Alaskan Monster Hunt: Hillstranded Premieres Tonight
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on July 19th, 2011
July 19, 10:00 PM
Alaskan Monster Hunt: Hillstranded
Deadliest Catch captains Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand begin an adventure in their hometown of Homer, Alaska and go by air, land and sea to search for answers to the Bering Sea Monster mystery and hunt for the legendary “Cadborosaurus.”
July 20, 12:00 AM
Alaskan Monster Hunt: Hillstranded
July 21, 9:00 PM
Alaskan Monster Hunt: Hillstranded
July 21, 11:00 PM
Alaskan Monster Hunt: Hillstranded
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
Where are the Beluga whales? Also that looks like one animal, the early report said there were several animals. I hope this doesn’t turn into the Johor hominid project again. Caddy is one of my favorite cryptids!
now thats the way to catch a sea monster lol go get him, it looks a helluva more entertaining than finding big foot thats for sure
My question is: They say that they’re showing clips from the original video, not the whole thing. Are they going to release the original somewhere? what I’m seeing so far is very inconclusive. It’s too chopped up to make out anything, except that, like all marine cryptids, it looks like a wave anomaly, and could be dismissed as such. I hope there is more to see on tonight’s show. Or that they post the whole thing on their website or YouTube, or sumpthin’
Hopefully I will get home in time to see it. Going to the movies and hoping I can stay awake long enough for some cryptid Hillstrand fun!
Have a feeling this show is going to fall under ‘guilty pleasure’ watching for me. But the Hillstrand brothers are just so full of life (and pranks) that it’s hard not to like them.
I’m gonna say it is a white sturgeon. From the comment made about looking like the front of a plane.. and the fact the sturgeons do at times gulp air. They are said to have gotten as long as 20 feet.
Nothing!!!
I want to see the whole video not a bunch of fishing rednecks rig up barrels to catch a “monster”. Ever since I was a child and I saw something I could not explain in the Chesapeake bay I have believed that the waters all around us contain things we have never seen before. I was hoping this would be more scientific than this. So far I am disappointed.
I want the complete footage.
Well, that was…nothing. Ugh.
If they ever actually show the entire footage, I will tune in. Anything short of that is a no show for me. Why do I get taken in by the hype? Because, I suppose, like Fox Mulder, I want to believe.
Once again I’m embarrassed to be a fan of cryptozoology, the one field where the alleged “experts” get excited about blurry blobs of unidentifiable somethings on cheap video.
The Hillstrands made a typical mockery of this, firing pointlessly into the water with a gun and dropping bombs into the water for nothing after hooking a whale or large fish with a fishing line.
The guys who got the image of something in the water and gave it to a mainstream news outlet did a better job. The Discovery Channel is about to be deleted on my satellite channel listing.
I saw it just now and the Lake “monster” does indeed bear the hallmarks of a giant sturgeon. They are known to bend hooks of that size. I will say thought that the Hillstrands are great entertainment. Their unassuming nature makes for not only an entertaining hour but makes you wish you could join them in the fun, not just live vicariously through their antics.
As for the ocean video footage, they didn’t show enough for me to think it was a Caddy. I hope more footage is released.
Just started watching the show… the video where it looks like the animal blows out water, on closer inspection, it looks more like a fin moving that sprays the water like a small arm/fin/flap… like a water mammal. Very interesting video, the goofballs on the show seem sincere, I just hope they don’t hurt the animal in their pursuit of fame and fortune and excitement.
What a joke….I waited a year for that? I’m done following this garbage…Kirk said something about whales chasing these things and the creature turning its head and we get 3 seconds of a wave and a grainy sea lion poking its head out of the water…someone is lying
I’m tired of Biscardi’s, I’m tired of Moneymakers, (apt last name), I’m tired of Animal Planet, I’m now tired of Discovery but I think I’m most tired of allowing myself to be taken in.
This whole thing has been a lot of hype from people I don’t know from adam telling me “if they show what I saw…”
It took a comment from a twelve year old to me to realise how dumb we really are.
