics test Vernon.
Summer storms keep the miners off the water; losing time and money shortens tempers. Steve R takes out a restraining order and later finds gold despite himself. Zeke proves he wasn't claim jumping but gets shut down any way. Steve P works his "voodoo".
Big swells and bigger tempers take over the Bering Sea. Inexperience and equipment problems cause more than a few tantrums, while big swells and bad conditions make some miners lose their lunch.
The weather sours, crew members drop like flies, and captains' tempers rage. Scott M goes out without crew but hits a honey hole. Zeke goes back to THE CLARK and gets too close to a neighbor's lease. The CHRISTINE ROSE is close to toppling over in a gale.
Pressure mounts as the fleet reaches the season's halfway mark. The Edge is hampered by a toxic fumes and diving phobia. The Wild Ranger enters a turf war. The Pomrenkes face the law. Will Scott Meisterheim's binge finally bring about his breakdown?
The season's end is steadily approaching, and every miner's back is against the wall. With debts mounting and feuds escalating, one skipper loads his rifle, another blows his stack, and yet another abandons his crew before hightailing it out of Nome.
With Scott MIA, Vernon hires the ANGER MANAGEMENT crew who are sitting dead in the water, but his own crew - and daughter - are also MIA. Emily's joke to Zeke sets off their powder keg of frustrations. The Pomrenkes train their third generation dredger.
Steve Riedel battles to save his job. Shawn Pomrenke heads to prison as his father dredges to save their family compound. A runaway skiff causes Zeke to blow up at diver John Bunce. Nome gathers to crown the fastest gold panner in town.
Weather drives all but the desperate and stubborn in.Shawn and Cody claw their way back to port. Daryl struggles to get back to the dredge after losing his air. Zeke's on the gold, but low balls Emily on her cut. The fleet loses a dredger and friend.
Zeke, Emily and Steve mourn their friend John's passing. Scott returns from rehab ready to dredge despite the increasing ice and snow. Vernon hires a new diver to replace Steve. Shawn and Cody patch a rapidly increasing hole in the CHRISTINE ROSE's hull.
The dredgers break through Nome's frozen harbor for one last shot at gold. Scott Meisterheim's dredging season is headed for failure - again, but the CHRISTINE ROSE scores big. Zeke blames himself for John Bunce's passing.