Jake Harris
The youngest son of Capt. Phil Harris, of Discovery Channel’s The Deadliest Catch, is Jake Harris, and like his brother Josh, “he’s inherited a long, proud family fishing tradition. For Jake, his first-hand experience with this legacy goes back to cod fishing with his grandfather Grant.”
“Although Jake has sometimes challenged his father’s authority, he’s hardworking and loyal to the boat. Given that he started as a greenhorn when he was 18, Jake has had to grow up fast in the harsh, unforgiving world of Bering Sea crab fishing. After starting out as the ship’s bait boy in season three (3) of “Deadliest Catch”, Jake will have reached his fifth season of king crab and his fourth year as a full-share deck hand. In the summer, Jake fishes halibut and salmon aboard another boat.”
The Harris Clan loves cars and Jake is no exception. From his first car in High School, which he needed for his job delivering Pizza, his Cavalier wasn’t much! The back seat was inevitably wet because of the weather. ”It’s rainy in Seattle and the back windshield was cracked and it leaked inside, so I always had two inches of water on the floorboards and the backseat was saturated all the time. Dates were always complaining about sitting in water in the back seat.” It really didn’t do much for Jake’s love life. “It was the most god awful, ugly, gray-looking, Bondoed, spray-painted thing you’d ever see on the road,” he describes. ”I got awarded Worst Car in the senior class in the yearbook.”
After his earnings boost with Crab Fishing, Jake traded his Hummer for his current BMW 325i, again to aid his dating economics. The Hummer, at 4 miles per gallon, costs him $50 in gas even before an actual date kicked in.
Jake is more soft-spoken than his brother Josh, but he’s still gained attention with his action on the “Deadliest Catch”. Some of his more memorable antics include:
- Buying a large, flat screen TV on episode 1 of Season 4 with his dad’s credit card… and not telling him.
- Pulling out his tooth with a pair of pliers in Season 3.
- Switching Places with Jake of the F/V Northwestern.
Jake and his father Phil Harris had a close relationship. During season six (6), Deadliest Catch viewers witnessed intense and personal scenes between Jake and his Dad. In episode 12, Jake was caught stealing his Dad’s pain medication, and shortly thereafter told his father about his drug addiction.
Phil and Jake, season 2
Capt. Phil’s first reaction was of extreme disappointment. But in short time, Phil accepted Jake’s problem and was ready to help him overcome it. “You got to go to treatment, man,” Harris told his son. “At least you’ll have a fighting chance.” The two embraced with Jake, saying quietly, “‘I love you, Pops.”
Capt. Phil was able to say good bye to Jake and was very proud of him making the decision to go to rehab.
After Jake’s father, Capt. Phil passed away – Jake took the news very hard. Jake entered rehab and has joined his brother in trying to quit smoking.
Josh says his brother has moved closer to him and is getting better. “He just went through rehab and everything is going real good,” Josh says. “I have my brother back in some aspects. It’s still a battle, though, but we talk about things a lot, decide things together, and he’s thinking a lot more clear-minded.”
Now, joined in their desire to carry on their Dad’s work and make his companies successful, they will continue to carry on their father’s legacy.
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