He said “Do you think anyone who has footage that will rewrite science would hand it over to a tv channel. Even at 12 I know enough that I’d be major famous and that kind of footage would have major news networks climbing all over it.
Out of the mouths of babes eh!.
So no more, I’m done with these clowns.
That said I still believe in the bi-pedal mystery, I still believe there are things in our waters, sky and land. There’s just to much info from too many people for too many thousands??? of years to doubt their existance, so I won’t give up Cryptomundo or the arm chair searching although I wish I had the money and health to just go out and find the things for myself.
And if I ever had an encounter I think I’d have to think long and hard, (for myself and the cryptid), whether I’d ever mention it.
@billyjoe: Don’t be hard on Mr Kirk and the others of this wonderous site, I’ve come to trust Loren and the others more than anyone else in this field. Don’t blame the posters.
I don’t know anymore maybe the conspiracy people are partly right and somethings being covered up. I don’t know but let the searches continue, answers will come, maybe not in my life time but they will come.
How hard it must be for the real pioneers of this field to have to wade through so much sewage….
Well, I doubt Mr. Kirk was blatantly lying about what he saw, so why didn’t they show the good stuff? They have it, so it makes no sense not to show it… so perhaps they caught even BETTER footage with their HD cameras? It’s a thought…
I now feel like a fool. We’ve been led to believe this would be some fascinating footage to be made public that would definitely support the theory of an elusive cryptid from long ago and we get the same old story. Either John Kirk or Paul Leblond is lying or we’re being swept under the rug and that evidence is being suppressed, for some odd reason. Not thinking about “need to know” clearance or any crap like that. However, Discovery Channel has lost some major credibility and support from me. I’m about as deflated now as I was back on ’08 with the Georgia Hoax. Please, if anyone has the opportunity to film or photo something of significance, BEFORE dollar signs block your vision, make a copy of whatever it is and give it to the PROPER people before it’s sold. This footage, I’m afraid, is going by the way of the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Never to be seen again. Thanks for nothing.
I quite enjoyed it. It’s nice to see the fisherman’s point of view on the matter. I didn’t expect serious science, and I was pretty impressed with the footage. My husband and I feel it’s some of the best we’ve seen of an aquatic cryptid.
The show had that “the one that got away” angle to it, which is classic for fishing mythology but the cross doesn’t lend well to the cryptid angle.
As a cryptid hunt show it lacked the seriousness and I do hope Discovery decides to do something else with the footage. I think they had a Sturgeon on the line in the end, and editing likely made it seem like a monster was there. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Hillstrands hammed it up just for the over the top fun of it. I wish they landed the fish. They are beautiful animals.
I really feel the video should be taken more seriously though. I don’t know what is on it, but it deserves serious investigation. One I doubt a TV network run by a board of directors and investors are willing to spend the time and money on.
Ryk and I discussed it being a frilled shark adapted for fresh and salt water as well capable of surviving in palagic zones.
Here are some pictures. Beautiful animal! Something totally worth nerding over.
I did not watch the show. To judge from the comments so far on the internet we – like always – do not have a scientific solution or an exciting discovery, but rather new disillusions and probably a new conspiracy theory (why did they not show..)..it is a shame…
This was almost as big a let down as bigfoot in freezer. I knew this was going to be BS after seeing the first 2 minutes of the show. Tip my hat to discovery channel for putting out this marketing promo out a year ago. How many of us would not have tuned in if it wasn’t for this sneaky promo?
Unfortunately, this new show is the first of a series. I would not be surprised if Discovery decides to string us along with more promises of more clearer footage , at least by the season finally…
The Hillbillys did not hook a caddy, obviously it was just a sturgeon that they were unable to land.
