The Finale Hoorah

Bering Sea Gold Under the Ice season finale recap...

All of the episodes of Bering Sea Gold Under the Ice have ended with the following disclaimer:

Offshore dredging is not a get rich quick opportunity.  
It is expensive and DANGEROUS.
Most people who try fail.  Some have died.

Leads are huge cracks in the ice and an obvious sign from nature that the ice is melting.  The Lazy Gator crew has been ice diving closer in to shore from East Beach (public recreation area).  The ice is thinner there, and they all work as fast and as hard as possible (rotating divers every hour) to get gold while they still can. They're on the gold and are pushing it to the last second.

Finally, during individual dives, both Derek McClarty and Jacob Musich hear Mother Nature sending loud popping noises throughout the water (a sure sign the ice will soon give way).  They both exit the water as if they nearly escaped; clearly shaken.

"Hearing that ice shifting and popping is like a sign written on the wall.  It's the sign I need, and I can read.  It says GET OFF THE ICE!"  Derek McClarty

So, the Lazy Gator crew calls it a season, each fairly ecstatic with their unprecedented ice mining gold finds.

Shawn and the Shamrock crew are finally on a good streak of gold and are giving it all they've got up to the end.  Steve Pomrenke finally rides in and urges Shawn to call it quits until summer.  Without further ado, Shawn packs it up for the season, despite not meeting his goal of 100 ounces.

"It's an endless cycle.  You get more gold, put it back in, get more gold, put it back in...until one day you hope to find enough gold to quit."  Shawn Pomrenke

The Clark crews' expectations were far from realized this season.  However, on the positive side it was an incredible (yet, chaotic and painful) learning experience, and "that's a success and failure in itself", Steve Reidel...  Determined to break away from being broke, Zeke is the last ice dredging operation to budge from the ice.  Zeke is clearly very driven and has simply been unfortunate in choosing a good spot this time around.  There is no doubt, there's a bit of a gamble in this business.

"Gold on the bottom of the ocean is like an open cash register.  The uncertainty keeps me coming back."  Zeke Tenhoff

Seems gold really DOES make people do things they wouldn't do ordinarily...
Til next season guys (and gal).  Strong work!

Final Gold Tallys:

The Lazy Gator    
95.95 ounces 
$157,501.93

Shamrock                
68.45 ounces
$114,002.18

The Clark
7.7 ounces
12,633.55