Jake Harris Stages a Stunning Comeback on ‘Deadliest Catch’ — You Won’t Believe His Life Now!

0 5 minutes read

Fans were first introduced to professional fisherman Phil Harris and his sons, Josh and Jake Harris, on Season 2 of Discovery Channel’s hit reality series Deadliest Catch.

The boys took ownership of their dad’s commercial crab fishing boat, the Cornelia Marie, following his sudden death in 2010. They both continued to appear regularly on Deadliest Catch — that is until Jake abruptly left the franchise in 2012. What happened to Jake Harris and where is he now?

What happened to Jake Harris from ‘Deadliest Catch’?

After his father Phil Harris passed away on Feb. 9, 2010, from a pulmonary embolism, Jake turned to drugs and alcohol. The experienced deckhand has struggled with addiction for many years and reportedly has had three DUIs (his most recent was in May 2021) as well as one reduced DUI.

“[I] got a big hole in my heart and tried to fill it up with everything that wasn’t good for it,” he admitted on Dr. Drew’s HLN show in 2011. “It took me a while to realize what I really wanted out of life.”

The outdoorsman added, “It was definitely a big trip-up, threw my world upside down, put me in a real sad place for a little bit, kind of made things worse before they got better.”

High Stakes and Tragedy: The Crushing Toll of Deadliest Catch Season 21

The Bering Sea has once again shown its relentless, unforgiving nature, testing the veteran captains of Discovery Channel’s hit series, Deadliest Catch. Season 21 brought not only the usual chaos of extreme weather but also devastating health crises and a catastrophic fire that claimed the life of a respected captain, underscoring the lethal fragility of the world’s most dangerous profession.

Battle for Survival: Cyclone and Medical Emergency Aboard the Fleet

The episode titled “Cyclone’s Edge” captured the raw collision of nature’s fury and human vulnerability.

Sig Hansen vs. the Arctic Cyclone: Aboard the iconic F/V Northwestern, veteran Captain Sig Hansen, 59, found himself trapped in a southbound Arctic cyclone while chasing the lucrative golden king crab. The storm packed 50 mph gusts and 40-foot waves, forcing Sig to execute a calculated gamble. Despite facing 8-foot-tall, 800-pound pots and a sudden wind shift that compromised his fishing contour, the Northwestern managed to land enough golden kings—prized at up to $30 per pound and three times the size of Bairdi crab—to justify the risk. Sig, who has navigated the industry’s grim toll of 300 deaths since 2000, ultimately embodied the fleet’s ethos: “grind through the storm”.

Keith Colburn’s Health Crisis: The drama escalated aboard the F/V Wizard. Amidst a bitter fraternal spat over a $10,000 fuel gamble that saw Monte Colburn defy his brother’s orders, Captain Keith Colburn, 60, suffered a terrifying medical episode. Mid-argument, Keith collapsed in the wheelhouse, clutching his left arm in a classic sign of a heart attack or stroke.

With Keith 65 miles from help, Monte navigated the Wizard through the dangerous, swell-prone approach to St. Paul Island with “white-knuckled precision”. Monitoring the crisis via radio, Sig Hansen drew parallels to his own 2018 heart attack and urged the Coast Guard to evacuate Keith, whose remote assessment pointed to a possible mini-stroke. Keith was eventually evacuated to Anchorage, then Seattle, leaving Monte to finish the trip and reminding the fleet that the sea spares no one, not even legends.

Tragedy Strikes: The Loss of Captain Eric Lawson

The season was marred by a separate, devastating tragedy that highlighted the inherent dangers of the trade beyond storms and rough seas.

On August 20, 2025, a massive fire erupted on the F/V Sea Reaper near Adak Island. The fire, likely originating from electrical faults in the engine room of the aging vessel, spread uncontrollably, trapping 52-year-old Captain Eric Lawson in the wheelhouse. Despite the crew’s frantic efforts, the inferno overwhelmed the ship, claiming Lawson’s life before rescue could arrive.

The death sent shockwaves through the fleet. Lawson’s surviving crew members, led by deck boss Ryan Carter, managed to escape in life rafts. Captains like Sig Hansen and Jake Anderson expressed their grief, with Hansen stating in a radio tribute: “Eric was one of the best. He knew the sea, but the sea doesn’t play favorites“.

This tragedy underscored the fleet’s constant vulnerability:

Aging Vessels: Many boats in the fleet use aging equipment, making them susceptible to mechanical failures and catastrophic fires.
Climate Change: Warmer waters have pushed crab populations into deeper, more hazardous waters, forcing longer journeys, increasing fuel costs, and heightening exposure to storms.
Historical Toll: The fire is the latest in a series of tragedies, echoing the fatal stroke suffered by Captain Phil Harris in 2010.

The Emotional Toll: Jake Harris’s Ongoing Struggles

The show has long documented the emotional scars of the job, exemplified by the struggles of former star Jake Harris.

Following his father Phil Harris’s death in 2010, Jake, who had been introduced on the show in Season 2, abruptly left the franchise in 2012 and turned to drugs and alcohol. He admitted that his father’s death left a “big hole in my heart” that he tried to fill with substances.

Jake’s battle with addiction has led to significant legal issues:

He has struggled for many years and accumulated three DUIs and one reduced DUI (most recently in May 2021).
In January 2019, he was arrested after a police chase where authorities found more than half an ounce of heroin and distribution materials in his vehicle.
He was sentenced to 18 months in jail on August 1, 2019.

Despite the setbacks, Jake has shown signs of recovery. His brother, Josh Harris, stated in April 2021 that Jake was “doing really well and just taking baby steps”. Jake is in a new relationship with a woman who has children, and the responsibility of being a father figure helps keep him busy and focused. Since his last arrest in May 2021, he has reportedly “managed to stay on the right side of the law”.

What happened to Jake Harris from ‘Deadliest Catch’?

The outdoorsman added, “It was definitely a big trip-up, threw my world upside down, put me in a real sad place for a little bit, kind of made things worse before they got better“.

Is Jake Harris back on ‘Deadliest Catch’?

Yes, Jake returned to TV in the first episode of Deadliest Catch: Bloodline Season 2 alongside his brother, and again for a few episodes of Season 3 in 2022. At this time, we’re not sure if Jake will return to the show in any regular capacity, but fans have certainly been vocal about how happy they are to see him back and doing well.