Extremely disappointing. It is clear to me that the Discovery Network (that includes Animal Planet) is only interested in ratings and not in the existence of a possible unknown sea creature. Or any other cryptid, e.g. “Finding Bigfoot”. As a result, a video of a (possible) sea creature was utilized to give a couple of rednecks a one-hour segment of “this is how you catch a sea-monster”. The only input that the Hillstrand brothers should’ve had was to ask them if they have seen such anomalies in the past. Because of all their years as fishermen and exposure to the sea; that should’ve been it. It also seems that the show was produced more as a mockery than an investigation. That’s just another slap in the face for those people who dedicate their life to such anomalies.
They also did not show the video in it’s entirety. Considering they had the video in their possession for about a year. The least they could have done was provide the entire video with image stabilization and let the viewers make their own opinion. Even the crew of “Destination Truth” would have done a more thorough investigation than these two clowns.
In my opinion, the show should have been presented along the lines of “Bigfoot: The Definitive Guide”, or something with a similar approach.
It’s safe to say that the Discovery Network cannot be trusted with such valuable information. We should keep this in mind and probably go to Nat Geo next time someone captures possible video evidence. Heck, might as well just go to CNN, they might actually take this more seriously than the Discovery channel has at this point. What really sucks is that this video will remain in their vaults for a while before any further analysis.
1] Please don’t be ‘too’ hard on this show. Remember it was never meant to be a Caddy show, it was originally called Hillstranded and had to change names and style when they got sued. This is a last minute pull together to salvage something from the ashes.
2] I’m hoping they just threw the 30-40 seconds of footage in here to fluff up this show and actually have another, more informative, show with ALL the footage in post production or something……anything.
3] As for Discovery Channel and their subsidiaries – are you kidding me? Did you pay attention to the commercials they were airing? “Did God create the Universe?” (fine for religious stations, not so much for ‘science’ – religion cannot be proven or dis-proven by science) “Ghost Adventure Challenge” – or whatever bile they are recycling…with effing Zak Bagans.
Crypto and Paranormal are the latest ‘cool’ trend. We’ll see a lot more shows about these topics but I doubt any of them will be any good. History Channel putting up odd things for a while. Obviously these shows must be pulling in some sort of ratings/profits or they wouldn’t bother.
Johnathan Hillstrand pulls so hard on a large snagged hook that he falls over backwards in the boat. The hook dislodges from the rocks, they pull it in, and it is bent – straightened out a little. “What could bend a hook like that!” the other brother exclaims, wide-eyed. Oh my god – this was really bad.
Well, I don’t think these “two clowns” have ever fancied themselves Monster Hunters. They’re just a couple guys that catch deadly crabs or something…
It’s just another example of how network suits don’t
know how to deal with the subject matter.
If they really do want to put out a DVD just on the footage of the Caddy thing…and do an analysis of the WHOLE THING…I’d buy it. But, for some reason-prolly $, they just dove tailed that in with this stuff about Ilimniana monster-which has pretty much been established as a large fish-either sturgeon or catfish a long time ago. Wierd. It was sort of a slap in the face and an under-estimation of the knowledge of at least some of the audience. I bet that show is their highest rated by far. So why not pay more respect to those who make it that way?
I would have to agree that the clip that was posted here prior to the show was for all purposes the same as what was shown on the show.
Frankly, we had to know that nothing of significance was to be discovered during this show, as it was all done last June? I believe I saw a date on the depth finder on the small boat of June 20, 2010. Given that that’s when they were out looking for the monster, if any was truly found then, we would have, I hope, heard about it by now.
Most of the hype was for the footage, which we got to see prior to show here.
Note to self: after obtaining game changing video of an unknown creature, do not sell to either Discovery Channel or Animal Planet.
What a farce. I can only hope they do something responsible with the complete footage. Not holding my breath.
The Discovery Channel has fallen down completely. Even the History Channel can do a better job. What are they doing, trying to exterminate a white sturgeon in the lake? What does this have to do with the so-called footage of fifteen Caddies in Alaska? What is Paul Leblond, the highest eminence in the study of the sea serpent, doing with these two madmen? No way. No words, just a touch of madness. I wanted to see 15 Caddies. Not an animal that looks like a whale.