January 25, 2016—Pete Speeches sees himself as a competitive guy, competing against the unpredictability of nature every time he sets foot on his boat.
So when Speeches and his daughter Erin signed up to be featured on the new season of the popular tuna-fishing reality show “Wicked Tuna,” he wasn’t looking to just get his face on TV or for a career in acting.
He was looking to win.
“I’m not in the habit of not catching fish, I like to be the guy who catches fish,” said Speeches, 54, who fishes out of Portland on a boat named for his daughters, the Erin & Sarah. “I fish hard, in all kinds of weather. I feel like I’m competing against nature every day.”
Speeches and his crew will make their TV debut Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. when the fifth season of “Wicked Tuna” begins on the National Geographic Channel. Eight tuna boat crews will be seen during one complete fishing season (filmed last summer and fall), fishing for bluefin tuna with hand-held rods. Their catches are tallied and ranked, but there is no monetary prize. The winner gets bragging rights only.